PHOTO OF THE DAY: 50-YEAR-OLD DISASTER

This photo was published in the Freeman Courier the first week of July 1972 and shows the aftermath of the Rapid City flood that devastated thousands across the city. It was published as part of a package that covered the response from some of the youth of the community; the caption reads: “What had been a lovely shorefront along Canyon Lake is now a mass of ruined houses. The lake is gone and wreckage litters the area.”

Watch this week’s Courier for a look back at the devastation through the eyes of one lifelong Freeman resident who was part of the National Guard’s response.