Rossiter, Pennsylvania Flood
March 1936
RAGING FLOODS
Tuesday 's flood, which caused untold damage and
suffering in many sections of Indiana county
took its heaviest toll a Rossiter, where an
entire family perished when the home was swept
away by the swirling waters following the
bursting of the dame at Francis mine late that
afternoon. The victims were MR. and MRS. RUSSEL
SAYE and their two little daughters ETHEL MAE,
aged 6 and DORA aged 4.
The bodies of Saye, aged 35, and daughter
Dora were found late last night while the bodies
of Mrs. Saye and her daughter, Mae, swept two
miles away were recovered this morning.
Kostic Oshenic, who lived with the Saye
family and who escaped a similar fate when he
clutched a limb of the tree told the following
story of the tragedy to County Coroner John
Woods today:
"Russ and I had worked all night," Oshenic said,
"came home together and slept until around four
o'clock when I was awakened by shouts of alarm.
We all gathered together on the first floor but
before we could do anything, the water had
reached our knees and Russ and his wife picked
up the two girls and we hurried to the second
floor. The water came right up after us. I
climbed through a window and up on the roof and
pulled the others up after me.
"But the houses was on posts and it was not
long until we felt it break away. I was
terrible. We whirled around unsteadily on the
roof for just a short second, it seemed, when
there was a crash as the house hit a large tree
and went to pieces. That was the last I saw of
Russ, his wife and their children,"
Indiana Weekly Messenger, Indiana, PA
19 Mar 1936
Transcribed by Lori.
Thanks, Lori!
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