Luncheon will explore flood of 1937 1/9/2008 By Beth Wilberding Messenger-Inquirer The flood of 1937 covered 8.1 million acres in several states, killing 137 people in 10 states. The Owensboro Area Museum of Science and History has photographs, newspapers and other documents from the 1937 flood, and the natural disaster will be the topic next week of the second in the Arts Teach All luncheon series. Arts Teach All is a collaboration between The Learning Community and eight area cultural organizations. The area museum's program will be Monday and feature a PowerPoint presentation by Rick Bell, executive director of the Marine Hospital in Louisville. Kathy Olson, executive director of the area museum, said they wanted to host an event that would link either an exhibit, historical event or scientific fact with the Arts Teach All program. The 71st anniversary of the flood is this month, so Olson suggested it as their topic. "It was such a pivotal event," she said. "It was such a life-altering event." The first Arts Teach All luncheon was held last month at the Owensboro Area Museum of Fine Art. Tracy Marksberry, executive director of The Learning Community, said 20 people attended the first lunch, and they were thrilled with the turnout. "The art museum did a great job hosting that event," she said. "It's an eye-opener for people who have not visited the organization before. ... That's the whole idea of the program, to expose people to these wonderful organizations. I'm really pleased with how it's going so far." The other organizations involved are the International Bluegrass Music Museum, Owensboro Public Art Commission, Owensboro Symphony Orchestra, RiverPark Center, Theatre Workshop of Owensboro and Western Kentucky Botanical Garden. Bell has been studying the 1937 flood for more than 20 years. He first got involved with the 50th anniversary of the flood, and he published "The Great Flood of 1937" last year. "I've been interested in it since I was a child," he said. He grew up on the west end of Louisville in the Portland neighborhood, and his parents lived through the flood. He grew up hearing those stories. Though his presentation will focus on the impact of the flood in Louisville, it will also discuss the general impact of the great flood because it affected the entire Ohio Valley. "You live in a different community today because of how they responded in '37," Bell said. That includes infrastructure such as flood walls along with public health improvements, he said. For example, in Louisville, 220,000 residents were inoculated for typhoid, Bell said, and there were no reported cases of the disease in the city after the flood. That sparked a proactive take on public health, he said. Olson said the Arts Teach All program is a "wonderful idea." "It gives each institution the chance to showcase a program or artifacts or educational experience with an adult audience in a very short time frame," she said. -- To Attend The next Arts Teach All luncheon will be from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday at the Owensboro Area Museum of Science and History. Cost is $15 per person, and reservations are required by Thursday. To make a reservation or for more information, contact Tracy Marksberry at The Learning Community at tmarksberry@owensboro.com or 926-4339. February's Arts Teach All luncheon is scheduled for the International Bluegrass Music Museum, and March's is planned for the RiverPark Center.