Lancaster farming. (Lancaster, Pa., etc.) 1955-current, March 15, 2003, Image 71
Letter Revives Memories Of 1936 St. Patrick’s Day Flood LINDA WILLIAMS Bedford Co. Correspondent My in-laws, John and Pearl Williams, both died in 1991. And, while I think of them often, I especially remember them on St. Patrick's Day and re-read the letter my mother-in law wrote regarding the 1936 Johnstown flood. BEDFORD (Bedford Co.) Most people think of the Johns town flood as that occurring on May 31, 1889. To be certain, its devastation has never been equaled and the news it produced in the 19th century was equaled only by the assassination of Abra ham Lincoln. Many people still living re member the St. Patrick’s Day flood of 1936. It was the year my parents were seniors in high school. My father often talked about how he got in trouble as he drove a carload of anxious youth from town to town looking at flood damage. They skipped school to do H! Johnstown, however, was not one of the cities he visited. Resi dents of this city feared the wor st...a repeat of the 1889 destruc tion. My husband was a two-year old toddler and his brother, a baby, on that fateful day. Over the years, my mother-in law’s deep brown eyes would often cloud with tears as she re membered the fear she had expe rienced as she pushed her two little guys out the back door of their Johnstown home and up the hill to safety. A month later, on Sunday, April 19, Pearl, my mother-in law, sat down at her kitchen table to write a letter to her sister, Betty, in Cleveland, Ohio. Her return address on the let terhead read simply, “Flood City”. Betty was pregnant with her first child and Pearl began the letter with misgivings over not being able to purchase some promised silk to make a robe for the upcoming hospital stay. She did however say she was sending a “teddy”, a souvenir of the flood from Fosters’ Store and was going to send her own silk nightie and jacket to wear for the occa sion. Continuing with family gossip, Pearl is pleased to share that brother, Andy, is buying a car for $lO a week, a 1934 Oldsmobile sedan. The purchasing price was a bargain, in 1936, for $5OO. It’s an ill wind that blows no one good and Pearl confirms this as she says that due to the flood, the Depression is over in Johns town. Schenkemeyers, my father-in law’s (Ned’s) place of employ ment, had more work then they could handle, consequently, the workmen were getting time and a half for overtime and Sundays. They wanted “Ned” to work on Easter but, tired of mud and cleanup, he preferred the compa ny of his family. “I have had my hands full cleaning up after the flood dirt,” Pearl continued. Both of the chil dren had been sick and one can only imagine the long days of working in the stench of flood waters. It was a smell my in-laws never forgot. “I am so thankful for the little Hungarian girl in our neighbor hood who helped me clean,” Pearl related. “She worked like a trooper and I am all cleaned up Lancaster F<u^mg K t- i* Letters are not valuable just because they are old. But families treasure finds such as this one because it is rich in family history. In this case, the letter details the experi ence of surviving the Johnstown Flood of 1936. except the attic and spare bed room upstairs. And, was I glad for those spaces as we moved ev erything we could up there the day of the flood.” “I think I shall never forget it, it was an awful experience....” “I was washing clothes. We had such terrible rains for two days and nights and so much snow on the ground all winter that still lay on the hills and the ground still frozen would not take any more water.” “Why the water just poured down them thar’ hills!” “I was half done with the clothes, when the people next door called to see if I had water in mv cellar. I didn’t. But I look ed out onto the street as our cel lar is level with the street and we have a door that leads to the side walk. I heard people saying the river was high and over its banks in some low places but I didn’t think anything of it until around one o’clock. “Dick Thiel, one of the sons of the old lady we rent from, dropped by and said he thought we were going to have high water like they had in 1906. “Our cellar is immense and is divided into four rooms. Dick had stored some boxes of books in the smallest room and he wanted to move them to the attic. The rain continued to pour down and inch under the cellar door. Once this task was completed, Dick and Pearl began lifting things to higher ground as the water was quickly filling the cel lar. They moved Ned’s motor saw and tools and emptied the washer and pulled it over to the .steps. They grabbed baskets of clothes and work clothes and car ried them to the upstairs bed rooms. When the water had reached the motor on the washing ma chine, she and Dick began to lug it upstairs. It was so heavy that Pearl, who weighed no more then 120, almost let it fall on Dick. Outside, the street was a like a river. A couple of boats drifted by in the rain. By mid-aftemoon, Pearl was concerned enough to call her family, who lived nearby. But the line was dead the telephone office *** > 'vf ... * < t** y ,4* > ,J/'* I. , * t* f ‘ « , * V > * > * * * *■ * was already flooded. Pearl wor- vour a pot of freshly made Hun ried about her husband who had garian goulash. They also drank no way of contacting her. Finally, a quart of liquor and a half gallon at 5 o’clock he arrived home. of wine which Pearl is certain Ned brought along a friend, Al. braced them for the night’s work Dick had stayed and the three ahead. men sat at the kitchen table, al ready knee deep in water, to de- ‘Great Find’ Demonstrates Collectibility Of Old Literature LOU ANN GOOD Food And Family Features Editor DUNGANNON (Perry Co.) Old letters, catalogs, sale bills, printed advertisements garner high interest not only among col lectors of old literature but also individuals who have a personal connection to select items. An example of this happened recently. Hassinger and Courtney Auctioneers were preparing the contents of an old hardware store for auction. Hidden in a cache of paper goods stored in the rafters above the third story building, they found a 20-page catalog from Standard Novelty Works, the largest and best-known chil dren’s sled manufacturer in the country during the early 1900 s. The catalog advertised Lighten ing Guider sleds, which are high ly prized today. The auctioneers knew the value such printed pieces have to descendants of the business and to those affiliated in some way to the former business. The auctioneers contacted Jimmy Rosen who owns the for mer sled factory building in Dun cannon. He was interested. Rosen attended the Feb. 15 Auction and purchased the old catalog for $450. This catalog will be prominent ly placed in the museum he oper ates in the former sled factory. Printed on the front of the .* They carried rugs, all the clothes, drawers, radio, living Printed on the front of the 20-page catalog advertising Lightening Guider Sleds are the words: “Without a thor ough knowledge of your goods, you are not a success.” Hassinger and Courtney Auctioneers believe their imple mentation of statement was especially beneficial to them when they discovered the catalog among a cache of paper goods stored in the rafters of an hardware store built in 1890. Hassinger contacted Jimmy Rosen who owns the former sled factory building in Duncannon. Rosen purchased the piece for $450. 20-page catalog advertising ed the item for his museum dis- Lightening Guider Sleds are the play, and the piece might have words: “Without a thorough been discarded, knowledge of your goods, you are Rosen, who operates an an not a success.” tique and craft store in addition Hassinger and Courtney Auc- to the museum in the former sled tioneers believe their implemen- factory, is delighted with his pur tation of this statement was espe- chase. dally beneficial to them. If they He said, “This is a great find, would not have recognized both It’s the oldest known piece of the sentimental and monetary Lightening Guider literature that value of the piece and contacted is known, and illustrates many of Rosen, he would not have attain- the companies earliest products.” Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 15, 2003-B2 ' ' '<s/ - *■ v V'x. ■ / ■ v^ *, 4* i / room chairs, cushions from the couch, and dishes to the second floor. Propping the beds on chairs, they piled dressers on top of that and the davenport on top of that. Even the heavy Kelvina tor refrigerator was lifted on top of the kitchen table. The motor got wet, but the insulation re mained intact. There was 53 inches of water in the house. Putting her two little ones in a baby buggy, Ned escorted Pearl up the hill to the neighbors known as “The Valleys.” In a four room house, four families bedded down for the night. The children slept in the living room, but none of the adults could sleep. “I could hear people calling for help, the noise of houses breaking and porches being swept away. The Poplar Street Bridge which is just below our house was wash ed away.” Toward dawn, Pearl was awakened by her husband who came bustling into the room with a flashlight declaring everyone should go down to the alley light to see the huge river as we may never see another flood. “I certainly hope not,” Pearl wrote. “It was horrible, only the roofs stuck out at some places.” Pearl had taken all of her food from the refrigerator to the Val leys and was happy to share it for (Turn to Page B 28) ;7