Sioux Falls times

Just to show that I am not stuck on stories just relating to N. Minn. Ave. construction project, here's a couple that occurred off of N. Cliff Ave.---well in fact between N. Cliff Ave. and N. Minn. Ave, sort of.....

Folks that have been around the north end of Sioux Falls for a time will no doubt remember taking the steep short cut that started just east of the penitentary on N. Drive, ran down the hill going SE through sewer lagoons; and ending going straight east to intersect N. Cliff Ave. just north of the bridge over the Sioux River diversion channel that drops down on the north side of Morrell's.

The first section was notorously steep....thru traffic is now highly discouraged in fact....but it was a very quick way to get to/from N. Cliff Ave. if you had work to do over there. I remember rescuing at least one guy with a pickup towing too much weight on a trailer; and at least one dump truck that did not have enough power to make the hill.

They could not leave their vehicles; as they killed their engines part way up the hill and risked rolling backwards into the sewer lagoon if they did not keep their foot on the brakes.....just had 'em stay on the brakes; until I could hook up and slowly pull them on up the hill to North Drive with the old front end loader.

Now there was this tale that the city boys that worked the sewer lagoons used to tell........

Seems that one morning they come to work in the wee AM hours to discover that a brand new creme colored Lincoln had run into one of the most fragrant lagoons (they were about 10-15 feet deep when full) and was submerged nearly up to the roof with the driver's door left open.

They searched for the driver for a bit; and then called the police. Turns out the cops ran the plates; and went over to this married couple's house, rousting the husband from sleep.
He had just bought the Lincoln, which he considered his pride and joy; and had no idea that it was not in the garage as his wife always drove her own car to work in the early AM.

Well, to cut to the chase---it seems the wife discovered that hubby was chasing around with another woman, grabbed his new Lincoln while he was sleeping and ran it off into the sewage pond, returned home to get her car; and calmly went to work!

We all cried when we heard the tale; as Lincolns were considered quite the ride by many in the mid-60's---also tucked the story in the back of our minds just in case we ever even remotely thought about getting "wanderlust" sometime later in life!