1997 Red River Valley Flood Collection, 1997-

1997 Red River Valley Flood Collection

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Collection Overview

Title: 1997 Red River Valley Flood Collection, 1997-

ID: OGLMC1351

Extent: 39.25 Linear Feet

Date Acquired: 00/00/1997

Subjects: Grand Forks - Floods, Grand Forks County, North Dakota - Floods, Red River Valley Flood of 1997, University of North Dakota - 1997 Red River Valley Flood

Languages: English

Scope and Contents of the Materials

The 1997 Red River Valley Flood Collection has been divided into ten series as follows:

Series 1: Personal Accounts

Series 2: Media Coverage

Series 3: Publications

Series 4: Governmental Organizations

Series 5: Photographs

Series 6: Audio-Visuals

Series 7: University of North Dakota

Series 8: Grand Forks Greenway

Series 9: Artifacts

Series 10: Miscellaneous

Collection Historical Note

The winter of 1996-1997 was unusually harsh as eight blizzards struck the Grand Forks region of the Red River Valley. The last and one of the most severe, Blizzard Hannah, occurred April 4-6, 1997. When the snow began to melt and the Red River began to rise, the people of Grand Forks and East Grand Forks began flood preparations in earnest. However, the cities' preparations did not anticipate the extent of the flooding. Flood preparations were made to protect the cities from a 49-foot flood crest; the actual flood crested at 54.33 feet on Tuesday, April 22. On April 18, the Red River began to overrun temporary dikes along the river. Those areas in immediate danger were evacuated. As the river continued to rise without any hint of slowing, the entire cities of Grand Forks and East Grand Forks were evacuated on April 19. On that same day, a fire broke out in downtown Grand Forks that destroyed 11 buildings, including one entire block. During the evacuation, University of North Dakota and city of Grand Forks employees remained behind to continue to protect what they could from the still rising river crest and to perform those various administrative and governmental functions that needed to be done. On Thursday, April 24, government officials began to allow people back into the driest areas of town to visit their homes and begin the cleanup process. While the majority of the cleanup itself was finished by the end of the 1997 summer, reconstruction of destroyed basements, houses, and buildings has continued into 2000. In addition to these reconstruction efforts, the cities of Grand Forks and East Grand Forks have been developing flood abatement strategies, most notably a 54-foot dike system in Grand Forks and a Greenway along the Red River itself.

Subject/Index Terms

Grand Forks - Floods
Grand Forks County, North Dakota - Floods
Red River Valley Flood of 1997
University of North Dakota - 1997 Red River Valley Flood

Administrative Information

Repository: Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections

Access Restrictions: Open for inspection under the rules and regulations of the Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections.

Acquisition Method: The collection has received numerous donations from a variety of individual donors.

Related Publications: Please search the library catalog for a complete list

Preferred Citation: (Description of Item). 1997 Red River Valley Flood Collection. OGLMC 1351, Box #, Folder #. Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections, Chester Fritz Library, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks.

Finding Aid Revision History: Finding aid migrated to Archon in February 2016.

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Series:

[Series 1: Personal Accounts],
[Series 2: Media Coverage],
[Series 3: Publications],
[Series 4: Governmental Organizations],
[Series 5: Photographs],
[Series 6: Audio-Visuals],
[Series 7: University of North Dakota],
[Series 8: Greater Grand Forks Greenway],
[Series 9: Artifacts],
[Series 10: Miscellaneous],
[All]

Series 9: Artifacts

Box 4

Folder 64: Brownie Girl Scout Troop #404, THANKS Green Ribbon
Folder 66: Napkin with Message about Water Cans, May 13, 1997

Box 10

Folder 57: T-Shirt: "The Bouncing Back Bash"
Folder 58: T-Shirt: "One Community, One Heart, We Care"
Folder 59: T-Shirt: "One Community, One Heart, We Care"
Folder 60: T-Shirt: "I Survived North Dakota Blizzards and Floods 1996-1997"
Folder 61: T-Shirt: "Come Hell and High Water"
Folder 62: T-Shirt: "The Angel Arrives"
Folder 63: UND Flood Assistance Meal Card
Folder 64: Button: "Reflecting on the Spirit: The '97 Flood Fight. UND Proud"

Box 11

Item 1: Lincoln and Belmont School Bricks, plus Grand Forks Herald Article about Bricks: January 16, 1999
Item 2: Three empty Anheuser-Busch, Inc. 12 oz. Drinking Water Cans
Item 3: One full Anheuser-Busch, Inc. 12 oz. Drinking Water Can
Item 4: One Salvation Army Styrofoam Cup
Item 5: One American Red Cross Styrofoam Cup
Item 6: Two empty Coca-Cola 1 gallon Drinking Water Jugs

Box 17

Folder 48: 1997 Red River Valley Flood Checklist t-shirt

Box 24

Item 1: T-Shirt: "We asked for Blood . . . Not a Flood. Greater Grand Forks 1997, A Community, Dedicated to Renewing Life - Dak-Minn Blood Bank, Grand Forks, North Dakota"
Item 2: T-Shirt: "Grand Flood of 1997 Survivor - Grand Forks, North Dakota, East Grand Forks, Minn."
Item 3: T-Shirt: "FEMA - Show me the Money!"
Item 4: T-Shirt: "I said BUD, Not Flood - April 1997 Red River Valley"
Item 5: T-Shirt: "Come Hell and High Water"
Item 6: T-Shirt: "World Vision"
Item 7: T-Shirt: "Grand Forks, ND/East Grand Forks, MN - Flood of 1997 Checklist . . ."
Item 8: T-Shirt: "Boy Scouts of America - Joining in the Clean up of the Red River Valley - Flood 1997"
Item 9: T-Shirt: "Beach and Social Club of Grand Forks, ND - The beach comes bagged and the water high" (image of two sun tanners)
Item 10: T-Shirt: "Beach and Social Club of Grand Forks, ND - The beach comes bagged and the water high" (image of a fish drinking a martini against a sand bag)
Item 11: T-Shirt: "River Rage 1997 - 5 Lies of the Red River Valley . . ."
Item 12: T-Shirt: "I Survived The Flood of 1997 and All I Could Salvage Was This Lousy T-Shirt!"
Item 13: Hat: "Working Together -MN, ND - To Rebuild Flood of 97"

Box 25

Item 1: Mug: "Come Hell & High Water - April 1997 - Grand Forks, ND - East Grand Forks, MN - 500 Year Flood"
Item 2: Can: "Donated by Anheuser-Busch, Inc., Ft. Collins, CO 80524 - Drinking Water (Not for Sale) - 12 Fl. Oz"
Item 3: Can: Can of Green Giant stew with Russian text on it. Note with it explains: "Given out by Salvation Army during flood. Apparently made for shipment to Russia but then sent to Grand Forks to help feed flood victims.": This is displayed at the Gorecki Alumni Center at UND.
Item 4: Can: Can of Green Giant stew with Russian text on it: Donated by Joan Erickson, Chester Fritz Library, in May 2019.
Folder 1: Printed explanatory materials of the above listed artifacts
Folder 3: Plaque Presented to UND by the Federal Emergency Management Agency: "For Your Generous and Dedicated Support to the Thousands of Citizens of Grand Forks and Surrounding Communities during the North Central United States Floods of 1997"

Department of Special Collections
Digital Finding Aids