NEAR WYNSTONE, SD -
When the Missouri River flooded during the summer of 2011 thousands of people were left with nothing to do but survive, as their homes and businesses were destroyed.
One year later those people are still rebuilding their lives, including Stephen Jones, owner of Claussen Truck Farm and Greenhouses.
Jones says he has a long way to go before everything's rebuilt, following a summer he'll never forget.
Last June the Missouri River turned his dream business into a nightmare.
"Where I'm sitting I'd be out under water," said Jones, as he sat in one of his greenhouses Thursday.
The Claussen Greenhouses have been a South Dakota staple since the 1940's, inside you'll find row after row of flowers.
After owning these greenhouses for the last six seasons, Stephen Jones says he'll never forget last summer.
"We just started having customers come in and then all of a sudden everything was gone," said Jones.
In June 2011 he wasn't sure if his greenhouses would flood or not.
He built a barrier and moved his plants, knowing how devastating a flood would be during his busiest time of the year.
"I think the water will be up to here," said Jones in June of 2011. "This is going to bring me to my knees."
Just days before the water hit he couldn't know his predictions would come true.
"Honestly, like my head would have been underwater right here," said Jones Thursday.
He watched Missouri River rising behind his buildings.
When it was all said and done it reached seven feet high, where it remained, unmoving, for months.
"I thought it was never going to leave, I mean the water was here, day in and day out," said Jones.
The water started to go down in September and when Stephen was finally able to get back inside he found ruined buildings and equipment.
The damage from the flood was devastating, just take a look at what remains of one of the greenhouses, destroyed by the Missouri River.
Stephen says it'll take at least five years before all of these damaged buildings can be rebuilt.
"I have about 40,000 square feet of greenhouse in the room that I'm sitting in and last year, before the flood, I had about 140,000 square feet of greenhouses," said Jones.
A year later you can still see what the flood left behind.
A pond and marks on the walls, all washed up alongside an astronomical cost.
But now the rows of flowers are back, the rebuilding process is going strong, and Stephen says "Mother Nature" just strengthened his resolve.
"I was standing up and I got knocked on my knees," said Jones. "And thank God I got back up again."
Stephen says keeping his sense of humor was one of the only things that got him through the flood.
He also says that after last summer, he's pretty sick of water.
