Maybe river bottom homes need stilts

I grew up in southern Indiana a few miles from the Ohio River. From a high perch in the oak tree in our backyard, I could see Kentucky.

Nearly a mile wide inside its banks, the river would flood every spring covering thousands of acres with muddy water. A levee kept the Ohio out of town, and hardly anybody lived in the floodplain.

There were, however, a number of river camps scattered along its banks. They were all built on stilts.

I didn’t know anyone who owned a river camp, but I always found them fascinating. Little more than shacks on poles, they survived the worst floods year after y...