Flood damage in Cloverdale in 1985.

Submitted by Jane Garnett

This week marks the 25th anniversary of the Flood of 1985, which hit Botetourt County -- and the rest of the Roanoke Valley -- on Nov. 4 and 5th. For more, see botetourtview.com.

I was working the day shift at the Salem VA hospital on a surgical floor. We watched the water creep closer and closer during the afternoon. It crossed the boulevard and the hospital's baseball field. It was exciting to me as I had never seen a "flood." When I was a child my parents took me to the aftermath of a flood in Pennsylvania and I remember the waterlines near the roofs of some buildings to this day.

I was off duty at 4 pm and began my trip home to Rainbow Forest in Botetourt County. The trip usually took about 40 minutes. I wended my way to Route 460 and had to stop when all roads to home were under water. I pulled into the Holiday Inn near the civic center, planning to register for a room and wait out the storm. Alas, all rooms were taken. Some "gentleman" in the lobby offered to share his. This set off some chuckles from the folks in the lobby.

I was advised to try the Blue Ridge Parkway. Great idea! Having no sense of direction, I turned south instead of north. It was lightning, raining, and blowing up there. I felt like I was in a Steven King movie. I kept driving even though the visibility was zero. Finally there appeared a sign pointing to Ashland. Uh oh. I figured I needed to make a U-turn and go back where I came from. Strangely, the car behind me did the same thing. It was another woman who said she was trying to find Roanoke! At least I wasn't alone. I told her to follow me. Little did she know.

I finally reached my home which was safe and dry on a hill. It was 8 pm! The 40 minute trip took 4 hours!

My husband was sitting at the table calmly reading the Roanoke Times unaware of the havoc outside. He looked up and said, "Where have you been?" He just shook his head when I told him.

-- Nancy Kamwell, Fincastle

On November 4, 1985 I went down to our basement, only to find it flooded under six inches of water, despite our living on a hilltop! More water was cascading down the outside entrance stairs like a waterfall, and seeping in around the door. My late husband, Jim, and I went to the barn for a piece of 4 x 8 marine plywood and a tarp, to place over the stairwell in an effort to divert some of the heavy rain, and began bailing water.

Later, we went back upstairs to get lunch, and looked out our window toward the town of Fincastle, and were shocked to see a LAKE where 220 was supposed to be. It was then we realized we would not be able to attend a funeral being held at St. Mark's that day.

Since we had a business in Roanoke, we turned on the TV as we ate lunch, and were stunned to see a picture of the Roanoke City Market Building with water up to the door handles, and people paddling by in a canoe!

Our shop, Glass Etc., was about 100 feet from there, so we knew we were in trouble! The flooding of our shop resulted in days of slipping and sliding through the silt deposited from the flood, and disposing of lost merchandise. We had to get Tetanus and Diphtheria shots from working in those conditions. Our shop had to have new carpeting, painting, and much, much cleaning...so did our basement. Even with all that, we were much more fortunate than some of the other flood victims.

-- Helen Madine Gregory, Fincastle