Primary Sources:
Roosevelt, Franklin D. The Public Papers and Addresses of Franklin D. Roosevelt, with a Special
Introduction and Explanatory Notes by President Roosevelt. New York, NY: Random
House, 1938.
This primary source contains the remarks made by President Roosevelt when he visited Johnstown after the city’s second major flood which occurred on St. Patrick’s Day in 1936. His visit on August 13, 1936 was the first step in the process of the WPA’s Johnstown project. I will use this source to set the setting for the beginning of the story.
Journal Articles:
Green, Sara (2006). “Enough Already!”: Caregiving and disaster preparedness – Two
faces of anticipatory loss. Journal of Loss & Trauma, 11(2), 201-214.
This article is about caring for a special needs child in an area that is prone to natural disasters. I will use this narrative to develop ideas about how to prepare children for disasters.
Nikapota, Anula (2006). After the tsunami: A story from Sri Lanka. International Review
of Psychiatry, 18(3), 275-279.
This article explores how children and adolescents are affected living through a natural disaster. This article talks about how children are treated for their protection regarding the death of family members. My story will contain similar incidents.
Dau, Isaiah, M. (2007). Following Jesus in a World of Suffering and Violence.
Evangelical Review of Theology, 31(4), 358-368.
This article is about human suffering. It explains the Christian explanation of suffering in the world among all people. The characters in my story will have a religious outlook on life that was common in the late 19th century and they will use their faith as the foundation of their survival and recovery.
Dugan, Bridget (2007). Loss of Identity in Disaster? How do you say goodbye to home?
Perspectives in Psychiatric Care, 34(1), 41-46.
This article is about the loss of culture following a natural disaster. This article is about Hurricane Katrina survivors. I will use the stories of those who lost everything in Hurricane Katrina to understand the similar situation during the Johnstown Flood.
Tsu, Timothy, & Hui, Yun (2008). Making Virtues of Disaster: “Beautiful tales” from the
Kobe Flood of 1938. Asian Studies Review, 32(2), 197-214.
This is an article with actual tales of heroic survival from a flood. This article is intended to be an uplifting narrative of self-affirmation. I will craft my story as a positive tale of survival and overcoming terrible adversity and this article will be a basis for that.
Glass, Kerrie, Flory, Kate, Hankin, Benjamin, L. Kloos, Bret, & Turecki, Gustavo
(2009). Are coping strategies, social support, and hope associated with
psychological distress among Hurricane Katrina survivors? Journal of Social &
Psychology, 28(6), 779-795.
This article discusses posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and general distress among Hurricane Katrina survivors. The article looks at different coping strategies and I will incorporate several of these strategies in my story’s characters.
Secondary sources:
Berger, Karl, ed. Johnstown, the Story of a Unique Valley. Johnstown, PA: Johnstown
Flood Museum, 1985.
This book is intended to be a through history of Johnstown, PA covering areas from geological make-up to the history of sports in the town. There are references to The New Deal and The United States Housing Act which provided low-income housing in Johnstown.
McCullough, David G. The Johnstown Flood. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster, 1968.
David McCullough’s book is a detailed account of the events surrounding the Johnstown flood of 1889. Included in his book is a brief history of Johnstown, PA.
Johnstown Area Heritage Association, Preserving Our Heritage, Revitalizing Our
Community. 1 Jan. 2009. Johnstown Area Heritage Association, Johnstown, PA.
16 Apr.
2009 <http://www.jaha.org/>.
This web-site is home to the web-site for the Johnstown Flood Museum. The Johnstown Flood Museum’s collection has a variety of documents and information regarding the flood of 1936 and the federal government’s response to it.
