The flood of 1964 remembered

“I believe your photo ... is of the construction and rebuilding of the John Day River Bridge. There were at least a couple years of driving upriver, and down into the canyon to a makeshift temporary bridge.

“We lived in Rufus, Oregon at the time of the flood. I was 7 years old, and my Dad had a Feed Store in Arlington, Oregon, to which he needed to travel to every day. In the interim, (before there was a construction detour as shown here), he had to travel to Condon, then North to Arlington to get to his business, almost a hundred miles!

“Rufus sustained so much damage, we were land-locked with no services. My Dad and another resident called the Governor to get help and it was declared a disaster.

“In front of our house was a 20-foot-deep trench cut by flood water. For most of the night my Mom and I carried items upstairs in the event the 4-foot boulders would break through the front door, and water rush in. Around 11 my oldest Brother carried me uphill, against 4 feet of rushing flood water to a neighbor’s home on high ground. I was dropped off with no other family, scared to death. All night, both of my Brothers were digging diversions ditches, and saving lives and properties.

“My Mother finally showed up much later, and I still could not sleep; there were 10 families and adults with no children.”