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Book Review
By Joe Malloy
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

In late summer, when storms lash the coast, and seaside communities are battered by wind and rising surge, many folks in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia get a bad sinking feeling. They dread the inward path of the storm because the fierce low which churns and rolls through the flatlands can get stuck in their mountains. Hurricane Camille of 1969 was such a storm.

There has been a raised interest in Hurricane Camille since Katrina reset the record books in 2005 for damage and destruction. At one time it appeared that Katrina might follow Camille’s path into the Blue Ridge but it did not. A new book and new play about Camille have been highlighted in the local newspaper. In 1998, Charlotte Morgan published One August Day; a novel, that uses Camille as a backdrop for her drama. Her story follows five fictitious characters on August 18, 1969, as they converge toward the Davis Creek area of Nelson County.

There were eight unclaimed bodies found after Camille. There were many who remained lost. This is also true for Katrina. The Medical Examiners were able to determine much about the victims except who they were and why were they were there on that day in August. Morgan’s voice is clear and steady as each character winds their way toward the final deluge. The characters are in constant motion, each dealing with their own hurricane of sorts. The storm stays in the background as the characters are propelled closer and closer to the dark mountain hollows. The storm dumped 25 inches of rain in five hours as it stalled. A total of 36 inches of rain was recorded in the 24-hour period.

Charlotte Morgan’s book can be found in the Faculty Collection PS 3563 .08245 05 1998.

Another work on Camille is Torn Land, by Paige Shoaf Simpson and Jerry H. Simpson, Jr. published in 1970 by JP Bell, which can be found in the Cochran Library Stacks F 232 .N25 S5