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from the archives of THE DAILY NONPAREIL

Council

Til

30022860

Superfund

APRIL 9, 1881

Fighting the 1881 FloodContrary to expectations, the river did not

reach its highest stage on Thursday, and thewater at this point continued to rise all dayyesterday, u n t i l last night at 6 p.m. the indica-tor at the Union Pacific bridge marked 21 1/2feet.

The highest rise, it is said, ever knownhere was 19 feet, two and a half feet lowerthan last evening.

The condition of affairs on both sides ofthe river was decidedly serious yesterdayafternoon and last evening, and unless thewater falls at once and rapidly, there is notelling how much country in this immediatevicinity wil l be flooded.

The threat from the rising water was par-ticularly severe at the Union Pacific Transferwhere the company kept a large gang of menat work throwing in cinder and ballast for thepurpose of staying the effect of the current.Several tons of railroad iron were also placedon each bridge to aid in holding them in placeThe af fa i r s became so serious last night thatthe running of trains between Council B l u f f sand Omaha was stopped. South of theTransfer the entire bottoms are covered withwater as far as the eye can see. The stock-yards were surrounded dur ing the afternoonand the cattle here had to be loaded on carsand taken out. No f u l l grown cow or even asmall calf came down the stream yesterday.This is doubtless owing to the fact that thereis now no cakes of ice lef t tha t are largeenough to hold up th is class of passenger."

As the news came in, the Nonpare i l

announced that at 1 a.m. the shri l l whistle of aNorthwestern engine announced the break ofthe levee along the N.W. track, and a f f a i r sbecame decidedly serious at once.

The water rushed over that part of thecity west of the tracks and depot, f looding thebottoms. The water rose rapidly and thegreatest consternation prevailed among thepeople who were st i l l in the i r houses, and it isfeared that some persons will fare badly.

Track master McWilliams and SupervisorPurdy with large forces of men worked hard toprevent the break but it was no use and theyhad tp beat a hasty retreat for their own safe-ty.

An hour and a half later the Union Pacif ichotel and depot was complete surroundedwith rapidly rising water, which...covers thehighest p la t form at the depot, being f u l l ythree feet deep.

The Drover's hotel and all adjacent build-ings are also surrounded and the s i tuat ionbecomes alarming. The water is also risingvery rapidly at the Northwestern depot whichwi l l necessitate a continued rise at the UnionPacif ic , and at this hour the people in thedepot hotel and adjo in ing bui ldings are busilyengaging in packing up, momentari ly expect-ing a compulsory order to strike for taller tim-ber.

The Missouri River would flood CouncilB l u f f s twice that month and change it 's flow toleave behind Lake Manawa.

Flooding along the Missouri River during the 1881 flood.

-from the collections of the Omaha Public iibian

APRIL 12, 1943

The Flood of '43A s t i f f wind from the north was causing

trouble to the River boulevard dikes the after-noon of Apr i l 12, and, a l though a break sever-al hundred yards south of the waterworks wasimmedia te ly repaired through the use ofabout 500 sandbags, observers at the pointwere f e a r f u l that the combination of high windand sti l l rising waters might make a bad situa-tion before night .

Army officials in Omaha promised to sendover 15 more trucks and men to operate them,and they were expected to be on hand imme-diately. According to City Engineer Jack Boyneit was expected that the added help mightserve to save the city. Iowa Governor BourkeHickenlooper flew in from Des Moines for ahurried inspection of the situation with Lt.General Matt Tinley of the State Guards andCouncil B l u f f s Mayor S.W. McCall.

The Missouri had reached 21.73 feet atCouncil B l u f f s , and aiding ci ty employees andconscientious objectors who have been bul-warking the River boulevard for a week weresome 375 high school students, 225 fromThomas Jefferson and 150 from AbrahamLincoln.

The high school students were givenshovels and placed along the River boulevardlevee upstream from the water works pump-ing station with instructions to shovel dir t onthe levee. The high waters had shut down the

bridges from Iowa to Nebraska City andPlattsmouth and the Iowa National Guard con-tinued to patrol the entire flood area.

At the water works pumping station, theriver lapped the f i rs t levee which had beenbui l t on the paving in front of the plant, andbegan seeping through. Pumps were put inoperation to drain the seepage over the leveeback into the river. An additional 10,000 sand-bags were purchased by the city Monday,making a total of 110,000 to date.

Sheriff Riley Nelson said Monday that hewas sett ing up headquarters at the DickMeyers store at Lake Manawa to handle thatsection of the flooded area. Boats were beingkept on hand at the headquarters to answerall calls for help.

Water stood 2 1/2 feet deep in the vicinityof 27th street and Avenue E Sunday afternoonand the Sixth avenue sewer manholes inDodge park threatened to blow up as a resultof the strong pressure from the riverwaters...Sheriff Nelson said the Army hastaken over the duty of policing Carter Lakeand t ra f f i c on Locust street is restricted.

BelowAtop the sandbagged levee which held the crest of theMissouri river flood waters from Council Bluffs are,left to right, Mayor S. W. McCall, Lt. Gen M. A. Tinley,commander of the Iowa state guard; Gov. B. B.Hickenlooper of Des Moines and City Solicitor ProctorR. Perkins. -Nonpareil Photo

Far LeftHerman Olsen, wholives at 36 PickardLane, LakeManawa, rows hisboat right up thestreet, almost to hisfront door.-Nonpareil Photo

APRIL 16, 1952

River Defense Set; City NowSand Boils Constantly Popping Up

Defenses all but built, Council Bluf fs waswaiting Apr i l 16. Waiting to see how the angryMissouri River would f i g h t back. The feverishwork of building up the city's north levee—considered the trouble spot by engineers—was 99 percent completed Wednesday morn-ing, according to Lt. Col. Victor J. Reafshyder.army engineer in charge of that section.

A four-foot wall has been bui l t on top ofthe 31.6-foot levee all the way from the bluffs,around the dangerous river bend, and to theSouth Omaha bridge. Dirt has been packedbehind the four-foot wood flashboard and fourrows of sandbags laid out on top of the di r t .

But no one would say the city is safe. Col.William E. Hicks, army engineer in charge atCounci l B l u f f s , would only say "everything isnow under control. There are no develop-ments that are alarming/ '

The unalarming developments includedsand boils popping up behind the north levee.Most serious of these, engineers said, wasnear Ak-Sar-Ben bridge. Men, off ic ia ls empha-sized, are st i l l urgently needed to patrol leveesand to form a stand-by pool in case of sudden,serious trouble.Still Work to Do

There was s t i l l workto be done. CrewsWednesday were f i l l i n gdirt in behind a new sec-l i o n of f lashboard thatextends 1.5 miles south ofthe South Omaha bridge.And C. W. Durham, engi-neer in charge of second-ary levees, said enoughdirt was hauled to the sec-ondary levees Wednesdayto br ing them up to 33.5-feet — two feet highert h a n the main levee.

O p t i m i s m cont inuedin rule expressions of offi-c ia ls close to the defenseoperat ion. -Sen. Bourke B.

Watching, WaitingHickenlooper, after a tour of the levee systemWednesday, said "from the looks of the thing,they have an excellent chance of holding."No Idle Wait

This was no idle wait to see what theMissouri wi l l do. It was an anxious, worried,nervous wai t . But in one respect i t wasrelieved.

The weather bureau postponed by 14hours the expected arr ival t ime of the river'sbiggest punch— the 31.5 foot crest. Becauseof water spreading upstream, tha t recordcrest isn ' t expected now u n t i l 9 p.m.Thursday. Col. Hicks said "that's good." Itgives more t ime to wind up levee work and tostockpile sandbags on the levee in case rainshould turn roads into quagmires, keepingtrucks from the levee.

BelowPresident Harry S. Truman looks over the flood zonewith Sen. James E. Murray (left) of Montana at hisside. Pres. Truman got a first hand view of the flood-ing Missouri River through the window of his plane,The Independence. -Nonpareil Photo

Flood Notes Froni April 16; 1952 J ^Even in the tense city hall defense head-^^water/works-, building.- Ten wesre'safely .sur-

quarters, haggard workers have to^ take-tirnev.;Vrourtded-:b,y,sandbags.; T.he-largest-wasf quicklyout for relaxation. It was such a time Tijesday^b^^when Mayor James F. Mulqueen was present-^\by^th"e:>ed an armband bv Ravmond Smith-loeal a'ttor-'TvHiatpIv^ >.-\-v,'••--• •••. ^"•'•- V: -.;, \^ :-~-t.V""''>.;•• •'.-•. • • : • • ' -

]; Manufacturing'cbrrip'a:?.'Appropriate armbands-were also present^dJto::Vhy/presidentwCity Attorney .David .E. Stuart;'..Corporation - ̂ A'J'vS.; -'Hpffman^'comp'ariy•-. vice-president;- to'..:

Counsel Don Jackson and. 'City^_M.ana'ge'r'£.?. ppfen^hViKeller' residenceVat ;2d8-lyibrnirigside'..,.Kennard W Gardiner. .Cheers. : .and Jjpud.^'aveVu&'fpKfjpod;refugees/^applause accornpanied the presentation's.- ^v^ - '

• • ' • ' • - ' • . • • • . • ' * • • • - . '-.'.r,7;^-;-.-i/:v-'':-5v;^; - . - • : - •• - ; •• ; • v . - " - . • • • / - : ; • '•''-• .-;•.-" .'.''--> . - ' • - - . - • " - ' • • ' • . •"•; ?-.'•:•r *- J; i ; ,- • • •, i > , - "-7 :--.' j-'. •- -1 c: - - .: . -.^ ;. - •- v J-, « • • = • * • - , % * .\ ^ f- . ' . • rv '. . ; ; ^; - ; • - • . • • : . - ' • j. . i ' • : " ' ' " .:.Pla'y'Areas/.. — -V:\:--; .:.--'.; ^.-:. • - : ! / ' '- . - ' • ' ' •'•'''.,-;' -Sprne; SlTblunteersV^re.pperating play areas at

fthe'fc.ify's-.eyacuatip'n'r.cente.rs;,1 according to, the.v.rdepiirtrrierit''.bf recreatioh'The'evacuation.cen-,. ';.ter>,?play', area'sfare-•"at:-"A.L;.gyfh'v":BayIiss Park, ;

r'"'-iu'--1on schboli'Maspnic tempie; Harrison '

Change in Diet " • ' , ' • ' • ; . ' ':-:/'::".^^\::"f.'i^Workers. at: the levee hear Big';L'ak'4Tgpt1;4;^

different — .arid very welcome.•'ghanger:/in'=<fiefeTuesday afternoon. : . • • • . • •:'-..••• •.'. ',-:^-' • ;.::-;;;.-> ; ' j

• • - - - • ~ ' ' ' . ' x. ::-.-•'- •'-.'<•. .- Women of a local:.church.s^rit-:a.jl'(^gallbn;',.can of homemade bean sou'p put-"w'jthcthe Red ;.Cross-. It was gobbled up almost•imiTiedi'ately^..Unfortunately;, the identity,of the.cHuKGh was;'unknown by the man at the .Red Cross tr.ucky.v'

Pick Up Service' .'•, • w' V ..- ':;'0/^^VV^" Three' sound trucks^ were cruisiri'g'-the east';,

side, hill district Wednesday,-, pleading.;;.with ;men -to turn..out for- work.'bn-tneMevees:.''Following the sound trucks were open-.t'rucks."to.pick up the men who answered the call..

The Red Cross, after a house-to-housecheck, told city officials early Wednesday thatonly one family was still living in the evacuat-ed areas south of Broadway.

There is surprisingly little looting activityin the city's evacuated areas, according topolice. Capt. Charles Merriman reports nolooters were picked up Tuesday night.

Sand Boiils UglyA sand boil is an ugly looking thing at best. Buta protective circle of sandbags takes some ofthe punch out of its aggressiveness!. Engineers :-explain a sand boil is a spot where water has.burrowed through a layer of sand',or=,gE'ayej inthe levee. This .sand, gravel arid Water.'fhen.>begins to bubble out on the -other'.side;ofjtlie:-.levee:weakening it and making it vulnerable-.i?p>la break-through. • A Nonpareil, -reportehf-Tuesclay spotted 12 sand• boils..'iri'a'itw'p^rnile^walk atop the levee froni Big Lake t'o-.the^new

Post Office Busy ; ; v;^--.; • ;. : , : ; ,;- ' ' ." v -•; ,_. ' ' '

-^.S;f;;Th'e;ppst'.p/fice is'_a"busy.'.place.these days..-' •/.'pIrist6ad-Qf-'a:.''few^hundred'' calls per "day at the.'. •,4generai;;delivery win'dbw,:there" ..are 'between •

3; and 5,.000.M. Since the •"evacuation, .mail •

-ened areas is being delivered'thrpughVthe'post'-'office. The operation^has bee'ri;smooth thus;.,far, but officials warn the rmail.w ;ili stockpile ifit is not picked up••oft'en.;by.;evacuees.'-y - •• " •

Barges Carry Food ;:,'Four river .barges were carrying food'- to,

levee workers ;Wednesday=-.;un'(i'er -the 'supervi-sion of the AiTiencan::Red .Cross. The barges,operating from.'Eighth street .and.the foot.of theAk-Sar-Ben bridgej:are;su"ppiied,by:trucks. Then-they move upT-an'd-^dpvyrj'ftrie'leyee distributingcoffee and'sand wicries;tolthe;. bungfy..workers!..The.;'ney£;system .was,;•iri.cqrporated 'after it•;becam:frdifficult 15 feed-the .wprk'ers by mobile ..caht_eenV.-,:-s'•.;'.,•.'^.,'."•-;'-'.V1"-' ,' .;-V:\'••''• v.-. • '. -. -'' ."'•,'• One^ypuiigsterat-.theRed Crbss evac--

'uee;.£eh.t;er.:at ,A, L./gy'm :cameidown.with the '.'.measies'Tuesday/The net.result was that the• ;7.5'" other• .•y.p^ung'steVs.>sat:."the, gym had to' be'

• given.infections .to help protect them .against• rneasles.;:L;bea! pKysicians/wpr.kep1'the needle..;;asserribiy,lme: .-.'•; '-'.'• -:.-'"%:-.'J'i •-:'.-:'-"'-.•"'-''"'''• /'. • • .

64

ARPIL 17,1952

Increasing Saturation Big WorryThis is the day. Council Bluffs is entering hermost crucial hour.

There is some cause to hope that thecity 's levee system strengthened by a week'sfeverish work—will hold back the gluttedMissouri river.

There is also reason to believe the leveesmay not stand.

The river, gathering strength for its f i g h tagainst Council B lu f f s , is forming a long, f latswell between here and Blair, Neb. Waterspread 16 miles wide over lowlands upstreamwas ready to join the river in its swipingpunches at Council Bluf f s conf in ing levee sys-tem.

The stage here at 1:30 p.m.Thursday was 29.69 feet.

The crest—the river's biggestjab in history—is expected heresometime Thursday night. "It's nota sharp crest," the weather bureauexplained, "so you can't say it willbe here at any certain time. It willbe here whenever the river hits a31.5-foot stage, and it will last for\?. or 15 hours."

That's what worried armyengineers here—a long, sustainedcrest pushing in on the levees.

They seemed conf ident thebuilt-up levee system would not betopped. But they are worriedabout the terr i f ic river pressureforcing seepage through the lev-ees and popping sand boils behindthe levees. Col. T. M. Nosek, thearmy engineer in charge of leveeshere, put it this way:

"Things are critical, but notdangerous. In some spots we havesi- j i i t the army in, because we needexperts that know just where toput the sandbags. But we sti l l needas many civi l ian volunteers as wervcr did."

In an Omaha press conference. Brig. Gen.Don G. Shingler warned against let t ing up inthe river f ight . Flood forces, he said, have "juststarted to fight—we may have days ahead ofus."

Sandbags and the latest news...Nova DuPont of3000Fourth avenue and Dick Corder of 2304 Avenue Fperch atop sandbags pulled in the doorway of StateSavings bank reading flood news in The Nonpareilafter coming in from police detail work. -Nonpareil Photo

r Allen C. Brown, whoWest 'Side which was

'hen the Missouri River3 flood the area turnedEditor A.M. Piper's

bedroom, bringing in arspnal items. Brownof the main flood sto-ping much during the•gency period, April 11-rted non-stop and the'jp his leads. I spent' hours a day at thehbme to shower, grabo eat and take a few

er,ator of the photo\achine also stayed onI got brief naps by set-n clock to go off whenas set to be done.

\'e Reporter had left thed\5 p.m. to check onnd to look for humanIPS. When she hadn't•kby 10 p.m. I becameNone, of the others

• seen .her. Could shei over the levee andwed by the river? Itike station and askedjeant if he would have'n jf/ood watch keep anher. "Won'thave to,"e's upstairs in a cell."What did she do?" Ihing she came to theeck a story and was sovuld hardly see. WeII lso she could rest forou want, I'll call her.r, "i I responded, breath-f relief.

i

<ndon's touching story\who talked his way' National Guard to getin the evacuated area

tog. (See story at right)a. Nonpareil carrier,?ugh a window to get

imer Nonpareil Managing Editor

Flood Notes From TheApril 17,1952

NopareilMayor Has Hard Time GettingBack Into Bluffs

Mayor James Mulqueen had hispersonal bridge troublesWednesday:

After conferring with PresidentTruman in Omaha, the mayor gavehis police badge to a member of his:party to return to Council Bluffs.The mayor stayed to lunch with thepresident. Then he tried to get backinto his own city. National guards-men, operating on orders, wouldn'tallow him across the bridge. Nopass.The Omaha civil defense office,however, issued Mulqueen a "spe-cial" pass so the mayor of CouncilBluffs could get back into his city.

Laud Good NeighborsManpower officials Thursday

had nothing but high praise for vol-unteers from other towns who havereported for work on levees here.It's been impossible to keep track of

,&lf*ife..ifc_

all the towns who sent men, theysaid, but a partial list includes:Carroll, Malvern, Marne, Elk Horn,Atlantic, Portsmouth, Shenandoah,Neola, Minden. Persia, Underwood.Kimballton. Elliott, Red Oak. Shelby,Macedonia, Oakland, Stanton.Villisca, Griswold, Lewis, Harlan,Massena, Pariora, Carson,Cumberland, Essex, Henderson,Mineola, McClelland, Anita,Centerville, Missouri Valley,Corning, Omaha, Lake City.Manning, Guthrie Center, Crescentand Ames.

Two Bridges ClosedThe Nebraska City bridge, link-

ing Iowa and Nebraska was closedThursday and the Brownville, Neb.,bridge will be closed Thursdayafternoon, the state safety patrolsaid.

The action means that allMissouri river bridges except thetwo at Omaha are closed. TheOmaha bridges, Ak-Sar-Ben andSouth Omaha, are limited to emer-gency traffic.

Boy at DikeAn unidentified 9-year-old

boy reported to city-hallwhen a call went for volun-teers.

"Son, you're too small to dothat kind of work," he wastold by labor pool officials.

"Well, I'm big enough tohold sandbags," he said con-vincingly. Eight hours later, atired but happy boy walkedaway from a truckload ofsandbags.

Scrambling in his house....to feedRagsey is John Vinson. The dogwas left behind when his familyevacuated because the Red Crossshelters would not accept animals.The 13-year-old went to the policestation to get a pass to enter theevacuated area then boarded a busfor the west side. He got throughthe guard patrolling the area andfound his dog waiting for him.-Nonpareil Photo

LeftThis family was some of the 25,000 people fromthe west and south sides who were evacuated outof town and to the hill districts. -Nonpar Photo

MiddleThis "sandbag factory" near Golden Horse Diner onSouth Omaha bridge road is where volunteers filledthe 50-pound bags with sand. It went on day andnight and is attributed to he/ping save CouncilBluffs. -Nonpareil Photo

BottomMaking 5000 sandwiches a day and hundreds ofhot meal fell on the shoulders of more than 100Council Bluffs housewives, a group of whom areshown here at work in the Moose Hall commissary,working as Red Cross volunteers.-Nonpareil Photo

•J-Vf

'•.;•'••?.:•' ?JK-X~f

"Relatives living in the WestEnd moved in, with family residingin the 'hills. '\ Porches filled withfurniture and-appliances."

\ -Tom Durick. La Mesa. CA

"I was very young and myfamily lived on a high hill. Morethan a dozen West End relativesmoved in with my family for sever-

remember Edward R. Murrowbroadcasting from the Ak-Sar-Benbridge and President Truman visit-ing the city. My brother Bill (whowas a senior 'af St. Francis HighSchool) spent\ days and days work-ing on the dikes. My father foundhome too chaotic with all the peo-pie and he spent days on the sec-ond floor of Omaha Standard at24th and Broadway. His drugstore was directly across the streetand he had a pass to enter theevacuated area. He and his friendMiles Standish spent the daysplaying cards with other friendswho holed up there. They hadrowboats with them, in case theflood broke \ through, and theyneeded to evacuate. (My motherwas very angry with him.)"

-1. Michael Connolly/Council Bluffs, IA

i ] "As the Missouri River was rising,1 my husband Ron Ford and I with ouri I ' I1 two small children lived ]in a home at! 21st& Avenue F. Ron tiad just installed, a new furnace in the basement when\ we received orders to evacuate. HeI quickly dismantled much of the fur-I nace and put it in the attic.I 1 L

. He worked for John Deere inI Omaha and all personnel were told by| Mr'. Hosford that anyone who lived ini Council Bluffs and whose home was indanger could leave work, and help fillsandbags for as long as. necessary. Mr.

I Hosford said they 'would continue toi receive pay from John Deere.

Since practically Everyone in theWest End of Council Bluffs was told to

( evacuate we couldn't'find a truck tomove us. Fortunately one of my rela-tives ran into a girl '/. had gone toschool with who said they had a truck.I am forever grateful 'to her and her

; husband. Of course no one personcould take all of our furniture so it wasscattered with relatives] and friends inCouncil Bluffs and Omaha who were

i not affected by the flooding.

We lived upstairs in my mother-in^law's home in Omaha, 'for about twoweeks because of f/»e evacuationorder. With practically everyone movedout of the West End, it was like a ghosttown. The National] Guard was on theAk Sar-Ben bridge and<ifyou wantedto cross into the Bluffs] you had toshow identification. '',

i We moved back after the dangerI was over and tried to \remember who1 had our furniture. We never did find allj our furniture but th'ey] were small, pieces and that was a] small price toi pay. We were grateful] to the people

who helped us and glad pur home was1 safe." i' I' -Barbara ford, Omaha, HE

Notes from thefollowing days....Friday, April 18:It takes from midnight un t i l noonfor the long, f l a t 30.2 crest to passCouncil B lu f f s . Swift current cutsinto embankment beneath SouthOmaha bridge. Engineers saythere is critical possibility of riverundercutt ing soggy levees: alsosay river may drop too fast, caus-ing levees to fal l into stream.Saturday, April 19The crest has passed. The leveeshold. The city is safe. Off ic ia lsstart th inking about how to get25,000 evacuees back into theirhomes.

Sunday, April 20Mayor Mulqueen opens part of theevacuated area for inspection bythe Council Bluf f s Gas company.The river stage: 27.3 feet.Monday, April 21Operation Homecoming underway in earnest.Monday, April 22City is declared safe from floodthreat by army engineers, whopraise local spirit and coopera-tion.

BelowHomecoming began April 21 when peo-ple could move back into their homes.-Nonpareil photo

m

f

JUNE 23, 1947

Indian Creek Leaves Tons of Mud in CityMosquito Creek Inundates Tank farm Area

Thousands of tons of gumbo mud werebeing removed from local streets June 23 inthe wake of a torrential ra in , which June 22sent Indian creek surging over its banks in sev-eral d i f fe ren t places. Mosquito creek alsooverflowed.

It was the city's f i r s t creek flood since thesummer of 1942. the second since the con-crete channel was built a dozen years ago.Damage wil l run into thousands of dollars.

A twister was reported Sunday atMacedonia, doing known damage to three orfour farms. R a i n f a l l measured 3.33 inches hereJune 22. Heavy downpours also were reportedthroughout southwestern Iowa and streamsJune 23 were runn ing bank-ful l . Al though June23d's sun made some res t i tu t ion, the weatherbureau predicts par t ly cloudy skies—butmakes no mention of additional rains.

The torrential rains flooded the munic ipa lairport and a part of the Lake Manawa com-muni ty . Railroad t r a f f i c into Council B l u f f s wastied-up from the east by washouts and land-slides, and numerous highways throughoutth is area were closed.Several highway-bridgeswere out.

Clogged by silt and mud.City Engineer Forest E.Grover said Ind ian creekwas no match for the torrentwhich swept down from thewatershed north of the city.

It overflowed at railroadbridges between 12th and13th street and Broadway,

and several places along the 14th street chan-nel, inc lud ing Third, 22nd and 28th avenues.

Broadway, from N i n t h street to west 14th,was struck the hardest by the flash flood.Di r ty , clay-colored water gushed throughopenings at the Nor th Western I l l ino is Centraland street car bridges, sending it rampantover the five-block area. Water stood doorwaydeep in the area, flooding basements of thestores which l i ne both sides of the street.When the water had receded, a heavy depositof mud remained.

Mayor Phil Minner emphasized tha t theflooding here is the result of an inadequatesewer system, and "demonstrates the need fordiver t ing out-of-city mud and water before it iscarried into town."

The bulk of damage was caused by mudcoming from the Indian creek watershed northof the city, he said.

"Every e f f o r t should be exerted," he said,"to get f inanc ia l aid for d iver t ing that r u n o f f . "

-Nonpareil Photos '.̂