NDSU students, including a large contingent from the Bison football squad worked frantically in the Southwood addition of Fargo over the weekend in an almost vain attempt to save several homes in the area.
Efforts generally began around the homes of Dr. Ralph Weible, D. J. Meyer, Dr. Donald Brown and Dr. Trueman Tryhus, all on Southwood Drive. The Brown and Meyer homes were inundated late Saturday, and after evacuating the homes, the workers transferred their efforts to the Weible and Tryhus residences.
Dr. Tryhus estimated that between 200 and 250 students were constantly in this area diking and manning the pumps in his and Weible's lower levels. He said that three SU students stood watch over the pumps all night Saturday to give the Trybus family a much needed rest.
"We have to keep those pumps running to stay ahead of the rising water," said Jim Gronhovd, newly elected president of Churchill Hall.
Tryhus said that special commendation was due Wally (Tucker) MacNamee. "Tucker was out here from the very onset, with a cat, building dikes, bringing in heavy equipment and sand. He did a really fine job organizing everything."
Looking south from Tryhus' house, three houses were already half covered with water at a flood stage of 37 feet. Asked if he thought they would save the house, Dr. Tryhus was wistfully sceptical but he said if they didn't, it wouldn't be because no one had not tried.
Mrs. Tryhus gave the Spectrum a fist of about 50 names of SU people who had sandbagged, but said that it was only a fraction of the entire group, which also included students from MS and the high schools.
Pumping water from seepage of the dike was going on late into Monday morning at Tryhus' home, and he declared that it looked pretty good for him.