By Julie Huebel Pierce County Historical Association

SPRING VALLEY – A special history exhibit is being prepared for this year’s Spring Valley Dam Days celebration by the Pierce County Historical Association. This year marks the 80th anniversary of the disastrous September 1942 flood that almost led to the end of the village of Spring Valley as we know it. The display will be unveiled at a special showing at the Spring Valley Community Center during Dam Days, which runs Sept. 16-18.

The exhibit centers around a very detailed timeline of events documented by Dr. James S. Vedder, who experienced the flood while in town getting his wife, Lorene (Graslie) and their eldest son settled with her parents in Spring Valley before he left to serve in WWII as a doctor in the US Navy Medical Corp.

His notes start on Wednesday, Sept. 16 with: “Ominous black clouds had begun to gather in the northwest about 4 p.m.” followed by: “About 4:30 p.m. they closed in with a high wind. The rain here was slight, but at Woodville on the headwaters of the Eau Galle a cloudburst broke. They had 4 ½ inches of rain in 29 minutes. Fortunately for our peace of mind, we were uninformed of the event.” He continues to detail his observations the rest of Wednesday evening.

The following day he continued to monitor the situation and keep his notes. He recorded at 7:45 p.m. on Thursday, “The flood siren sounded. News by telephone that they had four inches of rain again at Woodville. This water would be down to Spring Valley in about 2 ½ hours.”

He recorded the following later that evening at 10:07 p.m., “Reached flood level, and the most nerve-shaking sight I have ever seen met my eyes. The valley was filled with water from the hill to hill, which is only one third of a mile across. Only the second floor of the buildings were visible…above the roar of the river could be heard the cries for help from trapped people and the crashing and creaking and groaning of the despairing buildings.”

A bit later he documented at 10:42 p.m. “The widow Larson’s house came whirling into view and was gone in a flash. She was in the upstairs, hanging on for dear life. Fortunately, the house was trapped by a weeping willow tree.” Dr. Vedder’s account continues the rest of the night and the following day.

As soon as I found this timeline a couple years ago, I knew it was special and that I wanted to present it to the public somehow. I felt the 80th anniversary of that flood was a very fitting occasion and no better time than Spring Valley’s Dam Days to unveil it.

I have been overwhelmed with the generosity of many while working on this exhibit. Most importantly has been Jean Blegen. She has helped me go through boxes and boxes of her late husband’s (Doug) and father’s (Palmer Wenum) photos to uncover several photos from the aftermath of the flood that many have never seen before. I am honored to be able to share this history with the people of Spring Valley and of Pierce County as a whole. I am very grateful to the children of Dr. James S. Vedder, by giving permission to use their father’s personal account of the flood. Additional notes of appreciation to the Village of Spring Valley and the Spring Valley Lion’s Club.

Also featured in the upcoming exhibit are the many personal accounts collected by Don Blegen several years back. I want to thank Don for allowing me to use them and also for trying to teach me in sophomore English class how to correctly use punctuation. (I very anxiously await his grade on my display.) Since I was not alive during the flood, it’s hard to fully understand what our relatives and neighbors experienced. To read all these personal accounts in their own words, to see all these photos of the aftermath, I began to really understand why this flood is still being talked about. Why the town values celebrating their dam to this day.

I hope you will mark your calendars to come see it for yourself on Sept. 16, 17 & 18 at the Spring Valley Community Center (noon to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday)/ If you have a group that would like a special tour, please reach out to the PCHA.

If interested in donating to help cover the exhibit’s costs, you can make your donation via our website or mail to: PCHA, PO Box 148, Ellsworth, WI 54011 (Reference Spring Valley with your donation).

To learn more about PCHA, visit www. PierceCountyHistorical.org

Car came to rest on a catalpa tree in front of 345 McKay Ave. after being swept two blocks by flood waters. Photo courtesy of Blegen/Wenum Collection, Pierce County Historical Association

A special history exhibit commemorating the Spring Valley flood of 1942 will be displayed during Dam Days at the Spring Valley Community Center. Photos courtesy of Blegen/Wenum Collection, Pierce County Historical Association

Car came to rest on a catalpa tree in front of 345 McKay Ave. after being swept two blocks by flood waters. Photo courtesy of Blegen/Wenum Collection, Pierce County Historical Association

A special history exhibit commemorating the Spring Valley flood of 1942 will be displayed during Dam Days at the Spring Valley Community Center. Photos courtesy of Blegen/Wenum Collection, Pierce County Historical Association