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80After the FloodChild Craft Industries, widely known for its children%u2019s furniture%u2014cribs, dressers, and accessories%u2014was once a major manufacturer in Salem. Then, in the summer of 2004, the town suffered a devastating flood when the Blue River overflowed its banks. Built in the flood plain, Child Craft%u2019s 750,000-square-foot building was, for a time, under five feet of water. When I visited the factory, I could see large areas of buckled flooring where the flood had heaved the foundation. It looked like a roller coaster%u2014or a Surrealist painting. All told, there was $12 million worth of damage. Knowing the facility could not recover, the company salvaged what it could. Tons of machinery, that had served faithfully for decades, was sold as scrap. To survive, it purchased an existing woodworking operation, 23 miles away in New Salisbury, and Child Craft left Salem behind.Founded in 1911, the plant had grown and prospered for years%u2014in the 1990s it had as many as 650 employees. But, at the time of the flood, employment was down to 250. Today, most of the original structure is empty, with only a portion used for storage, and another area occupied by a recycling business. Many former employees have transferred to New Salisbury.This was a place with a long history, where proud and skilled workers created quality products%u2014a place where fathers and sons worked side by side. But it could not escape the ravages of Mother Nature.Child Craft Industries, Salem%u2014Washington Co. (759.15)Child Craft Industries, Salem%u2014Washington Co. (751.05)