It was a very hot summer in Evansville, in 1955. Several days of humid 95-degree unrelenting heat had driven local residents out of their homes, which were, at that time, not air-conditioned. They found relief anywhere they could and that's what sent Naomi Johnson, her three children, and Naomi's friend Louise Lamble to the Dogtown area of West Evansville to swim in the cool water of the Ohio River. It was August 21, 1955.
The Ohio can look intimidating and sometimes a bit frightening. However, the big river is only about 15 feet deep at Evansville and after it turns north and makes the big loop downtown and heads south, it's moving at only about a mile an hour. That made the Dogtown area of the river very smooth and welcoming on that hot summer day.