Yesterday in La Crosse
A record flood was coming, 52 years ago
In early April of 1965, the Mississippi River was rising quickly. The water had reached the flood stage of 12 feet in La Crosse by April 9th, and forecasters expected the flood level of 15 feet set in 1952 to be beaten by a couple of feet. The city of La Crosse ordered 15,000 sandbags to hold off the river. One newspaper photo showed several shirtless male college students from La Crosse State stacking sandbags at the Holiday Inn on the pike.
The Milwaukee Braves beat the Cincinnati Reds on opening day of the ’65 season. The Braves would finish 5th in the National League that year, and then would move permanently to Atlanta at season’s end. The Houston Astros beat the Yankees in the first indoor major league ball game ever played, inside the $32 million Astrodome.
Rowley’s office equipment store in La Crosse moved to a new location, at the corner of 3rd and Main. Rowley’s would remain at that location until going out of business. The corner building now houses the Old Crow, but it was an office supply store in 1965…52 years ago, yesterday in La Crosse.
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