Great Flood of 1951
July 13 , 1951 has been called Black Friday by some . It was the day one of the most costly floods in Kansas ’ history swept down the Kansas River valley into the Missouri River basin . The Kansas River valley had flooded before but not at that magnitude and damage . During the period of July 9-13 , some areas in the Kansas River basin received 18.5 inches of rain . The eastern half of the basin averaged eight inches .
The flooding started above Manhattan on the Big Blue River . The Manhattan business district was eventually covered with eight feet of water . Downstream flooding continued in Topeka , Lawrence , and Kansas City . In Topeka alone about 7,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed . The rising river waters caused transportation throughout the river basin to come to a halt . Roads were washed away and railroad tracks moved . Communication lines were downed . Altogether 116 cities and towns were affected ; 85,000 people had to be evacuated from their homes ; 22,000 residences in the river basin were flooded and nearly 2,500 completely demolished ; 336 businesses were destroyed and more than 3000 flooded . The flood didn ’ t just affect just the towns and cities , 10,000 farms also suffered damage . Topsoil from fertile fields was removed by the flood waters , while heavy deposits of sediment and sand were left in its place . The flood claimed 28 lives as more than one million acres were flooded . Total losses in the Kansas River basin and in Kansas City , Missouri , and Kansas City , Kansas , exceeded $ 725,000,000 .
Dwight D . Eisenhower
Dwight D . Eisenhower became President of the United States on January 20,1953 . He was the 34th President and the first President from Kansas . In him receiving this honor , the State of Kansas was also honored . It rejoiced in the privilege of sharing the honor with its native son . “ We , the Kansas Association of Insurance Agents and citizens of Kansas , congratulate Dwight D . Eisenhower upon becoming the first citizen of the land .
“ We wish for his good health , sound judgment , and courage of heart during his term of office . We pledge to him our loyal support in carrying out every worthy move for the good of our people and for the peace of the world .”
26 Kansas Association of Insurance Agents