Four decades ago today in Teton Valley

[grapevine]

I am sure a few gamers were w baling while hearing on radio of tractor if they had hem, we need to get out of here. People working in regal at the time hearing same thing. Those that didn,t work at there jobs on Saturday watching tv, working in home and garden, going places when they heard get out of here. The Teton Dam built to help farmers flooded Sugar City, Ronerts, most of Rexburg and other towns.

I am sure that summer was hellacious not something anyone wanted to go through again. But heard here were people that profited materially saying they lost more Han they did. Democrat proffeser told me that. I am sure a few did. But many people repaid when they found missing stuff.

A joke for people born in 76 like me was we were bad luck babies since we were born when the flood came up. Bad time to be born. The people that experienced it I wonder what percentage of them are still alive now. Talking about people that died of natural causes incident to age. A few may have moved. But I would guess a fifth to a fourth of the people that experienced that tragedy have passed on now.

[Eddie]

My family was living in Soda Springs at the time of the flood. I wasn't old enough, but I remember my Dad and two High School age older sisters taking a school bus from the church to go work in Rexburg for a couple of different weekends. They described hauling a lot of mud out of people's basements, and helping throw a way a lot of food storage.

Pretty tragic. I've always wondered if they would go back and rebuild that dam some day. Not yet.

[hostile]

My aunt and uncle still live in the same home in Rexburg that was hit by the flood. My younger sister was born 40 years ago today. As soon as it was evident that she and my mom would be OK my dad headed up to Idaho to help with clean-up. My grandmother's home is on the bank of Henry's Fork in St Anthony. Fortunately for her the flood plain went south and east of her.

[mtnbiker]

I'm sure I wrote about this a few years ago, but can't find it in Search. I was on a bus on the way back from Boise when the driver turned on the radio when we were in the Twin Falls area and the announcer said the dam had broken and Sugar City was under 12 feet of water. There was a kid from Sugar City on the bus, and he turned white as a sheet.

The next day was Sunday, and all church meetings were canceled, and my dad and I went down to the river to help sandbag. The water was so high that there were no falls in Idaho Falls, and the water was up to the Broadway bridge. Dead cows floating by, big logs whacking into the bridge. During the summer I went up to Hibbard several times to help clean, mend fences, scoop mud out of houses, etc. Hibbard was my stake's assigned area. As we'd drive there, we'd go by houses where the flood waters had scoured out under the footings of houses. And those were houses with basements, not just on a slab. A VW Beetle was stuck up in a tree. It was crazy.

[Uncle Ted]

I'm sure I wrote about this a few years ago, but can't find it in Search. I was on a bus on the way back from Boise when the driver turned on the radio when we were in the Twin Falls area and the announcer said the dam had broken and Sugar City was under 12 feet of water. There was a kid from Sugar City on the bus, and he turned white as a sheet.

The next day was Sunday, and all church meetings were canceled, and my dad and I went down to the river to help sandbag. The water was so high that there were no falls in Idaho Falls, and the water was up to the Broadway bridge. Dead cows floating by, big logs whacking into the bridge. During the summer I went up to Hibbard several times to help clean, mend fences, scoop mud out of houses, etc. Hibbard was my stake's assigned area. As we'd drive there, we'd go by houses where the flood waters had scoured out under the footings of houses. And those were houses with basements, not just on a slab. A VW Beetle was stuck up in a tree. It was crazy.

I recall taking a road trip up the snake that Sunday with my father and seeing the dead cows floating by. It was the most excitement in Idaho in a long time. We didn't do any sandbagging. Just site seeing.

[Katy Lied]

Happy 40th, Grapevine.

[Non Sequitur]

My family was living in Soda Springs at the time of the flood. I wasn't old enough, but I remember my Dad and two High School age older sisters taking a school bus from the church to go work in Rexburg for a couple of different weekends. They described hauling a lot of mud out of people's basements, and helping throw a way a lot of food storage.

Pretty tragic. I've always wondered if they would go back and rebuild that dam some day. Not yet.

The irony of that made me chuckle.