The Neighbors' Tales
By Laura McCallum
April 23, 1997

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For more about the experiences of Lincoln Drive residents, including photos, see
Remembering and Rebuilding

The first area of Grand Forks to be flooded was the Lincoln Drive area bordering the Red River, where floodwater gushed over dikes and pushed homes off their foundations. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum talked to three people from the Lincoln Drive neighborhood.

PAT MOEN KNOWS HER HOME IS RUINED - she says she "used to live" at 501 Lincoln Drive. She hasn't been back since she was forced to evacuate last week, but her husband, a Grand Forks police officer, has told her their home has water to the rooftop. Her family escaped with some clothes, pictures, and their two dogs, but there's more she wishes she could salvage.

WELL, MY DAD WAS A CHIEF OF POLICE IN SHAKOPEE, MINNESOTA, FOR 35 YEARS, AND THE MAJORITY OF HIS PAPERS AND THINGS WERE UPSTAIRS, AND I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE THAT STUFF OUT. I DO HAVE SOME OF IT, IT'S NOT A LOT, BUT IT'S THERE. AND IT WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE TO GET OUR STUFF OUT, BUT WE'LL START OVER, WE'LL START AGAIN.

Moen and her husband are staying with his mother in Engster, 40 miles northwest of Grand Forks, and he's commuting to his job as police officers try to keep order and rescue the remaining residents. Moen came to the shelter at the Grand Forks Air Force base to see President Clinton and try to find some of her neighbors.

IT'S HARD, AND LINCOLN DRIVE AREA - THAT WHOLE NEIGHBORHOOD IS A REAL CLOSE NEIGHBORHOOD.

One of her neighbors is Susan Cutshall, who lived at 7 Lincoln Drive. Cutshall spends her days at the shelter hugging other evacuees and trying to comfort them.

WE ARE JUST LIKE PART OF THAT DIKE. WE CAN ONLY HOLD SO MUCH BEFORE WE GIVE IN, AND WE HAVE TO RELEASE JUST LIKE THAT DIKE.

The roller coaster of emotions is evident when Cutshall talks about leaving her pets behind.

IT'S NOT THE HARDEST - THEY'RE PART OF OUR LIVES - WE'RE GLAD WE'RE HERE. WE'RE GLAD THE AIR BASE IS STILL HERE CONSIDERING THERE WAS TALK OF CLOSING IT.

Cutshall is also thankful for the other Grand Forks residents staying at the shelter, including her neighbor, John Little, an English professor at the University of North Dakota. Little's home two blocks from the Red River flooded Friday night, and Little says it sounded like a waterfall as his basement filled.

I HAVE A BRICK WALL IN MY BASEMENT AND THERE WERE PLACES WHERE THE WATER WAS COMING THROUGH THE BRICKS LIKE A FAUCET - SHOOTING OUT TWO FEET FROM THE BRICK WALL.

Little expects to stay at the shelter up to two weeks, and has turned down offers to stay in nearby communities.

I DON'T WANT TO BE A BOTHER TO STRANGERS. AND I DO ENJOY VISITING. AND I'M ENJOYING WATCHING THE PEOPLE. BUT IT WOULD BE NICE TO TAKE A SHOWER. I DON'T KNOW HOW LONG IT'LL BE BEFORE TEMPERS START GETTING SHORT.

To try to prevent that and the inevitable boredom at the shelter, Little has organized two readings for children today, and another for adults, where he will read from a novel he wrote last year about losing your home to a reservoir. And Little says President Clinton's visit went a long way toward boosting flood victims' spirits.

Return to Flood of 1997.