Ready, Windy, and Able

From our 19th century historian, Eudora Dickinson:

In 1853 three destructive hurricanes criss-crossed the Commonweatlh of Pennsylvania, and the trio of storms devastated the city of Washerst, the birthplace of Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson’s third cousin, twice removed – at her request).  We wrote about this terrible time in history HERE.
 
Soon after the third storm, Hurricane Euphemia, leveled what was left of the town, Emmett Lee Dickinson wrote his now-classic poem “On this long storm the storm surge rose.”  It was in this work that he coined the term and the concept of being "hunkered down." Dickinson also attempted to advance the notion of "hunkering up," but that idea never seemed to catch on with the public.

Below on the left:  Emmett Lee Dickinson's poem "On this long storm the storm surge rose."  Below on the right:  Third cousin Emily's poem "On this long storm the rainbow rose" which was inspired by Emmett Lee Dickinson's poem.
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By Emmett Lee Dickinson:
 
On this long storm the storm surge rose
On this late morn, no sun;
The clouds, like angry elephants,
Horizons hunkered down.
 
The sea rose roughly from the shore
The gales indeed were fierce
Alas! How evil was the eye
On whom the landfall pierced
 
The wild expanse of its breadth
At daybreak did appear
The shifting cone of uncertainty
Became wholly clear.
​

By Emily Dickinson:
 
On this long storm the rainbow rose,
On this late morn the sun ;
The clouds, like listless elephants,
Horizons straggled down.

The birds rose smiling in their nests,
The gales indeed were done ;
Alas !  how heedless were the eyes
On whom the summer shone !

The quiet nonchalance of death
No daybreak can bestir 
The slow archangel's syllables
Must awaken her.
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After the trio of hurricanes  destroyed Washerst and much of Pennsylvania, Emmett Lee Dickinson developed Hurricane Readiness Preparation Drills (HRPDs) which were adopted by the National Center for Hurricane Readiness and Preparation (NCHRP), an organization founded by Florence Nightingale’s third cousin, Matilda Nightingale.

Below:  Emmett Lee Dickinson's Hunker Down Apparatus

Below:  Dickinson' Hunker Up Apparatus

Pictured below:  Various apparatuses and exercises developed by Emmett Lee Dickinson as part of his Hurricane Readiness Preparedness Drills.   Left:  Wind Walking, an effective exercise for preparing to move through gale force winds. Center:  Dickinson's rowing device, used to prepare for flash floods (the modern day rowing machine comes directly from this early invention of Dickinson's).  Right:  Known as the "wet-dry apparatus," this device allowed for individuals in flooded homes to take turns staying dry.

Left:  Dickinson's "hunker down squats," an effective exercise for people who could not afford the high cost of Dickinson's Hunker Down Apparatus.  Center:  Flood Stilts,  what Dickinson called "the best defense" against a flooding storm surge. Right:  A high water defense developed by Dickinson called "Flood Stacking."

Left:  Dickinson's Hurricane Readiness Preparation Drills included trainings and maneuvers to deal with attacks by crustaceans.  Right:  If exercises, apparatuses, and drills failed, Dickinson's last resort was to run beach evacuation drills.