Some of the flood evacuees from Fargo, who found refuge at Maryvale Convent near Valley City said things went from chaos to a mini-vacation. The evacuees from Fargo are (seated, from left) Sister Del Rey from Sacred Heart Convent, who is the sister of Margaret Hoggarth (at left in middle). Next to her is Helen Schuster (formerly of Fingal), and Sister Agatha, who are staff members from Riverview Place in Fargo. In back are two of the many volunteers from St. Catherine Church, LaVerne Hoggarth and Duane Johnson. (Jean Schlegel/VCTR) 

By Jean Schlegel
Valley City Times-Record

Sister Agatha from Fargo, who found refuge at Maryvale Convent for nearly a week, thought their new titles rather humorous.
Sister Agatha and Helen Schuster (formerly of Fingal) were discussing their plight over lunch on Wednesday at Maryvale. They are now called "flood evacuees," they said.
The move from their home at Riverview Place, located on 52nd Avenue near the Red River, came swiftly, Sister Agatha said. She and some of the other staff said they had thought they were safe from the flood because so much work had been done on the levees near them. "There were 42-foot or 43-foot levees built to protect us," she said.
From chaos to mini-vacation
When they got the call from the State Health Department that they had to be ready to leave shortly, there was much work to be done ... and quickly. “There was chaos,” Sister Agatha said. She and others had to get a lot of paper work done on every resident in three hours. There were 17 residents, two staff members and a visitor, who were transferred to Maryvale last Thursday from their group.
Sister Agatha said the urgent move to evacuate at such short notice made her scared and she was shocked. "It was dramatic. We didn't know where we were being moved to." But it had to be done as it was a mandatory flood evacuation. The independent living people could have stayed, but they decided to go along with the others.
Sister Carol Jean, who is the provincial at Maryvale, and Sister Suzanne Stahl, assistant provincial, are members of the Sisters of Mary of the Presentation. They said they took all the extra people in on faith. There were more than 50 extra people (including care givers)  to care for in this emergency. "We wanted to offer hospitality and prayed that everything would work out," Sister Suzanne said. "We offered room and board and moral support. We helped them until they got a full and complete staff here," she added.
The sisters said the guests all stayed in their Hospitality House. The sisters at Maryvale are accustomed to having large groups at times, but they believe this was the largest group they've ever had. Sister Suzanne said with all the flood evacuees and everyone from Maryvale, plus visitors, they were serving meals to about 80 people. Their phones were ringing off the wall, with concerned family members and friends worried about their loved ones, who were staying at Maryvale.
The visitors were impressed with the wonderful meals, homemade bread and pastries they were served every day. Helen Schuster, who works with Sister Agatha, said, "We get to sit down here and be waited on (at meal time)." They aren't used to that kind of treatment. Twenty of them had private rooms (in the retreat rooms), and they had ecumenical services, exercises, bingo, a concert, videos, movies and cards for entertainment. But despite all the hospitality, everyone was anxious to "get back home."
The other two groups who were guests at Maryvale during this evacuation were those from the Sacred Heart Convent, located near the river on 32nd Avenue South in Fargo, and Rosewood on Broadway. This group had a mixture of men and women, who reside there.
Sister Suzanne said she coordinated the evacuation move with the North Dakota Long Term Care Association. They provided the convent to those who needed skilled assistance, and also those who live in assistant living and independent living apartments. There were nurses, nurses aids and licensed practical nurses who provided 24-hour care. Mercy Hospital provided any medical supplies needed.
St. Catherine volunteers help out
The sisters at Maryvale were grateful to all the volunteers who helped during this time of need. Many volunteers came from the St. Catherine parish. They provided help where ever it was needed, in addition to bringing food and radios. Deb Didier and Debbie Leitner coordinated this endeavor. DeVerne and Margaret Hoggarth went to the convent when they heard what was happening. Margaret's sister, Sister Del Rey from Sacred Heart Convent, was evacuated to Maryvale. Funeral director and a member of St. Catherine Church, Duane Johnson, was helping serve the noon meal on Wednesday.
   Sister Agatha said Mercy Hospital even brought over many beautiful daffodils. "They wanted us to think spring," she quipped. She said they appreciated that they could attend daily Mass, use the library, and were just free to move around. "We have been blessed with company and activities," she added. For some, it was like a mini-vacation.
Sister Carol Jean said they had to put many of their activities on hold and cancelled two events during this time. One was due to the weather, she said. They were just happy they could be of help in a time of need. She said everyone at Maryvale is grateful to the many volunteers in the community who helped out.
The flood evacuees arrived at Maryvale at 4:30 p.m. last Thursday, March 26, and will leave for Fargo on Thursday morning in the same buses that brought them to Valley City. The buses from the Sheyenne Care Center are equipped to accommodate wheel chairs.
Sister Suzanne said there will be some sort of payment eventually to Maryvale for their services, but at the present time, they were just concerned about caring for all the evacuees and others, and getting them all home safely.