Meet the Two Young Boys Who Rode Out the Rapid City Flood of June 9. 1972 With Me Up on a Rooftop.

William Stiebel and Jonathan Jung

     I found this picture today in a buried photo album. These two boys and I spent a long night together on a rooftop the night of June 9, 1972. That night one of the nation's deadliest floods swept through the Black Hills of South Dakota killing 238 people and injuring 3,057.         Meet William Striebel (left) and his cousin Jonathan Jung, both from New England, North Dakota. William was 4 years old. Jonathan was 3 at the time. Many of you know the story so I won't go into detail. Suffice to say I was babysitting them that night. 
     Our story started in the family's Winnebago motorhome and ended on a nearby rooftop which happen to sit straight in the path of a massive wall of water pouring into Canyon Lake from the surrounding hills. That home was one of the few that remained on its foundation. The Red Cross and National Guard found us the next day. I was 13 years old. This is a link to the Ensign magazine story on the flood published in Sept. 1972. 
     My dad and i were both interviewed for the story. Months later, their parents found my address and sent a check (afterall, I was babysitting that night) from New England along with a letter of gratitude and pictures of both boys. 
     Anyway, many of you have heard the story but never properly met the boys. Well, here they are - handsome little guys, energetic but so well behaved considering the carnage around us. They were spared much of it under a blanket near the chimney.

The Williamsons Prepare to Feast. A Thanksgiving Day Photo Bonanza. Trip to the Black Hills June 1996. Christmas Eve Family Party 2001.

Thanksgiving at the Mattson Home in Spearfish 1957. The Williamson's first Thanksgiving. Kim
is down for a nap and I'm enjoying the meal from the inside if you catch my meaning.
Grandma Elda, Luella, Charles sit on the far side of the table

From the Fortress of Solitude
Pleasant Grove

Happy Thanksgiving!

     It's 9:47 A.M. here at the Fortress. Janice is getting ready to go with Jilane to prep Ashley and Mike's home for the Family Thanksgiving Extravaganza Eat Until You Drop Buffet.  Jilane has been out running, thinking an hour on the trail will allow for that extra piece of pumpkin pie.  I'm at my desk scanning photos for today's photo dump into the blog.  I don't have many unencumbered days, so I take advantage when the opportunity presents itself. 

Luella feeling a bit tipsy with her Coke Zero with that special something added to help her through the day.
Thanksgiving 2011

     Prepping for a Williamson family All You Can Eat involves several rolls of plastic wrap. Think Dexter. The floor, walls, and ceiling must be covered; If not, repainting is the only known way to completely eliminate evidence of the clan gathering. 
     To help steady nerves, a special room is reserved for decompressing, especially needed today.  Both the right and left wing of the family will be under the same roof; not to mention the High Mormons, Middle Way Mormons, and those who avoid the topic all together.

Enoch upset in Time Out for fingering every pie on the dessert table

Enoch pouted while his naughtier cousins found other ways to protest their confinement in Time Out. 

     

     At such gatherings it is important we remind ourselves that we are a loving family that respects and cherishes diversity because diverse is what this family is, like so many others in our modern world.  I also take a moment to remind the political active that NO political discussions are allowed around Great Grandma Luella. Failure to comply will result in banishment from the dessert table."  Because of the recent passage of the marijuana proposition, I was thinking of putting up a sign banning discussions of medical marijuana but decided against it after a few discussions with the family elders. It seems the Williamson's aren't as divided on the subject as I thought.

Luella about to tuck in and clean that Thanksgiving plate in record speed.

Kim was asked to eat by herself after having pretty much offended everyone.
Thanksgiving 2011

     This year's Decompression Room will be the Costa's rarely used living room just off the family room. Diffusers will scent the room in a special DoTerra blend of fragrances tailored for family events like today's; think a green pasture surrounded by Ponderosa Pines with just a wisp of sunshine lingering in the air to help you ease quickly into your happy place.  Candles will decorate the room in dancing light. Music will tug at the ear with celestial melodies selected from tracks recorded by the Sisters of the Abbey of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. 

     We didn't have a Decompression Room last year.  It made for a tough afternoon, leaving only the bathrooms or the cars as places of refuge. 

    

Sometimes only a good wash with the garden hose will clean one of the little ones.
We focused on table manners and etiquette this year with the little ones.

       

     This year we're taking a risk and letting the family choose where they sit to eat.  Normally we separate based on several factors. Conspiracy theorists, High Mormons, and those with an open mind usually make for good table fellows.  Democrats, Middle of the Way Mormons and the unaffiliated are good together.  The little ones have their own table but tend to ignore the plates their mother's prepared. They find their way to the dessert table once the adults have their noses squarely in the trough.

JD is stationed in the kitchen during Thanksgiving ensuring only the finest dishes brought to the gathering are
sent out for consumption.  Those dishes that fail the JD test find their way to the disposal when no one is looking.

Enoch, Jace, and Foxton, happy after four trips to the dessert table. Enoch looks like he's about to lose it.

     Today's choose where you want to sit approach will test the family's civility.  The standard used to judge whether the seating decision was a wise one or not will be based upon who is not speaking to Whom at the end of the day. I'm looking forward to today's circus.
     And now, the photo dump.

Victor

A Few Pictures from Our Short Trip to the Black Hills.  June 1996

     Luella Williamson is always excited to see the Black Hills.  I caught her in a reminiscence with this candid photo.   

     Stopping to pay our respects to the first home I remember is a must on any trip to Rapid City.
     We lived here at 39 East Signal Drive until we moved just before my 8th birthday in 1966.  The place is a bit of an eye sore today but just seeing it brings back many happy memories. 

 

     Our tour of the Williamson family homesteads always involves a driveby of our home at 210 N. 42nd Street.  We lived here from 1966 to 1968.  

     Uncle Marv ran this Jerky stand outside of Hill City back in the day. 

     Uncle Marv, Cindy, Luke and Haley.  

     Luella with Haley and Luke at Mt. Rushmore.  Who is that peering over the wall?  It couldn't be Charles in a playful mood.  

Kim DelGrosso. Don't know how this got into this mix of photos, but we'll enjoy it nevertheless.  June 2000

Celebrating My Birthday at Jilane's Home.  June 1998

     A little bit of this and a little bit of that is what you get when you do a photo dump.  Forest DelGrosso and Lisa Williamson Coronato in Jilane's kitchen. Lisa is pregnant with Adia.  She's going to hate me for posting these two photos but such is the burden one carries when recording family history.    

The Williamsons Gather for Christmas Eve Festivities.  December 24, 2001

Christmas Eve 2001

          

   

The Vercellino Family History. Great Grandfather John Vercellino (Grandma Elda's dad) Passport Application to Return to the United States from South Africa.

Great Grandparents Marie and John Vercellion

From the Fortress of Solitude
Pleasant Grove

Hello All,
     I spent several hours today researching the Vercellino family lines.  In the search I came across our Great Grandfather John Vercellino's passport application filled out in South Africa for his return trip to the United States where he eventually settled in Lead.  

     I found several interesting things worthy of more research.  First we note that John and Marie have one child, Raymond (Remi).  John and Marie took a trip to Italy where their son Raymond was born. They left Illinois and moved to Cape Town South Africa.  Great Grandfather John worked in a diamond mine.  His intention was to stay no longer than 2 years.  They didn't.       Now I can give the exact length of their stay. They arrived in Cape Town in February 1903 and returned to the United States in December 1903; a short stay of 10 months.
John Vercellino was a guard in the diamond mine. Only blacks could work in the mine because of the heat. His job as a guard was  to search the miners when they'd come up form the mine to be sure they weren't stealing diamonds. 
     Great Grandmother Marie was the primary cause for the move back to the United States according to family stories.  Marie was so frightened of the native South Africans that John bought her a pistol with these instructions, "When someone comes and knocks on the door, NEVER open the door. Look out the peephole first."  One night a black man knocked on the door. She was frightened wondering why a black man would be on her doorstep. She took her pistol, no questions asked, and shot him through the door. She looked again and saw him running away. This incident lead to a quick return to the United States on the St.Louis.  It is also interesting to note that Raymond's real name is Remeigo.

     They moved straight away to Lead, South Dakota where Grandma Elda was born in 1905.  John's brother Fred was already living in Lead and had been for several years. He owned the Christoforo Columbo Saloon and was known for his excellent homemade wines. The family stayed in Lead where both John and Marie died.