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The Flood of 1912

by Helmut T. Huebert

The Flood of 1912

This account is part of a collection which is soon to be published under the title Events and People in Russian Mennonite History by Helmut T. Huebert and is used by permission.

There had been floods in the Halbstadt region of the Molotschna Colony on a number of occasions, notably 1893 and 1909, but the flood of 1912 was the worst in living memory. The winter of 1911 to 1912 was relatively mild, with very changeable weather. There were four heavy snowfalls followed by warm temperatures and considerable melting. When the bround became frozen, a sudden melt did not allow the water to soak into the ground, but had to run off.

There was heavy snowfall for several weeks, then again warm temperatures on February 24-26, 1912. This caused rapid melting and widespread flooding of the Molochnaya River and its tributaries, especially the Tokmak and the Begim-Tschokrak Rivers.

Flooding was recorded well up the Tokmak River at Klippenfeld. The houses and barns were not inundated because they were on higher ground, but the low lying gardens towards the river were. Agnes Thiessen [nee Fast], five years old at the time, recalls that just the tips of some of the trees showed above the water. She was terrified by the loud crunches of ice flows colliding. Two wooden bridges in the village were swept away.

After a few days the Fast family travelled downstream to see what had happened to their relatives in Liebenau. Chairs and dead cats were strewn on the street. Heinrich and Lena Fast, uncle and aunt of Agnes, had been sleeping peacefully when their small child, Lena, cried. The aunt, getting up to tend Lena, had stepped into water. She woke her husband, who discovered that there was water in the whole house. When he opened the door to see what was going on outside he was unable to close it again because of the rush of water. The whole family climbed to the loft for safety. Several days later the children were still upset because they had lost some toys and dolls in the flood.

Heinrich Gaede also reported about Liebenau, perhaps the hardest hit Mennonite village. The water of the Tokmak River rose very rapidly, possibly due to ice jams. There was soon a fast flowing stream down the main street of the village carrying straw, wood and ice flows up to 21 inches thick.

Heinrich and his family were trying to secure the house and barn from rising waters when he heard shouts coming from the street. A man was standing on his buggy calling for help. His driver had cut the horses loose and escaped himself, leaving the man stranded on his vehicle. He now demanded that Heinrich bring him a horse. Heinrich shouted back that it would be impossible to get a horse from the barn, and besides, they were already all wet, so he himself would also have to get into the water. The stream pushed the buggy close to the fence, so the man jumped into the water and escaped to Gaede’s house. Heinrich told him “You have come to our house to be rescued, while we ourselves are planning to leave!” “No” the man replied, “I am staying here!” He was given dry clothing, and the family continued to dam off the doors of their home.

A friend of the Gaedes, Abram Kroeker of Wernersdorf, managed to reach the yard through the garden, where the flood stream was not so strong. He rescued four of their youngest children on his wagon. Heinrich, in the meantime, had decided to stay on his farm as long as possible in an attempt to save his cattle and horses. The water reached the back shed, but had not flooded the main house when he noted that it was no longer rising. By evening the crest was reached and the water level fell.

Some of the immediate neighbours of the Gaedes had evacuated or were sleeping in the attics. The eastern end of the village must have been lower, since the flooding there was more severe. The house of Gerhard Doerksen [No. 2] was flooded to the windows and subsequently collapsed. The shop of Martin Hiebert [No. 3] was also ruined. Jakob Neufeld’s house [No. 4] caved in due to damage and was later replaced by a new home, this time built on a high foundation. No. 5, flooded to the windows, also collapsed.

Farther downstream flooding and subsequent damage was very severe in the Ukrainian town of Tokmak. A large wooden bridge was destroyed by the ice and pushed against a more sturdy stone bridge. About 200 houses were flooded and collapsed, with considerable damage to many more. The police asked a Jewish couple to evacuate their home, but the husband was afraid to have his very ill wife moved – the cool air might hurt her. When the water poured into the windows it was difficult to reach the house, and by the time rescuers arrived, the lady had died.

In Halbstadt, on the Molochnaya River, many basements were flooded, and at least one house collapsed. This house was noted to be constructed of fired bricks; the construction material prone to disintegration with flooding. Two telegraph poles were knocked down by the ice, tearing the wires. It was dangerous to travel across the river to Prischib not only because of the high level of the water, but because of the strength of the raging current. Travel was disrupted sufficiently to make it impossible to deliver the mail on February 27.

Other tributaries of the Molochnaya River, such as the Begim-Tschokrak, also flooded. At Waldheim, well up the stream, considerable damage was reported. The river overflowed its system of dikes and forced at least one family to evacuate; many orchards were extensively damaged. While there was fairly widespread destruction in the northern Molotschna, one village saw the possible bright side of the flood. At Fischau, downstream from Halbstadt on the Molochnaya River, there was also flooding, but obviously quite limited. It was reported that the inundation of the lowlands would ensure that there would be a good crop of hay for that year!

Sources:

Bergmann, Peter and Helena, Letter, Mennonitische Rundschau, 15 May 1912, pp. 14, 15. Gaede, Heinrich and K., Letter, Mennonitische Rundschau, 22 May 1912, pp. 15, 16. Harder, Jakob Johann, Letter, Mennonitische Rundschau, 22 May 1912, p. 15. Huebert, H. T., Hierschau: An Example of Russian Mennonite Life, Springfield Publishers, Winnipeg, Canada, 1986, p. 360. Lohrenz, Gerhard, Heritage Remembered, CMBC Publications, Winnipeg, Canada, 1974, p. 53. Lohrenz has labelled the flood pictures as 1915. News reports from the Molotschna during that time record only mild weather with very little snow. There is absolutely no mention of a flood. We are presuming the pictures are actually from 1912. Mennonite Historical Atlas, p. 34. News Reports, Friedensstimme, 29 February 1912 p. 9; 7 March 1912, p. 4; 14 March 1912, p. 9. Thiessen, Agnes, Personal Letter, 29 Oct. 1998.

Helmut T. Huebert is an orthopedic surgeon in Winnipeg.

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Last modified October 31, 2000.

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