Yodkins-Morin Memorial

Yodkins-Morin Memorial. . , During the week of August 12, 1955, the Farmington Valley was hit by the edge of Hurricane Connie. The area received heavy rainfall that saturated beds of the Farmington River. The following week, Hurricane Diane swept through the Atlantic Coast, releasing more torrential rain on the area. Water accumulated rapidly in the already strained waterways of the Farmington Valley. In the early morning hours of August 19, 1955, the water silently reached its critical mass on the riverbanks and rushed into the sleeping Farmington Valley below. The powerful currents took houses off their foundations and carried them and cars down the streets. Local police officers and firefighters sprang into action, trying to locate and help victims trapped in their homes., Farmington Police Officer Charles J. Yodkins, Sr. had already rescued many Farmington residents that day. When he learned of the stranded Frey family in the River Glen neighborhood, Officer Yodkins located a boat at the home of Joseph J. Morin, Jr., a local college student. Mr. Morin agreed to help Officer Yodkins rescue the helpless neighbors with his boat. While loading the Frey family into the boat, it capsized and Yodkins, Morin, and the Frey family perished in the raging flood waters., The Carnegie Hero Fund awarded Officer Yodkins and Mr. Morin the Carnegie Medal for their life-saving efforts., On the 50th anniversary of their death, the Farmington Police Department posthumously awarded Officer Yodkins the Department's Medal of Valor, and Mr. Morin the Citizen's Award.