Flashback Friday: August 19, 1953 — Flash flood gives Belfield a busy day

April 12-- Apr. 12--"Business as usual in Belfield!" Mayor Dale Redmond reported to the Dickinson Press last night, following a flash flood which occurred earlier in the day, filling basements with water but causing no reported injury throughout the entire area.

Redmond, who has been mayor for five years, added, "We've been keeping busy pumping out basements in homes and stores but business is carrying right along and there will be no change in any of our plans including Fryburg-Belfield "Oil Discovery" celebration here Sept. 8 and 9."

Fire Chief Bob Brownfield and his 31 volunteers went on shifts and "they'll work straight through until all chances of any hazards are cleared up and everything is back to normal," Redmond added.

Sandbagging of stores on the main street, following the early morning fire siren alarm, "saved a lot of merchandise," the mayor explained. "There's a lot of water in basements, and hard to say yet just how much damage has been done that way."

The only resident reported "close to being a casualty" was Herman Kunde, who had to be taken from a foot bridge after his one-room frame house went down stream. He was not in the house at the time.

"Several seismograph crews have been helping pump basements," the mayor said, "and we want to give thanks to them and to the fire department men and other volunteers from Dickinson and other areas, and all who came to offer us their help."

"It's all nearly back to normal on the streets and the flash-flood won't stop business" Duane Indergaard of the Belfield News reported. "There's a lot of water in basements, like at Brown's locker plant and other places, but everything's getting back on the track again. It's difficult to estimate just what the water damage will be to stock and other materials which were housed in basements."

"Our biggest danger was if the two swollen creeks had converged on Belfield at the same time..." Vern King, who used to be the official weather observer, reported five and one-half inches of rainfall north of Fryburg.

"We don't have the measurements in Belfield but it might have been about three inches."

Pat Redmond, cousin of the mayor, said he resides three miles out of Belfield, and in the low places wheat shocks were under water.

The Joe Krivoruchka home was hit by lightning during the storm but no one was in it. The heavy damage included smashed wall, smashed up interior, and ruined chimney.

Temporary boiling of water was ordered "in order to take every precaution."

Editor's note: This article is presented as written in the vernacular and style of the time; no changes have been made to the original story.

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