Kentucky author Kim Michele Richardson issued a call to action on Feb. 25:
“Librarian Tessa [Caudill] of the destroyed Neon, KY library called to say they’re rebuilding & are finally at the point to receive books,” Richardson posted on Twitter.
The Fleming Neon Public Library was one of countless structures damaged or destroyed in the historic July 2022 floods that crashed through southeastern Kentucky. Donating a few books from our sizable collection in our (high and dry) Lawrenceburg home seemed like an easy lift.
Library director Alita Vogel responded to a message with a description of the types of books they wanted. Armed with that information, my wife, Ronda, and I boxed up a few of our books. We launched a book drive in our church, Bridgeport Christian, west of Frankfort. Kentucky Monthly donated dozens of books, and friends of Ronda’s from her state government days met us in Versailles to give us a couple dozen more.
We collected more than 600 books of all kinds, from children’s books and paperbacks to large-format art books, but mostly hard-cover fiction and nonfiction.
It was a spit in the ocean compared to the library’s needs. But it was something we could do.
We shoehorned the boxes and bags of books into every free space in our SUV, and on a cool, clear, sunny morning in March, we set out for the Harry M. Caudill Memorial Library in downtown Whitesburg, the drop-off point for book donations for the Fleming Neon Public Library and others in the Letcher County Library District.
The three-hour trip on the Mountain Parkway to Ky. 15 to the Letcher County seat was scenic and effortless. As we got closer to our destination, we encountered evidence of the disaster. Dead vegetation. Smashed structures. A sign that marks where a business used to be.
The aging structure that houses the Caudill Library belies the modern library inside. Visitors are met by a life-size cardboard cutout of Dolly Parton. Wood carvings by local artisan Venson Caudill are enshrined in a glass case. A cutout of Yoda decorates another section.
All through the open expanse are, of course, thousands of books as well as magazines, DVDs, graphic novels and other media, along with public computers. Tables in the front section are covered with books free for the taking.
Boxes of books almost head high and several rows deep are piled inside the front window. The library staff will catalog those books that will be kept for the libraries and give away the rest.
The library staff on duty that day—Vogel, Susan Adams and Scarlett Stewart—helped unpack our vehicle, adding the boxes to the pile at the front of the library. We took a few pictures, and then Vogel talked about their journey since the July 2022 disaster.
• • •
On July 25-30, 2022, up to 16 inches of rain drenched a narrow path of southeastern Kentucky, the National Weather Service website states. Rivers and creeks throughout the region breached their banks; the North Fork of the Kentucky River at Whitesburg swelled in excess of 21 feet above flood stage, obliterating the 65-year-old record of 14.7 feet. Most of the rain fell July 27-28, causing a majority of the flooding and ensuing damage. The governor’s office said the torrential rains and flooding resulted in 45 deaths in the region.
Vogel said three of the four libraries in the Letcher County district were hit by the floods. Fleming Neon took the worst of it. She had to stop to wipe away tears and compose herself before talking about the Fleming Neon library—“It happens every time I talk about this, what happened and how we’re recovering,” she said.
Apparently, Vogel said, the raging flood waters carried a small tree stump through the back door and rushed through the building, carrying furniture, shelves, books and everything else in their path to a café in the front of the structure, where they pushed out a window casing.
The library was inundated with 5 feet of flood water. “It pretty much destroyed everything,” Vogel said, including nearly all of the books and DVDs as well as 10 new computers intended for public use, three of which had been set up. A volunteer saved some books and DVDs that were on the top shelves.
The Blackey library took in 2 feet of flood water, causing damaged flooring, drywall and shelving as well as mold, Vogel said. “We knew flooding in the past, but it hadn’t gotten up into the building before, not like this,” Vogel said. Volunteers and staff salvaged some of the books, and contractors removed shelving and drywall. Vogel said they plan to “make some changes that I hope will make it a better library,” such as accessibility for people with physical challenges, more seating in the lower level, and a book drop in the front of the building.
The Harry M. Caudill Memorial Library sustained damage to its 50-year-old elevator when water flooded the basement. Odds and ends such as Christmas decorations and books that were intended to be given away were lost, but the library otherwise suffered little damage. “[The Whitesburg library is] so far out of the flood plain, we didn’t think we needed flood insurance,” Vogel said. “It’s like that all over Letcher County.”
The library in Jenkins emerged unscathed, “which is amazing because Jenkins [the town] floods at the drop of a hat,” Vogel said.
The library district also lost its bookmobile, which was covered by flood water up to the engine block.
“Needless to say, the last seven months around here have been kinda crazy,” Vogel said.
As we spoke, a library patron stopped to chat with Vogel. “I’m looking for free books again,” the patron said as she carried a plastic bag of books.
“We’ve got boxes. You should take more,” Vogel said.
“Last time, I had four bags,” the patron laughed.
After the flood waters receded, staff members and volunteers, including a disaster recovery group from North Carolina, set about the arduous task of cleaning the libraries. Workers wore rubber boots, gloves and respirators to protect themselves from mold and filth in the midsummer heat.
The Fleming Neon branch was covered by flood insurance, and the library district applied for grants to replace the public computers at Fleming Neon and Blackey and acquire educational computers for children. It is working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency for funding to modernize and restore the elevator in the Whitesburg library.
Vogel said Toyota on Nicholasville sold a van to the library district at a discount in November. The purchase was “the first thing that we were able to do that really felt like recovery,” Vogel said.
Vogel and her staff use the van for outreach to the libraries scattered throughout Letcher County and for trips to conferences and continuing-education opportunities. “Someday, we might get another bookmobile, but I think an outreach vehicle is serving our needs very well right now,” she said.
• • •
Richardson, author of The New York Times bestsellers The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek and The Book Woman’s Daughter, has been a key ally in the libraries’ recovery effort. Richardson has ties to eastern Kentucky, and she learned of the libraries’ plight from the librarians there. Richardson first alerted her social media followers in August, shortly after the floods, and has posted numerous updates, including the Feb. 25 tweet. She also launched a drive to restock the libraries in the Letcher County public schools that were flooded.
Richardson launched a GoFundMe campaign for the library district that exceeded its $30,000 goal and will remain open until July 28—the one-year anniversary of the flood.
In an email, Richardson remembered posting her call to action and then peeking at the comments the next day “like the person sneaking back into an after-brawl to retrieve their one lost shoe.” Predictably for social media, the responses were mixed: Many were positive and compassionate, but others “were hateful and ignorant to our people,” she wrote.
“But then, immediately, large book donations and money started pouring in, and I thought: In all the division, hate, disagreements and differences in our world, the written word can truly unite us. And I fell in love with humankind all over again.”
Richardson pointed out that libraries are vital resources for eastern Kentucky residents. “Libraries have always been a normalcy for these people and have been a vital safe haven, a refuge,” she wrote. “And librarians are surely like Swiss Army knives. Our librarians are the peacekeepers, social workers, babysitters, resource officers, caregivers and more to so many struggling in life. They are the literacy soldiers and lifelines here and across the U.S.”
Richardson “has been a wonderful friend and support system to us,” Vogel said.
Vogel said the library district aims to reopen the Blackey library by the end of July and the Fleming Neon library by the end of September. She said they will hold a grand reopening for both. She expressed heartfelt thanks to staff, volunteers, donors and “people who have prayed for us.”
By late April, the library district had received some 15,000 books, Vogel said. Books that meet the district’s needs will be shelved in the libraries; others will be given away. Vogel said the library district received more than 4,000 books from the International Book Project, a Lexington-based nonprofit that has donated more than 7 million books to 167 countries since its founding in 1966. Richardson said her literary friends on the coasts and readers across the country made donations to help the cause.
“It truly makes me tear up seeing all these kind hearts and outpouring of love for our beloved Kentucky, a place often misunderstood, and her people often criticized and stereotyped,” Richardson wrote. “I am forever grateful for the kindness and generosity and good wishes that others have shown to Kentucky.”
Photos by Allan Detrich
To donate books or money directly to the Letcher County Library District:
Harry M. Caudill Memorial Library
20 Main Street, Whitesburg, KY 41858
GoFundMe
gofundme.com/f/letcher-co-public-libraries-damaged-by-ky-flood
List of Resources