The two bigger houses were higher, with 4 steps up to the porch, but in ours and the one next to us, you went from the sidewalk directly into the hall or living room at the same level.

A cousin of Wanda's had come to town, looking for relatives, and my mother was so glad to see him. He took us kids uptown to shop, he wanted us to have a treat. Then he took us to a movie. When we came out of the movie, we found the water in the canal was almost up to State St. We started walking down State St., and saw a large crowd of people around Ferry St., and wondered what had happened. When we got there we found that the water was way up the street from the canal. People downstairs had already moved upstairs, with the second floor family, as was the custom in a flood. We thought that was kind of fun. Eddie had stayed home, he didn't go with us ... just Alma, Wanda and I. The ice from the street was very thick ... and some of the older boys got chunks of ice, and bamboo poles to float, and move around on them, as rafts. There was Eddie in the upstairs window hollering for me to come home on an ice raft. But I wanted no part of that. I was afraid that water would cover me up by the time I got there. Sister Josie lived down on Broadway near Edison Ave., and she had heard about the flood. She made up beds on chairs, and everywhere, and we all went over and stayed with her. Josie's son wanted to go down to one of the higher houses, next door to ours, to visit. He was a little tipsy, he'd had a few drinks. Everybody just laughed to see him, especially the kids who were ferrying people who needed to get out. They were making money, charging people who had to get out to the store or something. So, my cousin came down to visit his friend next door, and people tried to keep him from going, because of his condition. He had an umbrella he used as a cane, and he kept saying in Polish, "No, I'm going, I be all right! I go, I go" ... So he got on this slab of ice, and the kid got him up close to the porch, and as he reached for the banister, he put out his foot ,to get on the top step, and fell into the water!! Almost up to his neck! !! Everybody just roared ... it was so funny to see! There was so much damage ... the people who lived under us had an adopted daughter, and wanted to teach her piano, but that piano just went. It rotted away. Everything was a mess. Food stored in the cellar was all ruined. People lost a lot of things.

I remember there was a big fire at the city barn, where they kept the horses, for the trash wagons and plows. We woke up in the middle of the night to all this commotion. By this time, we had moved to a two family house my mother bought across the street, near the corner of State and Ferry Streets. It was nearby, and the Fire Department was there in seconds, but Tom Bohanski was already there, trying to save the horses. He was able to get seven horses out of the barn, but he was badly burned. His face was scarred for the rest of his life, from his eye to his jaw. Ladies in the neighborhood were making coffee for the Firemen, but the barn burnt right down. There were so many things I remember ... we used to sit on the bank by Nicholaus's, and watch Steimetz ride by on his bicycle. I also remember the "cowcatcher" trolley.