Editorial: FHS grads set a good example in flood effort

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Nate Rowan feels like he grew up a lot last week, and it's easy to understand why. The 2005 Farmington High School graduate was one of thousands who dedicated himself to building sandbag walls in hopes of protecting the cities of Fargo and Moorhead from the advancing Red River.

He wasn't the only recent Farmington graduate to lend a hand, either. Rowan was one of seven former Tigers who gathered Monday afternoon to talk about the fighting the flood. It’s the kind of experience that’s likely to make a lasting impact.

Students — and the thousands of others who pitched in to protect the homes and memories of people they’d never met — worked long, grueling days in cold and rain and blizzards. They spent days building dikes and nights filling sandbags alongside children and convicts.

The students said seeing so many people come together restored their faith in humanity. Seeing these students pitch in so willingly and so enthusiastically should strengthen Farmington’s faith in the students it’s sending into the world. Even now, as they’re home safe and enjoying the clean running water they lost in the later days of their sandbagging efforts, the students say they’d like to go back. To do more to protect the city they’ve come to call home at least nine months of the year.

“You would get emotionally attached to the people whos home you’re working on,” said Jared Rowan, Nate’s brother and a freshman at Concordia College.

The students know there is more work ahead. When they return there will be millions of sandbags to remove. They don’t know if the cities will call on volunteers to do that, but they’re ready to help.

That kind of dedication speaks well of the families, the schools and the city that prepared them for life.

Tags: opinion, fhs, grads, flood, efforts