When I was young, I was charged with what they called an “active imagination” as opposed to an “inactive” or “non-working” one. So when the water came and took our home, it didn’t bother me all that much. I thought of our home as starting a new life out there somewhere. With a new family. I suppose the utter destruction of ones life may then, I suppose, come as a pleasant surprise to their objects.
—- Red River Flood 1997
These images were taken in an area I grew up in the Red River Valley on the North Dakota / Minnesota border. Decades ago a flood destroyed most of the town I lived in and the surrounding area.
Last year I drove up to Sherack, Minnesota to try to form a closer bond with my family members still living in the area. I don't have a close relationship with any of them. They hardly have a close relationship with each other. I drove hours across the flat plains from Sherack, Minnesota to Tolna, North Dakota documenting the places I used to go in my youth.
Time hasn't moved an inch. One image is of my grandmother wearing a neatly preserved forty-five year old sweater. . Nothing moves here unless a catastrophic event takes place. Maybe not even then.
The term Jerkwater is an old train engineer phrase used to describe a town that you just want to pass through and not spend any more time than is necessary. The engineers would not even get out of the train; simply "jerking up" the water they need and move on.
