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 1: Personal Accounts

The first series consists of a number of personal accounts and remembrances of the flood. These take various forms, including correspondence, essays and poetry. The accounts were written by persons both young and old.

Box 4

Folder 2: Letter from Jim Carrigan to Sandy Slater, Pre-flood/Flood Descriptions, October 16, 1998
Folder 3: Stories/Letters from Flood Survivors (Last Names A-B) from Julie Copeland, Grand Forks Herald, 1998
Folder 4: Stories/Letters from Flood Survivors (Last Names C-F) from Julie Copeland, Grand Forks Herald, 1998
Folder 5: Stories/Letters from Flood Survivors (Last Names G-K) from Julie Copeland, Grand Forks Herald, 1998
Folder 6: Stories/Letters from Flood Survivors (Last Names L-O) from Julie Copeland, Grand Forks Herald, 1998
Folder 7: Stories/Letters from Flood Survivors (Last Names P-Sm) from Julie Copeland, Grand Forks Herald, 1998
Folder 8: Stories/Letters from Flood Survivors (Last Names Sp-Z) from Julie Copeland, Grand Forks Herald, 1998
Folder 9: Glinda Crawford; "Moving to Higher Ground": July 31, 1997
Folder 15: "54 Feet--Time to Go: The Flood of '97" by Parkview Terrace Residents, 1997
Folder 19: Letter to family members by Jean and John Oberpriller
Folder 21: Letter from Kerry Magnuson, Reynolds, North Dakota, to Grace Sondreal, Grand Forks, April 30, 1997
Folder 25: "Thureen Reflections," Christmas Letter from the Faythe Thureen Family, 1997
Folder 27: "Legends of the Flood/Fire: Told by the Employees of First National Bank North Dakota"
Folder 28: "A Flood of Memories: Lincoln Elementary School," Grand Forks
Folder 29: "Reflections on the Red," Valley Middle School, Grand Forks
Folder 30: "Reflections on the Red," Valley Middle School, Grand Forks

Box 7

Folder 70: Alan Draves; Correspondence with Sandy Slater; 1997-1999
Folder 71: "My Adventures with the Red River" by John Nordlie; April 7-27, 1997 (Update on December 18, 1997)
Folder 72: Alan Draves; Cover Letter to Sandy Slater (June 30, 1997); Copy of Letter by Alfred Hagen (May 1997)
Folder 78: Grand Forks Public Schools Student Flood Pages, May 1997

Box 24

Folder 21: Personalized poems, letters and stories:

Item 1: "Thank you for all your help during the flood. I'm thanking FEMA. From: Katie" - hand-made paper card
Item 2: "Moving to Higher Ground: Seeking Wisdom from Earth, River and Critters in the Wake of the 1997 Flood" - Home-made book by Glinda Crawford, July 31, 1997.
Item 3: North Dakota Journal . . . Still Continued" by Frances, December 23, 1997
Item 4: "Flood '97 . . . Dear Cory" - Journal from April 17 - 26, 1997. "
Item 5: "The Real Heroes of the 1997 Flood" - Story by Janet Elaine Smith.
Item 6: "A Flood of Memories" - poems from the Leopards' Letter, Lincoln Elementary School, April 1998.
Item 7: "Abstract Expressionism Flood '97" - flyer for art exhibit by Linda Shaw-Elgin, Grand Forks Central art instructor.
Item 8: "Red River Limerology 1997: The Town That Was Too Tough To Drown" - Jim Daglish.
Item 9: "Snow Bridge" - Richard S. Tosh, February 14, 1998.
Item 10: "April Nineteenth" - poem
Item 11: "Together" - Lilia Wood
Item 12: "The Disaster" - by Ashley Neil, age 14, daughter of Jody and Jeff Neil (Mayor of Shelly, Minnesota).
Item 13: "A Tribute to the Alderson '97 Mucker Brigade" - August 12, 1997.
Item 14: "Saved in the Last Second" - hand-written story, March 21, 1997.
Item 15: "Northwestern Minnesota Disaster Response Network Child & Adolescent Team" - letters written by children for other children devastated by the flood

Department of Special Collections
Digital Finding Aids