6/15/2011:
With the Missouri river on the rise and Bismarck/Mandan, Minot and Devils Lake areas in flood stages, and strange weather reports around the country, the addition of rain becomes a mix of blessings and curse. Such was the case in 1962, when, on this date in June, the Red River was on the rise. The weather for the entire state was supposed to stay wet, in fact, much to the detriment of residents in the east who struggled with flooding as the Red River swelled past 28 feet, with more rain in the forecast.
Ole Ness, who lived and farmed three miles north of Christine in Richland County, said “Everything is flooded here. We’ve given up with our field work.” With water sitting in his fields—it was just too wet.
In the western section of the state, flooding was not an issue, though the weather report was similar. After rain cancelled out a convention and a rodeo in Watford City, the McKenzie County Farmer reported that, “indeed it is getting to be a rare day when at least one shower does not fall within the 24-hour period. The hay looks grand, but if the wet weather continues, farmers may have some trouble getting it harvested.” In fact, residents experienced more than black rain clouds. There were also strong winds, hail, and some folks even spotted a funnel cloud.
However, the grain grew tall, and the newspaper sought pictures and samples “of this fine grain crop to prove to some skeptics that western North Dakota is not the forgotten land.”
In Bismarck, the flooding situation heightened interest in the Department of Agriculture’s watershed program, and officials looked into flood prevention measures, stating that “a large percentage of the damage inflicted on farm operations by this season’s flooding in North Dakota could have been prevented.”
For a land-locked state, even North Dakota understood how it felt when, in Samuel Taylor Coleridge's words, there was “Water, water, everywhere.”
Dakota Datebook written by Sarah Walker
Sources:
The McKenzie County Farmer, June 14, 1962, p1
The McKenzie County Farmer, June 21, 1962, p1
The Fargo Forum Daily Republican and Moorhead News, June 14, 1962, p1
The Fargo Forum Daily Republican and Moorhead News, June 16, 1962
The Fargo Forum Daily Republican and Moorhead News, June 17, 1962