As everyone in our area knows, tomorrow April 19) is the 20th anniversary of the massive flood of 1997, followed by a fire that destroyed a significant portion of downtown. My out of state friends may not know this, but some will recall as I post this- 53,000 people were evacuated, the biggest civilian evacuation at that time in history. Many will recall the 100+ inches of snow that winter of ’96-97. I’ve posted twice before on this flood and it’s aftermath, but today, of course, is very different. https://standingatthegatesofthewest.com/2016/02/27/the-park/
https://standingatthegatesofthewest.com/2014/08/06/rolling-on/

I am finding this anniversary to be somewhat traumatic; I had been in Grand Forks less than 5 years at that time, and our house on Reeves near Lincoln Park (which was a neighborhood then) took on significant damage. My kids were little, and they have little memory of the event.
I also lost over 4,000 vinyl records, a lifetime collection up to that point.

It was weeks before we returned to our home, and many things have happened since then that were life altering. However, I chose to stay which was an excellent choice, and I’ve developed more friendships than I could imagine. My kids still live here, too.

We can celebrate our strength as a community, but I think there will be some who feel like I do, and we can all help each other now as we did then.

Oh, and I returned to the Historic Southside Neighborhood 5 years ago, about 8 blocks from where this photo was taken. My house was built in 1885- and survived the flood of 1897 and 1997. We all roll on, like mighty Red as it flows swiftly and nearly silently on the other side of the flood protection system 4 blocks away- now, it’s a nice place to walk, bike, or cross country ski- where some of the real healing takes place, even today.

(photo credit- Grand Forks Herald)