On the Wrong Side of the New Dike
By Dan Gunderson
May 9, 1997

Thousands of residents in Grand Forks, North Dakota and East Grand Forks, Minnesota are busy cleaning mud and soggy belongings from their homes. Huge piles of debris line most residential streets. But in neighborhoods close to the Red River there are no trash piles and little activity. These most devastated areas will likely be destroyed to make room for a new system of levees. Residents of East Grand Forks will get the bad news at a town meeting May 2.

THE SHERLOCK PARK AREA of East Grand Forks is a mix of turn-of-the-century historic homes and smaller starter homes built in the 1930s and 40s. The normally vibrant neighborhood looks abandoned; the only sounds come from the handful of residents trying to salvage something from their homes.

SFX: PUMP-SLOSHING MUD.

Greg McKeever is pumping the water from his basement and scrounging through his garage for something to save.

SO FAR HAVEN'T FOUND MUCH. ONE TOOL BOX. TOOK ME FIVE HOURS TO CLEAN OUT THE MUD AND RUST FROM IT.

Mckeever is pumping out his basement so an insurance agent can inspect it. He knows the home will be on the wrong side of the new dike. He says that's okay, he could never live close to the river again anyway. Inside mud covers everything. The refrigerator lies on its back in the middle of the kitchen floor; the ceiling has fallen on top of it.

. . . MOVE PART OF THE CEILING HERE . . . .

The McKeevers have insurance on their home, but not its contents. Greg says he figures the family lost about $100,000 in personal belongings. He has no idea where the money will come from to replace them.

ANOTHER LOAN PAYMENT ISN'T GOING TO DO ANY GOOD WHEN YOU'RE ALREADY STRAPPED WITH ANOTHER MORTGAGE. SO YOU'RE JUST GONNA HAVE TO START FROM SCRATCH. WHEN YOU CAN AFFORD A COUCH YOU GET A COUCH.

Mckeever says the hardest part of losing his home has been thinking of a way to tell his two-year-old he can never go home again.

MY TWO-YEAR-OLD DOESN'T UNDERSTAND. HE KEEPS SAYING HE WANTS TO GO BACK TO HIS HOUSE. WE HAVEN'T SHOWN HIM ANY PICTURES, CAUSE HE'S GOT ENOUGH ON HIS MIND, YOU KNOW.

A block away a small one story home sits twisted and broken. Terry Meyers lived here with his wife and two daughters. He's back for a last look. He lays two dripping, mud-encrusted objects in the back of his truck.

GOT MY DAUGHTER'S DOLLS HERE. DON'T KNOW IF THEY'RE SAVABLE OR NOT, BUT NOT GONNA TRY TO SAVE ANYTHING ELSE - LET EM PUSH IT IN AND HAUL IT AWAY. THE STUFF WE WANTED WE TOOK OUT AND BROUGHT TO MY BROTHER'S HOUSE ON THE POINT. THAT WENT UNDER, TOO. SO IT'S. . . I DUNNO.

Meyers says he's trying to look on the devastation as an opportunity to rebuild - bigger and better - and far from the river.

For others, leaving will not be so easy. Kenny and Linda Ray lived in one of the historic homes just a block from the river. The new dike will go through their back yard. They've spent tens of thousands of dollars restoring the house to its turn of the century splendor.

THE DOOR WAS SO SWOLLEN WE HAD TO USE A SLEDGE HAMMER TO BUST IT DOWN JUST TO GET IN THE HOME. THIS WAS TOTALLY RESTORED A MONTH AGO.

Hardwood floors are twisted and broken. Water drips from chandeliers. Linda Ray says losing the home is hard, but losing the neighborhood is almost unbearable.

THAT'S THE ONE THING I WANTED FOR MY CHILDREN: A CHILDHOOD THAT'S Stable. AND, FOR EXAMPLE, THEIR BEST FRIENDS LIVED RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET, AND THEY WOULD WAVE TO EACH OTHER FROM THEIR BEDROOM WINDOWS. THEY'RE HAVING A HARD TIME WITH THAT. THE VALUE OF THAT IS NOT REPLACEABLE.

Like hundreds of families in Grand Forks and East Grand Forks, Kenny and Linda Ray have no idea where they will rebuild. How they will pay for it, or where they will live for the next year while the community starts over.

Go to Flood of 1997.