BLIZZARD. Buried in snow and Halloween candy. We were warriors determined to reap the spoils despite nature s assault!

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1 BLIZZARD Buried in snow and Halloween candy Elizabeth (Hutchison) Thomas (left) and her sisters Laura (standing near the fence) and Catherine enjoying the day after Halloween, Edina, MN, The storm totaled 28.4 inches of snow in three days (October 31 November 3, 1991), a Twin Cities singlestorm record. Courtesy Elizabeth Thomas We were warriors determined to reap the spoils despite nature s assault! The neighborhood had become a battlefield: we were warriors determined to reap the spoils despite nature s assault! Cars crawled along the streets, coming to cautious stops in front of house after house to let us little goblins and ghosts collect from the annual candy smorgasbord and trudge back [home]... for the divvying of loot.... As we overturned our buckets and made the most scrupulous trades and bargains, we felt a sense of satisfaction. For taking on the elements and coming out on top.... No Minnesotan kid will ever forget that Halloween. Elizabeth Thomas, then 10 years old, from her story It Was a Dark and Snowy Night: The Halloween Blizzard of 1991 The Hutchisons blanketed neighborhood, November 1, 1991

2 TORNADOES The Wadena Tornado, June 17, 2010 Mariah Wood (left) and Jessica Wood, standing in what s left of their house, courtesy Sam Kelderman, 2010 If we would have gone to the maintenance building for shelter, we wouldn t have made it out. I ll never forget the eerie green color of the sky as we ran [from the community pool to my house across the street].... I remember us all linking arms in a circle with our ears popped, confused at the sounds we were hearing outside. It wasn t until it was all over that we really realized what had just happened. As we made our way up the basement stairs, the view was open sky.... Dazed and confused, we got the dogs and all crammed into the car. As we drove away I remember immediately looking at the pool and realizing what had just happened. If we would have gone to the maintenance building for shelter, we wouldn t have made it out. [It] now looked like a crashed pile of Legos. Mariah Wood was working that day at the Wadena community pool. From Twisted Together by an EF4 The community pool s maintenance building, Deemed safe and stable, lifeguards were instructed to take shelter here during storms. Courtesy Sara Backstrom

3 COLLAPSE Interstate 35W Bridge Kimberly Brown and Kelly Kahle managed to climb out of Kelly Kahle s car, which hung partially submerged in the water. A boat rescued them from atop a concrete slab in the Mississippi River 45 minutes later. Photo courtesy Kelly Kahle and Kimberly Brown The fact that we re living is just as much a shock. I think I grabbed Kelly and sobbed for a second because I was so overwhelmed with fear. It was the most terrifying thing I ve ever gone through. I thought we were going to die. The fact that we re living is just as much a shock.... I just feel so lucky to be alive. There s definitely part of me that s questioning why was I spared. What am I supposed to be doing with my life? Kimberly Brown, from Two Survivors were on their Way to a Soccer Game by Dan Gunderson, August 6, 2007, courtesy Minnesota Public Radio News.org. Photo courtesy Kimberly Brown (left) and Kelly Kahle

4 HIGH WATERS Flooding on the Red River View from the Dunlevy living room, April The water is level with the living room, 20 feet up. Everything... was floating. The garage [and family room above it were] already filling with water. Everything... was floating.... In the last furious hours, while they were battling with the sump pumps, I was running stuff from the family room to the living room, from the family room to the living room... making all these little trips, thinking... if the living room flooded, the whole town has to flood.... So everything that was in the family room picture books, spinning wheel, family heirloom things got carried to the living room by myself. When you re unloading 40 years [of possessions] in about two hours, you miss some things. A lot of it that s gone; it s fine.... Maybe it s time to live without it. Mary Ann Dunlevy, East Grand Forks, MN, oral history, October 22, 1997 Cleaning out after the flood, May The Dunlevys sold their home and moved out of East Grand Forks.

5 THE GREAT FIRES Cloquet burned to desolation, 1918 Cloquet after the fire, courtesy Carlton County Historical Society We needed a guide to find our own homes. It took days to get the cinders and dirt out of our bloodshot eyes, but we were alive! The churches, theaters, schools, and lodges opened their doors wide. Women cooked and donated food washed countless dishes, made over clothes for children took care of the sick... everyone giving themselves at this crucial time. Such sympathy, kindness, and unselfishness can never be forgotten. On Tuesday, we were permitted to [go back home] and our worst fears were realized. Nothing but desolation! That couldn t be Cloquet! Where were the beautiful trees? Surely the brick buildings couldn t burn to the ground!... There wasn t a landmark anywhere that we could recognize we needed a guide to find our own homes. Mrs. Herb (Pearl) Drew, from Fire Storm: The Great Fires of 1918

6 MINE DISASTER Milford Mine Disaster Milford miners before the disaster, courtesy Cuyuna Country Heritage Preservation Society The whistles... continued to wail like a thousand banshees. For almost an hour that afternoon of February 5th, 1924, the steam whistles all over the Cuyuna Range the mine whistles at the Milford and every surrounding underground mine, the whistles on the locomotives of the ore trains, each with its distinctive unblending tone continued to wail like a thousand banshees. The howling whistles seemed to implore help almost as if hanging on a whistle would awaken Some Power to turn time back and say, It didn t happen. It was only a nightmare, a bad dream. Berger Aulie, author of the The Milford Mine Disaster: A Cuyuna Range Tragedy Milford Mine, 1924