Insert the videotape of 20 May 2004 into your VCR and press the menu-button to display the time elapsed. When the Sulphur Springs Airport appears, clear or reset the timer to 0:00:00.
The tape opens with aerial views of Cooper Lake, its dam and spillway.
At 0:02:10, there is footage of the South Sulphur River east of Cooper Lake. In eastern Delta County you can see evidence of the river-straightening which ultimately caused the logjam at State Highway 37 between Mount Vernon and Bogata. Both the North and South Sulphur Rivers were straightened. Their new paths do not necessarily follow the political boundaries of Delta, Hopkins and Lamar Counties, as these boundaries were originally marked by the old riverbeds.
At 0:02:30, note the lake and "drainage ditches" near the straightened North Sulphur River. The power line shown here runs from Paris to Sulphur Springs and crosses the Sulphur Rivers a couple of miles west of their new confluence. There are a rural community and cemetery known as Kensing in Delta County a couple of miles west of this power line.
At 0:04:40, the rice paddies and drainage channels of the European immigrant farmer are quite obvious. You can see the levee that he has constructed alongside the straightened river channels and drainage ditches that he has dug to supply water to his rice farm and duck-hunting retreat. Apparently he has special permission from the State to divert river water to his rice-farming operations, all of which would be destroyed or lost to mitigation by the George Parkhouse Reservoirs.
At 0:05:30, the video deals with the logjam. You can see a southward view of Dawson Lake near the McConnell and Lindsey properties. Then the plane circled around the logjam, and it is completely visible from all directions. You can clearly see how the river formed a new bed for itself, south of the logjam, following the overflow channels from Sanders Slough north of Talco. East of the logjam, the old riverbed simply peters out into a new marshland, where creeks now empty into swamps, out into the middle of nowhere. Note the various shades of green (from yellowish to grayish) in the forestland. Obviously these shades of green denote clusters of different sorts of trees. At 0:06:30 there is a northward view of Dawson Lake.
At 0:08:20, the video shows the bridge over the Sulphur River at the Titus-Red River County Road between Greenhill and Cuthand. The first view of the bridge is looking north from the east side of the bridge; then we circled around over the river, and the second view of the bridge is looking south from the west side of the bridge. The McKelvey property at the northeastern intersection of the river and the bridge is visible. The river looks quite clear along here. There are no signs of any major logjams or other impediments to its flow.
At 0:10:10, there are general views of the river between Sugar Hill and Greater Dalby. Most of the area in the rest of the video would be flooded and buried underneath the Marvin Nichols Reservoir, including millions of trees.
Which lake is shown at 0:10:25? This is a fairly large lake (upper lefthand corner), as yet unidentified, as well as logging roads; some of this footage is certainly north of the Broseco Ranch.
Which County Roads are shown at 0:12:00 and 0:12:30?
Which lake is shown at 0:13:00? This lake would probably be near to and north of the Shumake property.
At 0:13.15, you can see logging trails where landowners have been cutting trees for sale to the timber companies.
At 0:14:05, there are views of the area along US Highway 259 (Longview to Idabel) at the Sulphur River Bridge, about a mile north of Interstate 30. The Weston property, located on both sides of Highway 259 at the Sulphur River, is shown, first from a northeastern angle and then from a southwestern angle. If you know where to look, you can catch a glimpse of their riverside motorboat pier. You can see the power line that parallels the highway on the east side, running through the Weston property. And the English Dairy on the west side of US 259 can also be seen.
From 0:15:10 the video concludes with views of the Marvin Nichols Reservoir dam site, which would be about a mile west of the bridge on Highway 259 and a mile south of the Roberts Cemetery in West Dalby; and at 0:15:15 you can see a small lake near the Shumake property, a few miles farther upstream. Or is this the English Dairy?
The video ends at 0:15:50.
This explanation of the video may be revised and expanded later for Internet purposes. It is meant to be viewed in conjunction with the series of 30 aerial photographs, which are available online.
http://www.sulphurriver.net/aerial.html
Robert Russell
Mount Pleasant, Texas
4 July 2004