By Regina Dennis

Tribune-Herald staff writer

MOODY – It was built as a scenic spot for Texans to observe and appreciate nature in all of its splendor.

Now, the park that former Texas Gov. Pat Neff dedicated to his mother is still struggling to recover from damaging flooding last year.

Three months of heavy rainfall flooded portions of Mother Neff State Park in 2007, covering its campgrounds and recreational centers with nearly 20 feet of water. The area, bordered by the Leon River, remained underwater for an additional three months after the rainfall ceased as the waters slowly receded, delaying cleanup efforts.

The effects of the flood are still apparent. A mound of dirt is all that remains of the former main office. Patches of green grass are beginning to grow in spots that once supported large pecan trees. Uphill, on the park’s eastern prairie land, the remains of the destroyed pecan, cedar and cottonwood trees are stacked in a pile to be burned to ash.

Related

• Flooding at Mother Neff State Park (August 2007)
• Aftermath of flood at Mother Neff State Park (October 2007)

Water flows over FM 236 in front of Mother Neff State Park during flooding in 2007. (Rod Aydelotte photo)

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Park Manager Leah Huth points to one of dozens of trees that were lost after the Leon River overflowed its banks, flooding Mother Neff State Park in 2007. (Rod Aydelotte photo)

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The historic rock recreation hall at Mother Neff State Park suffered extensive damage due to flooding in 2007. (Rod Aydelotte photo)

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A 2-foot-wide white stripe marking the peak of the floodwaters spans the roof of the historic rock reception hall building – one of two stone structures hand-crafted by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression era of the 1930s.

Though there is still much to be done to restore Mother Neff to its state before the flood, Park Manager Leah Huth said she is proud of the work that has been done to make the park usable for visitors.

“It’s a slow process, but we’ve been able to get most of the park back in order,” Huth said. “Mainly it’s been word-of-mouth, as far as letting people know there we’re still open, but hopefully as word gets around, more and more people will be interested and start to come back.”

The park’s campgrounds reopened this summer after being cleared of mud and debris from the flooding, and the trails are open for hikers to explore the park’s river and prairie ecosystems. Portable restrooms have been placed around the camping areas for visitors until the restroom facilities are usable, and the office has moved to a temporary building uphill from the campgrounds. One recent Saturday, the historic rock pavilion was rented out for a wedding, Huth said.

A number of visitors are slowly returning for daytime hiking in the park, Huth said. Hewitt resident Jeremy Young visited the park last week with his son 9-year-old son Johnathen, a Cub Scout.

“We’re just here to do a little exploring, work on earning some nature badges,” Young said as Johnathen surveyed a tree stump, another casualty of the flood. “We picked up some materials from the office on bird-watching, and we’ll go over some conservation lessons.”

Electrical work needed

Now the biggest holdup is turning electricity back on at the campgrounds, bathroom and shower facility and the rock buildings. Electricity also is needed to pump out standing floodwater in the sewer systems. Only the pavilion is able to be rented out in the daytime, and the number of visitors has decreased by about 50 percent because there are no lights in the campgrounds, Huth said.

“A lot of people, understandably, are not comfortable camping overnight without any electricity,” Huth said, adding that the camping rate has been discounted to $5 a day, plus the park entrance fee.

Huth said the park has been allocated $25,000 for the electrical work, but a backlog of contract work orders in the state’s park system has the job in limbo.

Another major holdup on the renovations has been a lack of sufficient funding, Huth said. The park was awarded $15,108 for equipment rentals, road repairs and the purchase of a temporary office building. Park officials have had to stretch the $46,146 annual operating budget to do most of the repairs. Officials also plan to move the campgrounds out of the floodplain, but that would require additional funding from the Texas Legislature.

Most of the restoration efforts have been done by the park’s four-person staff, from clearing hiking trails and the campgrounds to removing excess sand, clay and mud from around the park’s trees. The most labor-intensive work has been cleaning and preserving the rock pavilion, a popular venue for family reunions, weddings and receptions.

“Because of the old stone and the old wood, we’ve been limited from using modern technology because we’re trying to preserve it still — a power-washer would just destroy it,” Huth said. “We just had to get on a ladder and start from the top, washing it with soap and water and soft brushes.”

Park workers are in the process of gutting the recreational hall, removing its wood fixtures and wall paneling. The plumbing and electrical lines also will have to be replaced.

“I’d hate to put a timetable on it, because we’ve had so many delays in everything so far, but my dream is to have the electricity on by spring,” Huth said. “That way when winter is over, and people are feeling anxious to get outside, we’ll be ready for them to come.”

rdennis@wacotrib.com

757-5755