Because we're getting so many questions, I thought I'd offer
this to Museum-L:

UPDATE FROM ND -- MOST MUSEUMS AND SITES UNHARMED
This report includes only those who have reported
to the State Historical Society of ND.

Wahpeton, ND -- Richland County Historical Society and Fort
Abercrombie Historical Society were unaffected.  The
Chahinkapa Zoo was able to move their live animal
collections to safety, however, the Interpretive Center was
filled with 4-6 feet of flood water.  Zoo staff has been
conducting recovery efforts at the City Hall and reports
have been fairly positive.  Many mounted specimens were
completely soaked and the large dioramas were heavily
damaged.

Fargo, ND/Moorhead, MN -- Cass County/Bonanzaville (ND) and
the new Plains Art Museum were unaffected.  Clay County
Historical Society (MN), which is in the same building with
the Hjemkomst Museum, experienced some seepage in the lower
levels, but were saved by sandbag dikes.

Grand Forks, ND --  ND Museum of Art and the Hughes Fine
Arts Center (both on the University of ND campus) narrowly
escaped flood waters.  The Grand Forks County Historical
Society (including the Myra Museum) experienced severe
damage in the lower level of its main building.  UND
Anthropology and Archeology Department suffered water damage
at only one of its three storage sites, including
approximately 200 boxes of archeological material.

Pembina, ND -- The permanent dike system held in Pembina,
saving the new Pembina State Museum from flooding.

And:

FLOOD RECOVERY EFFORTS IN GRAND FORKS, ND

   The grounds at the Grand Forks County Historical
Society's museum, also known as the Myra Museum, were
covered with water during the recent flooding of the Red
River (of the north). The heaviest damage occurred in the
museum's main storage area when the basement was flooded
with over nine feet of water.  Other buildings on the site
(with no basement levels) had only an inch or two of water
and sludge on the main floors.

   In a heroic act in the face of approaching flood waters,
the staff at the Museum attempted to remove artifacts from
the basement display rooms to the main level. Unfortunately,
the library materials and the storage areas were too much to
move in the minutes available before staff was required to
evacuate.

   The museum has only two part-time staff members.  The
basement of director Ted Jeliff's home, a few blocks from
the museum, was also heavily damaged in the flood.  Sarah
Adams, the administrative assistant, was finally allowed
into the area several days after the waters had begun to
subside. The museum had no water and no electricity and the
telephone lines were dug up in the "last ditch" dike
efforts.

   Assistance came in the form of supplies and labor from
the Upper Midwest Conservation Association (regional center
based in Minneapolis, MN) and the State Historical Society
of North Dakota.   Four people from each agency were aided
by donations from several businesses, including a freezer
truck, crates and other recovery supplies.  Other
volunteers, both from the community (including one man from
Ohio who was moving his son from the university) and from
several museums in the region provided extra hands for
carrying, rinsing, sorting, and blotting.  Personnel came
from Barnes County Historical Society (Valley City, ND),
Clay County Museum (Moorhead, MN), and Steele County
Historical Society (Hope, ND).

   Recovery involved moving the artifacts from the basement
and rinsing them with clean water.  The textiles, papers,
photos, and books were packed to be frozen as a temporary
measure to prevent mold from growing.  Those artifacts that
could not be frozen were laid out to dry on blotter paper
and plastic sheeting in the remaining buildings on the site.

   The recovery team did the bulk of the removal in a two
day period, but the efforts have really just begun.  The
frozen objects will remain in a locker plant an hour away
until the Grand Forks County Historical Society has time to
dry the artifacts or obtains funding for freeze-drying.
Vigilant monitoring of those objects currently laid out to
dry will be needed in the days and weeks ahead.

   To aid in the recovery and salvage efforts, the
Bridgeman/Land O'Lakes Company in Thief River Falls,
Minnesota, donated the use of a refrigerator truck and
several hundred crates for use. Those artifacts frozen will
be stored at the Hope Locker Plant in Hope, ND.  Ihry
Insurance, which owns the plant, donated the use of the
plant.

   Several other companies also donated shipping and
recovery supplies: BrownCor International (Milwaukee, WI),
Talas (New York, NY), Viking Office Products (Minneapolis,
MN), GFG Food Service (Grand Forks), U-LINE (Eagan, MN),
Nationwide Papers (Minneapolis, MN), Continental Safety
Equipment, Inc. (Eagan, MN), Minneapolis Institute of Arts
(MN) and Bennett Lumber Company (Minneapolis, MN).

   The Grand Forks County Historical Society will need
donations for repackaging materials.  (Note: they had just
used their entire spendable budget on acid-free materials
and repackaged their collections.  These were all lost).  If
you can spare a box with tissue, send it to Sarah Adams,
Grand Forks County Historical Society, 2405 Belmont Road,
Grand Forks, ND 58201.  Monetary donations will also be
appreciated.

--Reported by Carol Fenner, Curator of Collections
Management, State Historical Society of North Dakota

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C. L. Dill, Museum Director
State Historical Society of North Dakota
612 East Boulevard
Bismarck  ND  58505-0830
P: (701)328-2666
F: (701)328-3710
E:  [log in to unmask]
Visit our Web site at: http://www.state.nd.us/hist/
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