The rampaging Red River, which created such a disaster in Grand Forks, ND,
and East Grand Forks, MN (Mark Van Essen's home), continued on its way
North in Canada, wiped out the town of St. Agathe, and turned the whole
of southern Manitoba into a giant lake some 30 miles wide.  All of that
water must pass through the City of Winnipeg and the crest is due today.

In 1950, Winnipeg was severely hammered by an equally devastating flood
that destroyed some 20,000 homes.  Following that disaster the Premier,
Duff Roblin, spearheaded the construction of the then world's largest
earth moving project, an engineering marvel of the time, to dig a mammoth
ditch all around the city.  Properly called the Winnipeg Floodway, it
quickly became affectionately known as Duff's Ditch.

It was finished in 1952 and since then has protected the City 3 times and
is estimated to have saved many times over its original cost of some 20+
millions.  This year is the acid test of Duff's Ditch, and so far it is
doing precisely what it was designed to do.  With the crest expected
today, Provincial water engineers continue to tell us that 99.95% of
city residences will be protected.

By chance, Eleanor and I live in the West end of Winnipeg, which
is relatively high ground, and at this moment, all is well.  Our
collection of automatic musical instruments is still high and dry.
We are taking each day one at a time.

Another AMICA member here in Winnipeg, Milton Schenk, lives on the Red
River, did have to build a dike around his home and move the contents of
his garage to high ground.  I just spoke with him earlier this morning,
and he expects the dike around his home to hold.  His garage is outside
the local dike and currently has 3 feet of water in it.  Assuming his
dike does hold today, and he feels comfortable about it, his collection
will be safe.

All of which raises an interesting concern about the potential for
shrinkage of the world supply of such heritage due to natural disasters.
Southern California, home to the single largest concentration of such
instruments, seems to be continually exposed to high risk of natural
disasters such as earthquakes and fires.  I've often wondered whatever
happened to the San Sylmar collection following the last big earthquake
in that region.  What natural disasters can be expected in the Chicago
area?  Something to think about. ...

Regards, Terry Smythe, Winnipeg