Louis and Chris Rotello (interview); Creator: Rotello, Louis; and Chris Rotello; Interviewer(s): Nicholas Thomas Cordaro; Interview location: The Rotello's home in Danbury, CT; Running time: 43 min., Apr 21, 1995

Coverage: 1955-1995
Topics discussed : (side A) (interview begins w/ Mrs. Rotello); Life in Danbury during 1950s and 1960s; before most women worked; she was married w/ children at the time; more small town atmosphere (everybody knew each other); more family center (they were active in town); more interesting things began happening in 1960s; they were active in Civil Rights movement; Family in Danbury; she is a life; long resident and descendent from three of the original eight founding families in Danbury; Working; wasn't working at time of flood; went back to school (went to WestConn); later taught; her husband also taught; Danbury activities; theaters, restaurants; most entertainment came from family a friends or would go to NYC; Memories of the 1955 Flood; two floods (August and October); October was worse; kept raining all week; they were in White Plains, NY visiting friends at the time and on the way home, the rain really picked up; they knew something was going to happen; lived on Division St. at the time; Flooding of Danbury; listening to the radio, heard how White St. was flooding; began to see flooding in the house; Rt. 7 was all under water; took several years for her to not worry when she heard steady rain fall (interview now being done w/ Mr. Rotello); Memories of the flood; teaching in Weston, CT; that August, it rained for several days; he was delivering produce to Carmel, NY; as he got to Brewster, NY, he saw the railroad track under water; October flood; ground was wet and localized flooding in some areas (Lake Ave. and Danbury Fair grounds); the roads were flooded, especially White St. area; the basement of their house was flooded (he had to go down to shut off the electricity and care to appliances); Other businesses; tried to salvage what they could and sell it for whatever they could get; "The Swamp"; area where the WestConn parking garage is today; Rescue efforts; helicopters were needed to rescue some people; Visual material of flood; neither have any visual materials of the flood; didn't really take pictures of the area (spent most time out of time); lived in Danbury, but worked outside city; Names of other people from flood; Ben Dodo; Robert Feinson; Ace Hardware (Ginsbergs); Targett Laundry; The Scalzos; Flood control and urban renewal; federal government came in w/ the core engineers; surveyed the river beds and built side walls to sustain river; rerouted the Still River away from area to prevent further flooding; redeveloped the White St. area; left other areas untouched