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Remembering Buffalo Creek February 26, 1972. Stewart Plein Special Collections Librarian West Virginia University College of Law. The Flood. Part 1. February 26, 1972. Saturday morning, 8:00 a.m .
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Remembering Buffalo Creek February 26, 1972 Stewart Plein Special Collections Librarian West Virginia University College of Law
The Flood Part 1
February 26, 1972 Saturday morning, 8:00 a.m. Families were home. Mothers were cooking breakfast. Fathers were sleeping. Children were beginning to rise. Most were still in their pajamas, unaware of the approaching water. The only warning came from neighbors as they ran up the mountainside to escape. Most never knew what was coming. Many were swept away still inside their homes.
125 killed, 4,000 left homeless, 1,100 injured 502 houses and 44 mobile homes demolished943 houses and mobile homes damaged 1,000 cars and trucks destroyedProperty damage estimated at $50 million After the flood . . .
The Symposium: WVU College of Law, February 25-26, 2014 Part 2
Dennis Prince et al v. The Pittston CompanyJustice v. The Pittston CompanyThe Mountain State v. The Pittston Company The Symposium
Symposium Goals • Educate our students • To present the positions of both the plaintiff and defense attorneys with a balanced approach • Provide a first hand opportunity for our students to learn from the attorneys on both sides of a landmark case • Examine the legacies of Buffalo Creek • Gather together the key personnel to preserve their actions and memories • To create an historical document for the future
Beyond our Borders Multidisciplinary Outreach: • Appalachian Studies Community • History • Social Sciences • Medical Community • Law Community
The ProgramTuesday, February 25 • 7:00 p.m. Lugar Courtroom • Film Screening by Mimi Pickering, Appalshop documentary filmmaker • Two films: • Buffalo Creek Flood: Act of Man • Buffalo Creek Revisited
Wednesday, February 26 1. Dennis Prince et al v. The Pittston Company Gerald Stern • Lead plaintiff attorney • Author • Keynote Speaker
Wednesday, February 26 2. Justice v. The Pittston Company Judge Philip Gaujot • Guardian Ad Litum for the Court • Precedence of Children’s Rights
Wednesday, February 26 3. The Mountain State v. The Pittston Company Jack Spadero Mine Health and Safety Expert Environmental Legacy
Wednesday, February 26 Closing Comments Dr. Kai Erikson Sociologist Author: Everything in its Path Loss of Community
Librarians as Co-Creators • Genesis of idea • Gather support from faculty and administration • Plan program • Invite Speakers • Arrange accommodations • Fundraising • Publicity and marketing
Selected Resources • Film: • Appalshop: http://appalshop.org/ for live streaming of Mimi Pickering's Buffalo Creek films. • Web: • West Virginia Division of Culture and History: http://www.wvculture.org/history/buffcreek/bctitle.html • Voices of Buffalo Creek The Charleston Gazette: http://www.wvgazette.com/static/series/buffalocreek/ • Buffalo Creek Disaster Marshall University: http://www.marshall.edu/library/speccoll/virtual_museum/buffalo_creek/html/ • Books: • Buffalo Creek Disaster by Gerald M. Stern • Everything in its Path by Dr. Kai Erikson • Buffalo Creek: Valley of Death by Dennis Deitz & Carlene Mowery.
Remembering Buffalo CreekPowerPointSlide NarrativeBibliography Stewart Plein http://www.academia.edu/