A native of Sanderson, Texas, Ramona Cearley (b. 1956) earned her master’s degree in
photojournalism from the University of Texas at Austin in 1989. She co-edited with
Frances Leonard and provided photographs for
In 1995, Cearley helped coordinate a 30th anniversary commemoration of the Sanderson
flood. On June 11, 1965, a flash flood hit the town of Sanderson, the county seat of
Terrell County. Twenty-four people died, two were never found, and about 450 lost
their homes. In the 1990s, Sul Ross State University graduate student Russell A.
Scogin began recording the survivors’ recollections of the flood, which provided a
renewed interest in the flood history. Subsequently, Scogin and Dr. Earl Elam of the
Center for Big Bend Studies published
In April 1995, Sanderson civic leader Blanche Zuberbueler was instrumental in
developing a three-day community history program about the flood and its effects on
the Sanderson area, sponsored by the Texas Committee for the Humanities (now
Humanities Texas), Friends of the Terrell County Public Library, and the Center for
Big Bend Studies. Dr. Elam, oral historian Jaclyn Jeffrey, and Richard Francaviglia
of the Center for Greater Southwestern Studies at the University of Texas at
Arlington served as panelists along with flood survivors at the program. In
conjunction with the program, the Terrell County Public Library hosted
Sources:
Riverkeeper. "Ramona Cearley." Riverkeeper.
The Ramona Cearley Collection, 1995, contains photographs, brochures, publications, correspondence, and photocopies of news clippings for the 1995 photographic exhibit, "Sanderson: An Exhibit in Commemoration of the Flood of 1965." The photographs by Cearley depict the community and survivors of the flood, while the publications and photocopies describe the history of Sanderson and the flood’s effects on the area. Additionally, the correspondence and brochures pertain to the production of the history program and exhibit by Cearley and the Terrell County Public Library.
This collection is open for research use.
Ramona Cearley retains copyright to photographs she produced. She has granted permission for any non-profit use of the materials but must be contacted for any for-profit use. She requires credit as photographer for any use whatsoever.
Ramona Cearley Collection, 1995, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.
Basic processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with funds from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) for the Briscoe Center’s “History Revealed: Bringing Collections to Light project,” 2009-2011.