'River Voices' culminates the 75-Year 1937 Flood Commemorative Week

Jan. 11, 2012

As part of the "75-Year 1937 Flood Commemorative Week" at Shawnee State University, a re-mastered version of "River Voices: A Portrait of an American River Community," about the 1937 flood in Portsmouth will be presented at 7 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 27, at SSU's Vern Riffe Center for the Arts main theater. The event is free and open to the public but tickets are required.

"This event will culminate the 75-Year 1937 Flood Commemorative Week," said John Lorentz, Special Assistant to the Provost for International Program Development and professor emeritus at SSU who produced the documentary. "We found survivors who recalled both the devastation and the outpouring of community strength caused by the great flood in Portsmouth."

His son, Nathan Lorentz, wrote and directed "River Voices" about the flood in 2002. The film, starring Noah Adams, was chosen by the Ohio Academy of History as a "most outstanding contribution to Ohio Public History" and has aired on Public Television (PBS).

WNXT radio personality Steve Hayes will be emcee for the event. WSAZ Chief Meteorologist Tony Cavalier, will be featured in a pre-show event. He will be talking about the weather 75 years ago as it came in a deluge over the Tri-State area causing the worst flood of the 20th century, the "Thousand Year Flood."

Also appearing are Portsmouth Mayor David Malone, who will talk about Portsmouth and the flood; SSU Provost David Todt; and Pegi Wilkes director of Cirque d' Art will present students in a dance routine to the theme music of "River Voices."

All events on the 1937 flood during the week are free and open to the public. Four tickets are available per person for the showing of "River Voices" until theater capacity is reached and may be picked up in advance at the McKinley Box Office in the Vern Riffe Center for the Arts. The last showing on campus was filled to capacity, so people are encouraged to pick up their tickets early.

For more information, call the McKinley Box Office at (740) 351-3600.