Somerset, Indiana: Evidence, Documentation, Witnesses

Heartland History Interview 5 - Research/Historical Process in When Once Destroyed

In this January 1955 letter the executive secretary of the Indiana Flood Control and Water Resources Commission, Robert Kellum, advised the publisher of the Wabash Plain Dealer, Joe Nixon, how to pass along what the Army wanted known about the still hidden plan that would drown Somerset in the Upper Wabash Valley Flood Control Project.

Prior to my When Once Destroyed interview with Joshua Kluever and Kevin Mason for the Heartland History podcast in March, I enjoyed answering their thoughtful questions about my work describing the destruction of Somerset, Indiana and surrounding farm land for the Mississsinewa Reservoir in the Upper Wabash Valley Flood Control Project as directed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Indiana Flood Control and Water Resources Commission. For a few days I'll be sharing my responses here.

What sources proved most essential to reconstructing the town’s life: newspapers, land records, oral histories, photographs, or something else?

The papers of Ralph Roessler, and the papers of Congressman Beamer, and Congressman Roush that included the letters of constituents. Those constituent letters and the witness interviews were essential for facts and flavor. Roessler’s diary was like a road map. Newspaper articles were also essential. Often the witness interviews led me to new sources. I was lucky. For instance, being able to access the Army cemetery removal primary source document through someone that someone else told me was on the cemetery board at the time (who has since died) that gave me precise information about the day my grandmother’s grave was moved that my brother described to me because he was there. That sort of thing happened a lot.  Forgive me for feeling at times like I was “meant” to tell this story. 

Larry Knee, Kay (Shroyer) Peas, and Janet (Shroyer) Schenkel spoke with me at Kay's home in Wabash

Janet and play practice fatality Jim Minnick were classmates at Somerset High

Aunt Vernie's grandsonTom Snyder and my late sister, Vern's daughter Linda, were essential sources.

Were there moments when the archive pushed back against your assumptions or memories?

In the interviews, sometimes, but not much really in the research.  What I found was mostly affirming. I did laugh when Aunt Janet Weaver told me that people thought John Huddleston was a communist, only to find evidence it was true. Overall, I’d say the truth of the matter was more damning than I had assumed. To find a letter to a newspaper publisher in which the state commission executive secretary passed along how the army wanted the project to be portrayed before it was made public pushed forward my assumptions about how power works in its oppression of the powerless. Damn, it’s worse than I imagined. 

How did you evaluate the reliability of oral histories, especially when recollections conflicted with written records?

That’s an interesting question that for which I’d like to hear your academic understanding. Eyewitness accounts took priority for me, especially over “official” versions and over the memories of people who were not witnesses. The accounts connected to the moving of the graves was a prime example of how that worked. My brother was there. My cousin, who was not, recounted a version of events that was like what officials at the time said would happen. I noted, but discounted in my text, an oral interview account from an aide to Congressman Roush that overstated Roush’s role in the flood control project. My reliability assessment was based on evidence. I tried to keep the reader in on what was going on as part of my conversation with the new Vern. Did I have an obligation to correct my uncle Wayne’s 90 year old memory or simply tell my grandson what he said? He remembers street movies in Red Bridge. Okay.  He remembers differently from my sister how long Mom and Dad lived on a rented farm after the war. Do I need to pick a side? I tried not to stand between my sources and my grandson/audience. I’m telling you what they said. 

What challenges did you face in writing about people who were family members, neighbors, or acquaintances?

Oddly, I discovered that when I verified with people that I would be using what they had told me, I was overly sensitive.  Are you sure, I’d say. Kay and Janet Shroyer with the Minnick story, Rose with the tornado story. Transcribing hours of phone and in person recording was not fun but it made me accurate. 

How did landscape and geography shape both your research process and your interpretation of the town’s decline?

The greatest distance Judy and I had to travel for research was Bloomington, around three hours away from our home in South Bend. Without the availability of online newspapers and documents we would not have been able to do the research. Being able to step into the space enhanced my obligation and my ability to visualize. It’s a little town, right? What’s the big deal?  Walking on the remnants of Somerset and my grandparents’ farm while being in the process of creating this story is profound. In visiting the re-located Pleasant Grove cemetery where my parents and grandparents are buried, I see names on markers that I had not recognized before I started telling my grandson about Dad. I recognize them now. Florence Roby. Omma Sweet. That again speaks to a different obligation than what I would feel in a traditionally academic approach. Did Elie Wiesel need a fact checker?