Today in History revisits the April 15, 1974 edition of the Obituary and highlights a story on Cart Creek flooding part of Crystal, N.D.
Cart Creek overflowed its banks in Crystal, N.D., on Easter morning (April 14, 1974), flooding parts of the town. Melting snow and rain caused the creek to rise rapidly. Volunteers managed the situation by repeatedly opening a dam to control the water flow. Though some areas were icy, further flooding was prevented, unlike nearby areas like Neche, N.D., where more flooding is anticipated.
CRYSTAL, N.D. — Cart Creek spilled over its banks Easter morning (April 14, 1974), flooding a residential section in this town of 300 in Pembina County.
The basement in an unoccupied house was filling, according to Mrs. Art Strand, who said a dam on Cart Creek is being opened repeatedly to ease the flow of water from the block-long spillway in the city’s park.
The brisk rise in Cart Creek came after Friday night’s two-hour drizzle melted a heavy winter snow cover. The creek is also fed from Milton and Mountain, and eventually will enter the Red River of the North by way of the Park River at Grafton, N.D.
The park dam spillway saved the city from a worse inundation said Mrs. Strand. The gates were opened again at 6 a.m. Monday by volunteers.
There are still snow patches, particularly in shelterbelts, but fields are unusually clear except for an occasional water puddle. Temperatures were below freezing Sunday night and some areas were icy Monday morning.
Crystal doesn’t have the snow cover reported at Neche, where a flood stage by Thursday is expected.
Our newsroom occasionally reports stories under a byline of “staff.” Often, the “staff” byline is used when rewriting basic news briefs that originate from official sources, such as a city press release about a road closure, and which require little or no reporting. At times, this byline is used when a news story includes numerous authors or when the story is formed by aggregating previously reported news from various sources. If outside sources are used, it is noted within the story.