The Indomitable Dominoes Set and the Great Flood of 1927

Fred Abare's handcrafted dominoes set emerges from floodwaters (mostly) intact, continues generations of play

This month's pop-up library and history artifact at the Waterbury Area Senior Center featured a set of dominoes handcrafted by Fred Abare, who lived on Winooski Street with his wife Clara and 9 children.

Skip Flanders presented the set, telling a little bit about the Abare family and their experience of the 1927 Flood. When they returned to Winooski Street after the floodwaters receded, they found their apartment detached from the house and sitting in the neighbor's yard. Of the few possessions they were able to salvage, the dominoes set was one of them! Fred later crafted replacement pieces for the few that had floated away.

Librarian DeAnna Romstad brought dominoes-related resources and the library's own set for patrons to check out.

Look for Skip's article on the Abare family and their indomitable dominoes in our winter issue of Preservation News!

Fred Abare (1890-1983) and Clara D. Abare (1896-1969)

Waterbury Public Library has a number of dominoes-related resources.