Historical Lehi
Last marker of the year honors community spirit during Flood of 1983
Nicole Kunze | Lehi Historical Society
The Lehi Historical Society unveiled the historical marker for the Flood of 1983 on Oct. 23 at 65 W. 500 North. Maureen Curtis and Dorothy Ryan of the Unveiling Committee decorated the yard near the marker with sandbags and yellow rubber duckies. Many neighbors and friends who were there 42 years ago spent an hour honoring their memories of the community coming together to keep each other safe.
In 1983, over Memorial Day weekend, a combination of record snowfall, saturated grounds, warm rains, and temperatures in the 90s produced disastrous flooding throughout the Wasatch Front. Because of the way the Lehi community came together, damage was reduced, and no homes were lost. The marker is located in one of the hardest-hit areas. The marker is the last to be installed this year.
At the time of the flood, former Mayor Bert Wilson was living at the southwest corner of 500 North and 100 West and serving in the bishopric for the Lehi 10th Ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “Sacrament meeting was held on May 29, 1983. We had an opening prayer, sang a sacrament hymn and blessed and passed the sacrament,” Wilson recalled. “We had a closing prayer and went back to sandbagging. Most of the people in the church meeting were wearing dirty clothes, they were wet and dirty from working through the night and that morning.”
Wilson can clearly remember seeing Tony Peck pull onto the street in what Wilson called his “Kennecott Loader” to stack dirt up and keep the water in the channel.
“Many of us didn’t sleep for three days straight. If we did sleep, it was only for one or two hours,” said Wilson. The population of Lehi in 1983 was almost 7,000, and Wilson estimated that many of those people were helping in some way. “Most were involved in filling and placing sandbags or preparing food. Everyone pitched in. Children along the creek were sent away to higher ground,” he continued.
“We prayed for moisture, and we got it,” he said. “The good Lord answered our prayers and helped make us a city of brothers and sisters helping each other. It was a tiring time and a scary time and one of the best memory makers ever.”
Jen Adamson Hall Lynch lived across the street from Wilson in 1983. She shared many of the same flood memories.
“Back then, we got to play in the flood waters at Lehi Elementary. We brought everything that could float to the school and played in the water. It was a lot of fun, I thought,” said Lynch. “My Mom would roll over in her grave if she knew we were swinging on rope swings across the fast-moving flood waters. We’d run our toes across the water and back. We were lucky none of us fell in,” she continued.
“I will always remember this great community I grew up in and raised my boys in, taking care of us. This is a place where people take care of each other,” she said. “I’m grateful for the people who came that night in 1983 and saved any homes and property from flooding that year.”
The historical marker for the Flood of 1983 is in what used to be the Fowler family’s backyard. Don Fowler was a farmer and a truck driver. He kept his trucks parked off 500 North. “My husband was in a country and western band, and he had his equipment in a trailer parked here as well,” said Donna Fowler Barnes. “We knew the flood was imminent, but we couldn’t conceive of it getting as high as it did. We came down the next morning, and the water was at the top of the tires on my dad’s trucks, and it had gotten into the trailer with the band equipment. They had speakers and guitars and microphones, and not one thing got ruined,” she continued.
“It took us two days to get it all dried out,” Barnes’s husband, Marlin, reminded her from his seat in the audience.
“I got a little flutter in my heart when I drove up,” said Donna. “I loved growing up here. It’s very different now. We always keep our fingers crossed when we have a good winter that produces a lot of snow, so we won’t have quite as much turmoil about keeping our homes and property safe.”
Lehi City Councilmember Heather Newall told the story of Dave Turner, who used his backhoe to take out bridges that were in the way. Turner didn’t wait for permission but acted when he saw what needed to be done. “The spirit of realizing we can’t do everything, but we can do something is still the spirit of Lehi today,” said Newall. “People show up for each other because that’s what defines us. We might not be filling sandbags today, but we can fill hearts and lift burdens.
“Every generation of Lehi has faced its own kind of flood – sometimes it’s water, sometimes it’s hardship, sometimes it’s losses, sometimes it’s change, but the answer is always the same. We come together. We serve, we act, we love our neighbors enough to show up, even when it’s hard. Even when it’s inconvenient.”
Newall continued. “This marker will remind us every time we pass it. Not just that the flood came through, but the people of Lehi rose higher.”
The marker was unveiled by Jeff Mercer, son of Julian Mercer, who wrote one of the most in-depth accounts of Lehi’s flood. Ron and Joell Woolstenhulme graciously allowed the marker to be placed and the event to be held at their home.
The marker is the 15th of the Lehi Historical Marker Program and the last to be installed this year. The program was founded in 2022 when the Lehi Historical Society won funding from the John David and Danaca Hadfield family of HADCO Construction and a large Lehi City PARC grant.
