Calls to evacuate beginning shortly after midnight Friday, May 12, held loss of life in Guadalupe County to one -- James C. Spencer who resided on a houseboat at McQueeney -- but property damage by the swirling waters of the swollen Guadalupe River, Geronimo and Cibolo Creeks will be in the millions.
    At Starcke Park, the Guadalupe River crested at 32.5 feet, just six inches shy of the record setting 1952 flood, shortly after 8 a.m.  Rainfall in the area from May 5-12 was in excess of 12 inches.
    And the problems didn't end with the flooding as tornadoes reportedly touched down in already ravaged Parkview Estates and Glen Cove as well as Keller Heights and Ander Heights between 4:30 and 5 p.m. Tuesday, May 16.  The William B. Brown home on Chaparral sustained some tornado damage as did a rock fence at the Rev. Sam Gottlich home in Glen Cove, and a fence and trees at the Gene Dagel and L. W. Blessing homes, Keller Heights.
    A. E. Hoffman, whose farm is near the Randolph AFB auxiliary landing field, reported that the twister's path was clearly visible at his place.  A barn and building were damaged.  A horse belonging to Leslie Siltmann is also reported to have been killed by the twister.  The roof of the Johnny Harborth Home, Rt. 2, was folded back by the tornado and a barn demolished.  The golf ball sized hail did heavy crop damage between Seguin and Geronimo.
    At the height of the flood some 65 homes in Glen Cove were submerged to the rooftops and this residential subdivision sustained the heaviest damage in the county. An additional hazard in the Meadow lake area was exploding butane tanks.
    Other hard hit areas were Treasure Island, all homes along Lake McQueeney and Lake Placid waterfronts, Elmwood, as well as mobil homes in the path of the Cibolo and Geronimo creeks.
    Even though Seguin water remained uncontaminated, the liquid became a precious commodity when two motors from the water plant had to be sent to San Antonio for repairs.  The supply is now back to normal.
    Homeowners on the Springs Hill Water Supply Corporation lines not only found a shortage of water but had to boil water for drinking until the lines were completely cleaned out late Monday.  McQueeney residents also had to boil their water.
    Only a handful of homes were spared flood damage in Glen Cove (those on the hillside), about a dozen in Parkview Estates, a few on Treasure Island and another handful in Elmwood.
    Police Captain Leroy Schneider said the city was "lucky" because the residents could be given 30 minutes to two hours notice that the water was coming.
    "We prepared when we heard there was a heavy downpour beyond Canyon Dam," the police captain explained.
    The county is apparently on an "every 20 years" flood timetable as the Guadalupe has flooded in 1932, 1952, and again on May 12, 1972.
    The National Guard was mobilized at 1 a.m. Friday and remained on duty to control swarms of sightseers in the flood stricken areas as well as to deter looters.  They were released from their posts Sunday morning.  Although no charges have been filed, there have been numerous reports of looting particularly in the vicinity of Lake Placid.
    MAST helicopter crews flew over the area for several days and rescued some 30 persons from the McQueeney area and several from Parkview Estates as well as other flooded areas of the county.
    Spencer, the county's lone drowning victim to date, was recovered from the Guadalupe River late Tuesday morning in the vicinity of TP4.  Other bodies recovered in Guadalupe County have also been New Braunfels residents who were washed down stream by the force of the flood waters.  The death count stood at 17 in Comal County with five persons still missing; however, the total could go even higher.
Seguin Enterprise, May 18, 1972