Non-archaeology post Someone in a comment on an earlier post asked about my ancestral homeland and the potential impact of the recent floods. At the time, there wasn't a whole lot going on in that neck of the woods, but that changed last Friday. The Fond du Lac river, which flows right through the middle of town, overflowed its banks and flooded a good part of the central core. See various stories in the local paper including aerial photos.

It's a relatively small city and the ArchaeoHomestead happens to be fairly close in to the core downtown area. Happily, the floodwaters didn't quite make in into the former Archaeo Manor house. Mom reported that the water reached curb-high but didn't creep up and into the house. The basement still got a bit of water in it, but that's not really unusual.

Unfortunately, lots of stuff was right on the river, like the post office and several banks. The YMCA is right there, too, and it's closed for the indefinite future. Most of the river through that part of town is constrained by walls, canal-like, so once it hit the top it just flowed out and kept going.

From what mom says, people are making out like this is a 500-year flood. Maybe. I recall perusing a local history book and thought I remembered seeing something about a big flood either early 20th or late 19th century. And, of course, floods are worse when there's lots of people and buildings around. So, eh. Reserve a few good thoughts for the residents going through this.