Dawne Yates
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Dawne recounts her memories of her father who was involved in the rescue efforts.
Rapid City Public Library
December 16, 2013
Vesper Wright
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Vesper's mobile home was destroyed by flood waters the night of June 9. Forty years after the disaster, her class ring was returned to her by a member of the salvage team who had found the ring during the clean-up efforts and spent four decades trying to track her down.
Rapid City Public Library
February 20, 2013
Jerome Wright
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Jerome Wright was instrumental in a number of rescues, including a mother and baby, and also volunteered for weeks after the flood.
Rapid City Public Library
July 9, 2006
Don Wrede
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Don was 16 the night of the Flood. His family's mobile home park lost 30-40 trailers that evening. His father was in Canada and knew nothing of the Flood or his ruined business until a float plane landed at the lake in Canada where he was fishing and informed him of the devastation he would soon see at home.
Rapid City Public Library
June 8, 2012
Paul Wounded Head
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Paul and his sister waded the waters together the night of the flood.
Rapid City Public Library
August 8, 2012
Sandra Woodard
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Sandra and her husband set up camp leaving his Indian motorcycle and gear below Victoria Lake the evening before the Flood. Four of their friends stayed at the campsite however and were forced to climb to the top of a hill, clinging to trees in order to save themselves. Sandra's husband found his motorcycle two weeks later wrapped around a tree five miles downriver from their campsite. Sandra also speaks about the Community Powwow recognizing the Flood of 1972.
Rapid City Public Library
June 10, 2012
Donald Wickler
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Donald was visiting a fellow retired military friend at his home near Meadowbrook Golf Course the evening of the Flood. He and his friend were in the basement trying to keep things from getting wet when their wives called from upstairs and said, "The cars are floating away." They had just gone upstairs when the concrete wall in the basement collapsed. Donald knows he was minutes from being swept away in the Flood and is grateful for every day of his life.
Rapid City Public Library
February 25, 2012
Lon VanDeusen
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A college student at the time of the flood, Lon VanDeusen talks about his experiences the night of the flood as well as the days following the flood.
Rapid City Public Library
February 2, 2011
Jane Udick Williams
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Jane worked side by side with her mother to clean the hands, feet and faces of flood victims in order for family members to identify their loved ones. Her aunt and uncle owned the Keystone Post Office which was flood damaged. Jane helped them with the cleanup.
Rapid City Public Library
June 9, 2012
Ann Trask
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Ann was in Piedmont the evening of the Flood. When she tried to drive back from Rapid City the bridge at Deadwood Avenue collapsed. She remained stranded in Black Hawk for two days until her father was able to come and get her.
Rapid City Public Library
April 4, 2012
Teresa Sullivan
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Teresa worked for the telephone company as an operator in 1972. The evening of the Flood she was working the 3-11 p.m. shift. Telephone lines were down and all calls had to be routed through an operator, including death notification calls. Teresa was one of many operators who worked 12-hour shifts in order for survivors to stay connected with their loved ones.
Rapid City Public Library
December 15, 2011
Delbert Stover
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"The whole night was horrifying," is how Delbert describes the evening of the Flood. He helped rescue others, including using a wheelbarrow to save his Grandfather from the rushing waters in Dark Canyon. Delbert's family lost everything, but he was able to save the vehicles from his business, Black Hills Transit. Dairy products from one of these vehicles helped sustain him and others for days before help arrived in the Canyon.
Rapid City Public Library
December 14, 2011
Randy Stalcup
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Randy, his mother and five siblings lived on Janet Street the evening of the Flood. They had to evacuate their home as the basement filled with water to the main level. Randy helped his Mom with the cleanup. He recalls mud up to his knees.
Rapid City Public Library
September 6, 2012
Gary Sisson
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Gary and Carole Sisson were out to dinner with friends when they cut their evening short to return home where their children were with a babysitter. Unable to cross the high water, they had to wait until the next day to reconnect with family.
Rapid City Public Library
September 5, 2013
Carole Sisson
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Gary and Carole Sisson were out to dinner with friends when they cut their evening short to return home where their children were with a babysitter. Unable to cross the high water, they had to wait until the next day to reconnect with family.
Rapid City Public Library
September 5, 2013
Jody Severson
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Jody Severson arrived in Rapid City Wednesday after the Flood and stayed the summer as staff aide to then U.S. Congressman, Jim Abourezk. Jody was 23 at the time and instrumental in laying the groundwork for the Urban Renewal Project and put together the provisions that rebuilt the Rapid City Floodway. As part of the Urban Renewal Project, Jody assisted in providing relocation payments and small business loans to flood survivors.
Rapid City Public Library
June 9, 2012
Irene Sears
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Irene's friend Anna lived by the packing company. Anna was rescued from the waters by firefighters only because they could see her white coat in the darkness of the night. She had just purchased the coat a few weeks before at Kmart. Irene searched and searched for Anna the next day and finally found her asleep in the corner of an auditorium only because she spotted her white coat.
Rapid City Public Library
June 8, 2012
DelRita Schouten
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DelRita Schouten had lost her home and everything inside it to the flood. She now lives on a hill.
Rapid City Public Library
December 14, 2010
Steve Runholt
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Steve was 11 years old the evening of the Flood living on Sheridan Lake Road at the backside of Storybook Island. He and his father were stuck in their home by rising flood waters. His father saved his life after a car plowed through the floor of the home pinning Steve between a refrigerator and the roof. Steve's father and Steve eventually made it through the Flood by clinging to trees and calling for help. They could hear Millie Dieter, who lost her husband and daughter in the Flood, calling for help as well. They were all eventually taken in a boat by rescue workers to safety.
Rapid City Public Library
May 14, 2012
Rita Rosales
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Rita Rosales talks about her experiences in downtown Rapid City the evening of the flood.
Rapid City Public Library
November 17, 2010