Natchez and especially Vidalia residents were in turmoil for about two to three weeks in May over the rising Mississippi River. The anticipated watery event was quickly dubbed the Great Flood of 2011. Some Vidalia businesses relocated their offices to Natchez, and some residents packed and moved their homes’ entire contents to safety.

One day, I would get panicky and box up my picture albums and my best wedding china; then the next day, I’d decide that it could never happen and look at my taped-up cartons with apathy.

Most locals had never experienced a flood unless they live in Anna’s Bottom or Minorca, because this was the highest the river had risen since the levee system has been in place. The infamous flood of 1927, when the Mississippi River surged through towns, homes and farms, is only remembered by a few still living.

While this flooding is fresh on our minds, I thought you would be interested in viewing local photographs taken by Miss-Lou citizens of the Great Flood of 2011. Plus, we have a traveling photographic exhibit from the Mississippi Museum of Archives and History. It is titled, “A River Unleashed: the 1927 Mississippi River Flood,” which includes 15 panels detailing through photographs and maps that catastrophic event. Further, the newspaper coverage of the recent flooding from the point of view of The Natchez Democrat, the Concordia Sentinel and the Woodville Republican is on display.

Local photographers featured are Aimee Guido of Natchez, Deborah Martin of Natchez, Gene Nunnery, Mississippi State Farm Service Agency in Woodville; Andy J. Lewis, Woodville Republican editor; Tracey Bruce, Concordia Sentinel photographer and writer; James Johnson, Claiborne County Administrator; and Fayla Guedon of Natchez.

Come to the Co-Lin Library and see some great photographs and an historical exhibit.

The 1927 Mississippi River flood was one of the most devastating natural disasters in our nation’s history. The flood displaced 700,000 people and killed hundreds. The exhibit illustrates the damage caused when nearly 26,000 square miles of land in seven states were inundated with water up to 30-feet deep.

The exhibit shows how national attention focused on Mississippi and the Lower Mississippi River Valley as hundreds of thousands were forced to rely on relief provided by agencies such as the Red Cross. But the quality and quantity of the aid were often determined along racial lines. Out of the chaos would come the first comprehensive flood control plan for the lower Mississippi region, under the responsibility of the federal government. This is the very reason that the Great Flood of 2011 did not destroy our Miss-Lou communities; the levees held strong.

Joe McFarland, Corps of Engineers chief of operations and maintenance in the Vidalia area, said people are trying to compare the two floods but they are really two distinct events and cannot be paralleled.

In 1927, there were no levees and the Mississippi River freely rushed across several states causing horrific damage. Today’s levee system, courtesy of the Corps, saved this area from most of the recent flooding. Luckily, Vidalia and Natchez stayed basically dry excluding the Louisiana riverfront and areas not within the protective levees. Parts of Vicksburg, Woodville, Fayette and states north of us were not as fortunate.

The river actually reached 61.24 feet; its highest, on May 23.

The Hesco box made its Miss-Lou debut at the beginning of May and soon was a new word in everyone’s vocabulary. Vidalia Mayor Hyram Copeland said the use of the boxes was recommended by the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness. They had been used successfully with the BP oil spill and were also ideal for flooding.

So, Hesco boxes were stacked on Silver Street and around the four structures at the riverfront allowing properties to keep dry for about a month. They caused quite a sensation, sightseers and photographers vied for the best views from the bluffs and, while crossing the bridge which caused a couple traffic accidents. The baskets worked amazingly well, according to Mayor Copeland, “but it is going to take longer to dismantle them than it took to put them up.”

Now that the flood anxiety has passed, come into the Copiah-Lincoln Community College Library and view the Great Flood of 2011 and the Flood of 1927 photographic exhibit. The library is located in the Tom Reed Academic Center and opens at 7:30 every day.

It is on display now and will be through the end of August. The entire Miss-Lou community is invited. For more information, call the library at 601-446-1101.

Nancy McLemore is director of the Willie Mae Dunn Library at Copiah-Lincoln Community College in Natchez.