Galveston survives again
Lewis Delavan

We'd looked forward to visiting Galveston, Texas' beaches. It was a stop en route to the Grand Canyon.

It would be a memorable vacation for an 11-year-old, but became completely different from our plans.

Singer Glen Campbell of Billstown, Ark. (or suburban Delight, Ark.) had written a best-selling song about the popular resort town. It would be great to actually see it.

The weather didn't cooperate. It was stormy; a powerful hurricane was brewing in the Gulf of Mexico. Tropical cyclone paths are unpredictable, so we hoped for the best.

The first day was nice, but the skies turned dark and the water brown.

It would become the Gulf of Mexico's only category 5 hurricane and one of history's greatest storms — Hurricane Camille.

Some 6,000 perished in the Galveston hurricane of 1900, including a Malvern family. The 1969 hurricane was stronger, but Camille's eye was well to the east, near Bay St. Louis, Miss.

Our family had to leave early. Winds and waves whipped our packed ferry as it returned to Beaumont. I recall not wanting to be in a storm far out in the ocean.

Since then, the pretty barrier island has remained close to my heart. Texassized Hurricane Ike last weekend was much broader than Camille, but caused less loss of life than feared.

Arkansas had its share of flooding in Camille's path.

Benton Mayor Rick Holland told me recently the greatest flooding he's seen in the Benton area came in its aftermath.

And DeGray Dam near Arkadelphia was still under construction at the time. The raging Caddo River quickly filled DeGray Reservoir, causing some concern in the area.

Some shout "Global Warming!" as the cause of hurricanes in recent years.

But there have been two significant periods of heightened tropical cyclone activity in the Gulf, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. And it's not now.

The first peak occurred from 1900 to 1920, when 11 major hurricanes crossed the Gulf coast. The second peak occurred from 1960 to 1980, when 10 major cyclones crossed the Gulf.

The climate is warming by a small amount. It's not at all conclusive whether it's a normal long-term climatic fluctuation, or man-made.

Back to 1969: Our vacation plans completely changed.

A great-aunt was extremely sick in Beaumont and passed away the night we left Galveston.

Our trip's focus changed from the Grand Canyon to a funeral in northwest Missouri.

But everything wasn't bad. My cousins taught me how to ride a bicycle at the Fairfax farm, something I'd tried but never accomplished before.

Despite dire warnings, Galveston survived for another day. Maybe I'll go there next year, before global warming wipes it out.

Lewis Delavan is editor of the Saline County Voice.