Thomas “Tom” L. Bonner was born in Gladwin, West Virginia in 1921. Bonner took part in West Virginia’s Civilian Conservation Corps and went on to serve in the United States Air Force during World War II. After the war, he returned home to Tucker County, where he lived with his wife, Freddie Rachel Waybright Bonner. Tom was working as a local bus driver when devastating floods struck the region in the fall of 1985. 

Scope and Content Note
Michael Kline conducted the interview with Thomas Bonner on February 9th, 1986. Bonner recalls growing up and attending a small grade school in the Tucker County area. After he finished school, Bonner worked on his father’s farm until he decided to enlist in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). At CCC camp, Bonner helped with road construction, telephone line maintenance, and timber surveys while receiving pay and board in return. Although he briefly left West Virginia to serve in the Second World War, Bonner lived along the river for most of his life. There, he and Freddie raised five children. Bonner explains that he had witnessed high water levels in his lifetime, but that he and his family had still vastly underestimated the river during the 1985 flood. Both Tom and Freddie recount the events of the evening of November 4th, when the floods swept through their barn. That night, the family lost Tom’s brother, Raymond Bonner, along with Raymond’s wife Dorothy, to the flood. Despite their best efforts to save them, debris from the storm and the force of the flood waters thwarted rescue attempts by both family members and the fire department. Bonner reflects on his relationships with his brothers and the emotional toll of Raymond’s death.