Writing this book was difficult. At times I thought of novelist Richard Ford’s advice to young writers: “Try to talk yourself out of it. As a life, it’s much too solitary, it makes you obsessive, the rewards seem to be much too inward for most people, and too much rides on luck. Other than that, it’s great.”1
As a middle-aged man who shows no signs of getting a day younger, I still haven’t found a way to talk myself out of being a writer. In this case, I am thankful I did not.
Globe Pequot Press editor Erin Turner first proposed this project to me, and I am grateful for her guidance and her trust. Project editor John Burbidge steered the manuscript through production with patience and polish. This is my second book with Globe Pequot Press, and both experiences have been beyond positive.
I am also grateful for the representation and support of my agents, Sheree Bykofsky and Janet Rosen, at Sheree Bykofsky Associates, Inc.
A big thank-you goes to my transcriptionist, Sarah Meadows, who put up with a variety of aurally challenging interview locations. She barely missed a word.
In the eighteen months of working on this book, it was my good fortune to meet people of exceptional character, people who embodied the best of what it means to be human. Although I was a stranger to everyone I called for an interview, with one exception no one turned me down. In fact, people took me into their homes, served me coffee, trusted me with their stories, and let me bear witness to the worst chapter in their lives. I respect every person I met, and I now count some of them as friends. As a writer, I feel inadequate to express my gratitude. As a journalist, I am humbled by the responsibility of telling these stories as accurately and respectfully as possible. All mistakes are mine and mine alone.
Troy and Beverly Simon were especially kind and helpful, meeting with me several times and putting up with my questions at a time when they had so many life-changing decisions facing them. They have approached every one of those decisions over the past two difficult years with honesty. They may have lost their home, but they never lost their faith or their souls.
Christian Fong was a reliable, intelligent source. No one loves Cedar Rapids more. He is one of Iowa’s young, dynamic leaders, and his future is beyond bright. I just wish he would move across the river to Illinois. The Land of Lincoln desperately needs his integrity.
Frank King’s insights about Time Check were irreplaceable. If we were all as passionate as Frank is about our neighbors and neighborhoods, this would be a much better country. I am not surprised that Frank has generously opened his beautiful home, rent free, to the volunteer group Christian Reform World Relief Committee. Frank also kindly showed me the bus garage where Grandpa worked for the Cedar Rapids City Bus Lines for thirty years.
Also in Time Check, Linda Seger proved to be a valuable source, but most importantly she became a friend. I am so happy Linda and Gary are back in the neighborhood they so dearly cherish. I also had the pleasure of reading and excerpting their grandson Alex’s writing.
In Czech Village I am indebted to Jan Stoffer, director of operations and education for the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library (NCSML), for the walking tour of Czech Village. John Berge provided equally valuable insights of Czech Village.
Both encounters triggered fond memories of family reunions held at my maternal grandparents’ house on Fruitland Boulevard and then later with my paternal grandmother, Mary Lyons. My grandparents rest peacefully at Cedar Memorial Cemetery.
Leah Wilson, director of marketing and communications at the NCSML, was a steady source of information. Her perspective on the environmental aspect of the flood was a rare dose of realism.
Ron and Sharon Sims gave me a much-needed perspective on the Cedar Valley neighborhood. By now they are back in their new home on the river, watching the eagles.
Chad Pregracke is someone I hope every reader of this book can someday meet. He’s one very cool dude. His organization, Living Lands & Waters, is the reason Midwest rivers are becoming trash free. A few years back I had the pleasure of helping him and his crew clean up a stretch of the Mississippi River near Quincy, Illinois. It was one of the best days of my life. Thanks, Chad!
Dr. Janeta Tansey helped me understand the psychological challenges that flood victims and first responders face in the months and years ahead.
John Bloomhall of Diamond V Mills restored my faith in CEOs of corporations. His concern for his employees and his business’s recovery is one of the most inspiring stories to come out of the flood.
I found the staff at the City of Cedar Rapids to be open and helpful, even as they were dealing (and continue to deal) with a complicated situation. Thanks to Cassie Willis, Kay Halloran, Greg Eyerly, and Jim Prosser. These are good people.
Shannon Meyer, Catherine Kriewald, and Sara Mentzer at the Cedar Rapids Chamber of Commerce provided me with invaluable information on the business community.
At the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Jim Angel and Steve Hilberg of the Illinois State Water Survey were more than patient with my questions about Midwest weather.
I am indebted to Adam Pitluk and Anna Fialho of American Way magazine for publishing my article “The Fall and Rise of Cedar Rapids.” Adam is also the author of a must read book on the 1993 flood, Damned to Eternity: The Story of the Man Who They Said Caused the Flood.
The Cedar Rapids Gazette and its excellent core of writers and photographers did the best job of covering the 2008 flood of anyone in the nation. (The same can be said of KCRG-TV.) At the beginning I relied on its articles, but then I stopped because I wanted to find my own stories. The Gazette’s coverage (which continues today), along with many other newspapers in the Midwest, is the reason we need a vibrant local and regional news industry. National news organizations have short attention spans, and the 2008 Midwest flood story was no exception. Please support your local media.
I found two books to be extremely instructive in understanding floods and disasters in general. Rebecca Solnit’s A Paradise Built in Hell is a courageous and intelligent book by one of America’s most original thinkers. Jane Varley’s Flood Stage and Rising is an evocative memoir about her experience during the 1997 flood in Grand Forks, North Dakota. In another life, Jane and I were friends in Moscow, Idaho, where we shared and critiqued each other’s writing.
My wife, Jan, endured my many absences while tolerating my frequent doubts. Turned out, she never had any doubts.
Stephen J. Lyons
February 2010
Monticello, Illinois