The Long Wait to Return Home
By Christina Koenig
April 29, 1997

It's been more than a week since residents of Grand Forks and East Grand Forks were evacuated from their homes because of rising flood waters. About 3700 evacuees have ended up in Bemidji.

Some of the refugees have been told they may be able to return to their homes this week. Others are settling in for the long run. Coping with upturned lives has been easier for some than others, as Minnesota Public Radio's Christina Koenig reports.

KRISTY ERICKSON watches her son play with baseball cards on the floor of the Evangelical Covenant Church in Bemidji as her mother-in-law gets a tetanus shot. The Ericksons live in rural East Grand Forks and are among the lucky few who plan to go back to their dry home later this week. For Valerie and her family, they've just been passing time.

...NOW IT'S LIKE WE'RE A LITTLE ASLEEP. IT WAS JUST BELIEVING THAT IT REALLY HAPPENED BUT WE'RE DOING OK. WE ARE AT THE MOTEL WHERE THERE'S A POOL SO AT LEAST THE KIDS CAN DO THAT. WE'VE BEEN SITTING AROUND AND DOING A LOT OF EATING AND SITTING AROUND AND THAT'S ABOUT IT. NOT A WHOLE LOT.

Others will stay in the Bemidji area for a while and are doing their best to settle in and make good use of their time in this town a hundred miles from home.

NAT: MUSIC AT CHURCH

Fifteen-year-old Lindsey Vegan was happy to join up with some of her East Grand Forks friends at a Bemidji church but is struggling to come to terms with everything that's happened to her family.

I WAS SEPARATED FROM MY FAMILY FOR A DAY, HELPING FRIENDS SANDBAG. MY PARENTS GOT AIR-LIFTED, EVACUATED. I DON'T WANT TO GO HOME, BUT I'M GOING TO HAVE TO FACE IT.

For now, Lindsey's a little shell-shocked. She says coming to church has been helpful.

...KINDA COPING WITH THE WHOLE FLOOD ISSUE, TALKING TO GOD, ASKING WHY IT HAPPENED. TO MEET OTHER PEOPLE, TOO. IT'S GOOD TO GET OUT AND SEE OTHER PEOPLE AND STOP THINKING ABOUT IT AND THE WHOLE SITUATION.

Lindsey's thinking about giving school in Bemidji a try to avoid boredom.

NAT SOUND AT ARMORY.

Boredom has already set in for some, across town at Red Cross Shelter at Bemidji's Armory. People wait for hours to get vouchers for food, gas and clothing. Some visit with friends, others just sit and stare, wondering about how they're going to piece their lives, homes, jobs, and cars back together again.

Maureen Sweet and her husband have been at the shelter so long they say they can't even remember what they're waiting for. They haven't been allowed to see their home yet. Officials have hinted no one will be allowed to rebuild from their neighborhood because it's just too close to the river. They don't know if the businesses they work for will be able to recover from the flood.

Sweet has been staying with her sister, and is grateful she was able to escape with her beloved cats Willow, Runt and Number 3.

...THEY'VE SETTLED DOWN QUITE NICELY BUT MY SISTER'S CAT HAS BEEN QUITE TRAUMATIZED BY THE THREE CATS THAT HAVE INVADED THEIR HOUSE, BUT NO FIGHTS YET, AND IT'S BEEN HARD ON MY SISTER, TOO, TAKING US IN. THEY'RE USED TO THEIR LIFESTYLE AND THEIR SPACE, AND IT'S BEEN INVADED BY US, AND IT'S BEEN HARD ON THEM.

Sweet's neighbor, Mary Singer, is filled with uncertainty. Authorities have not been able to find her home after it lifted off its foundation and flowed down the river. Singer says she's been frustrated with insurance and FEMA paperwork but is trying to remain optimistic.

... I'D REALLY LIKE TO GO BACK TO WORK. I THINK IT WOULD BE EMOTIONALLY UPLIFTING. I HOPE WE WOULD FIND MY HOUSE AND IT WOULD STILL BE IN ONE PIECE AND NOT BROKEN UP IN HOPES THAT THERE'S SOME SENTIMENTAL THINGS THAT WE COULD SAVE AND JUST TAKE IT ONE DAY AT A TIME.

Return to Flood of 1997.