DENVER — The Big Thompson Canyon in northern Colorado has experienced some of the state’s deadliest and most destructive floods. Yet we only know the stories of survival and of those who died because of one woman who’s made it her mission to keep those memories alive.
Along with a small group of others who've helped Barb Anderson over the years, we know the stories of those who died thanks to the work of volunteers who have worked for decades to make sure people don't forget.
"That was my goal in life, to make sure that people are never forgotten," said Anderson.
At 84, she is right where she wants to be. Anderson needs oxygen to breathe and her health has been better, but her memories of the 1976 and 2013 floods are clear as ever.
"I just want people to know that it happens and it happens in a flash," said Andersson, as she sat at her home.
She survived the floods of 1976 and 2013. She made it her mission to remember those who didn’t.
Two people were killed in the canyon in the 2013 floods that devastated the front range; 144 died in the Big Thompson Flood in ‘76. We have read their names and know their stories because of Anderson.
"My mom spent the next 22 years making phone calls. Her and others made phone calls to people getting in touch with at least one member of all 144 that passed away," said Tina Anderson, Barb's daughter.
Take this, for example. For a while after the 1976 floods, it was presumed that 145 people had died because one man was reported missing. Barb Anderson spent years trying to call family members for that man and she couldn’t find anyone. One day, she called and the man picked up himself. The death toll was then revised down to 144 after Anderson told the proper authorities that she had found the missing man.
And then, from a list of those who died, her decades of work led to multiple books -- every victim paired with their story.
"Not sure how many people realize just how much this consumed of my mom’s life," said Tina Anderson. "I just want everyone to know how very special she is. Not just to me but to families of 144 people as well."
As much as the two floods took, they left behind so many memories. Memories now preserved, thanks to Barb Anderson.
"I feel like I have accomplished what I set out to do," said Barb. "To make sure everyone can be safe."
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