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			Photo Album Pleasant Township, Cass County, ND, April 1997
			Students of the Farmhouse Fraternity from North Dakota State University filled sandbags and built a dike in the freezing, stinging rain that preceeded the ice storm during the "flood of the century" in the Red River Valley in April 1997.     The men of the Farmhouse Fraternity from NDSU demonstrated amazing endurance and determination during the long, hard day in which they built a sandbag dike in freezing rain that pelted them all day from daybreak until they finished well after dark.                   We stood our ground and fought the river as best we could. Sleepless hours consumed our days and nights, with short breaks to eat. We were tired and cold and nearly worn out, but we remained unbeaten.     The "watch on the wall" went on day and night - sometimes without relief when no one else was available to take over. The faithful, endless vigil over the pumps meant the difference between success and failure.                     The strength of the Red River was awesome to behold as we watched in silence from behind our defenses. The crushing power of the icy cold water pressed strong and heavy against our fragile sandbag dikes.     Some of us were totally cut off by the powerful current of the Red River flowing strongly north to Canada. The gravel road that connected us to each other was under 2 to 4 feet of heavy ice cold water.
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