The emails from 1997 continue.
Subject: Wednesday Water
Hello, We are still here, the water began to rise, we had fallen 2-3 inches, then it began to come up, we got about 6 more inches, lost 1 inch last night.
Yesterday was pretty discouraging for us, Dad is here to help, Mom went home yesterday morning.
We wish it would go down soon, don’t know what caused it to come up, ice jams, or the Red which is recresting, the release of an enormous amount of water out of Lake Traverse, South of Wheaton Minnesota, Army Corp of Eng…that water should be here soon. We are running out of room. So far the dikes are stable.
Warm weather is forecast, so we are bound to get snow melt too. It used to look like a lake here, now it looks like an ocean. The water is as far as you can see in all directions.
I had unpacked the evacuation bag but packed it up again last night.
We are getting some sleep, it really helps to have Dad here, nearly lost a pump this morning, it was stuck in the on position but we managed to save it.
We are tired, emotionally exhausted. It has been a really long siege and don’t know when the end is in sight.
We added a layer of sand bags to the front of the deck last night can’t add too much more because it is so tall already.
We have lots of food etc…miss fresh bananas …and dry ground.
Take care Love gene and c
View just outside our garage.
View from the deck. The lake used to be behind that line of trees.
Water water everywhere. I am standing on the deck looking South.
***********
At one point we had water coming into the basement through a window well, the end was in sight. Gene said he was done fighting and going to fill the basement with clean water. I took off to the neighbors and told them …a bunch of them came over with plywood, plastic and some super sticky sealant. We made covers for the basement windows on the outside of the house. One window well was especially troublesome so we dug out some of the rock and put a small pump in the window well…and the water stopped coming into the basement window. We were lucky that on our dike watch we always checked the windows downstairs so it was caught early. The window that leaked was luckily in the laundry room that had a floor drain.
My Mother did grocery shopping for us, and most everytime she came to visit she would bring bananas.
People had to boat in and boat out. Boats went regularly here and there to pick up people and to deliver visitors. Our boat place to dock was called “Larson’s Landing on Lake Shure.”
Jennifer came to visit one weekend, we told her where to go to get a boat ride.
You all must have been so sick and tired of it all. I imagine the only reason you could get any sleep was from being so exhausted. That's almost like living on a boat.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny the things you miss when times are tough. Bananas? I'm so glad your mom helped with that issue. I sure hope that floods like that one are once-in-a-lifetime events.
ReplyDeleteThese posts have given me a new perspective and great admiration for those dealing with flooding.
ReplyDeleteHow totally exhausting!!
ReplyDeleteDo you think of the flood when you eat bananas since then?
I can feel the stress reading that, and the exhaustion. Hope it was soon over, the flooding.
ReplyDeleteNot us but where we lived in Arkansas if you remember
ReplyDeletethe partying village people.Most of the people we knew are
not there now. The village is out of power with trees down
And flooding bad hold towns are under water all the way up into
Missouri.
When it's a matter of inches, things get scary. I really like this series of posts.
ReplyDeleteThat must have been a scary situation from the start to the end.
ReplyDeleteI can tell in your writing that you were tired and exhausted and ready to be done - looking in from the outside this is interesting but I can see why someone wouldn't want to hold these memories very close. Uff da!
ReplyDeleteThat was a long siege! Most floods here are a week maybe by the time it crests but you can at least get on with your life and what's left. My heart goes out to the people flooded here recently and there was water half up to the roofs and halfway up gas stations.....everything practically under water.....some good sized towns too not just people that lived on the rivers. Heart breaking and such a long recovery....if ever. I'm sure many just walk away and so many don't have flood insurance. You had a great neighborhood and support but it had to be awful!
ReplyDelete