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We welcome our newest business member Woodward Township and M&R Contracting. Thank you!
We have some great events planned this year, America's 250th: Hope to see you! You can always check our home page for a complete listing at www.clintonpahistory.org
March 10 in the Poorman Gallery: the Clinton County Genealogy Society presents their free program, History of the LHU Library by Joby Topper, at 7 p.m.
April 12: Program on Sybil Ludington, "The Female Paul Revere," presented by her descendent Bebe Fultz! It's free, at the Poorman Gallery, at 2 p.m.
April 25: "Wines, Shines and Brews in the Wild," our perennial favorite fun afternoon is at the Clinton County Fairgrounds from 2-6 p.m. Discount tickets, $30 are available at www.wineinthewilds.com.
We enjoyed a visit from a Civil War buff from Haneyville, a few weeks ago. He brought us a small statue and pictures of Sally, Colonel Phaon Jarrett's dog. The statue proudly sits on Colonel Jarrett's desk in our West Parlor!
From the Collection
By Kathy Arndt
Tuesday, March 17, marks the 90th anniversary of the 1936 St. Patrick's Day flood. Being a foot more than the 1972 Agnes flood of 31.1 feet, the 1936 flood reached the highest flood level in the written history of Clinton County. On March 15 and 16, there had been heavy rains in the area as well as a snowmelt that led to rising water levels in the Susquehanna and its tributaries. On March 17, however, the rain had stopped by noon and fair weather was predicted.
That day, the Lock Haven Express ran a headline declaring that the chance of a flood was "nil." Unfortunately, the heavy rains continued into the night in Clearfield County causing the West Branch to rise quickly. By 11 p.m., the streets of Lock Haven began to flood.
Our collection contains a series of Emergency Bulletins published jointly by the LH Express and the Clinton County Weekly and a special edition of the Express published on April 28 detailing the destruction and the recovery from the flood. Several photos are also in our files. The flood affected 5/6 of the city from the eastern section of town to the eastern side of Jones Street at the foot of Bellefonte Avenue.
Rescues by dozens of people in canoes and motor boats began in the early morning hours. Harry Eaisman and Wilbur Williams in Harry's canoe named "Old Faithful" began rescuing people at 3:30 a.m. The two men, credited with the rescue of more than 200 people, continued their work almost non-stop until Thursday afternoon.
Horace F. Hanna in his red Thompson Bros. canoe attempted to rescue Albert Zeigler from the wreckage of his home that had been washed off its foundation to a spot on West Water Street. Hanna's canoe overturned but he was able to avoid being swept away. Zeigler was still in the wreckage when found on Thursday morning.
Rescues were made of neighbors of St. Paul's Episcopal Church when it was consumed by fire on Wednesday evening. State Highway Patrolman, John Rock, after rescuing most of the Kamp family from the building next to the western side of the church, returned to the Kamp store, climbed the rope ladder made from bedsheets that the family had used in their escape and carried an elderly lady down on his back. In Lockport, Earl Williams helped others haul people up Peter's Steps by rope.
The Susquehanna Silk Mill, located in the factory that later became the home of Piper Aircraft, sheltered over 200 people at the lower end of town.
From the April 28 special edition of the paper I learned that my father, Don Arndt, who was 17 at the time, was rescued from his porch roof on Madison Avenue and taken to the mill.
Frank "Happy" Davis, a Black man, was one of those rescuing people around the silk mill. After making sure that his two dogs were in a safe place, he began taking people by boat to the ladders leading up to the second floor of the plant. He also rescued people during the 1918 ice flood. Unfortunately, he did not survive the 1964 flood. Refusing to leave his dog behind, Davis stayed in his home and died at the age of 91 from pneumonia contracted during the March flood.
After the water receded, the clean-up led by the American Red Cross coordinating with the local flood committees formed after the 1918 flood began.
A shelter and a soup kitchen were set up in Lock Haven Silk Mill Club House on North Fairview Street. Food and clothing distribution centers were opened. Free kerosene, coal, and chopped wood were made available. Seven planes from the US Naval Yard in Philadelphia containing food and serum for mandated typhoid inoculations landed on the polo field of the National Guard post in Lockport. Workers from the WPA, the CCC camps, the National Guard troops from Lock Haven and Bellefonte, as well as the unemployed helped to clear the county of mud, silt and debris. Perhaps not surprisingly for the times, hundreds of truckloads of the debris were dumped into the river.
Damages to churches and schools amounted to over $200,000. Businesses lost their stock, equipment and infrastructure. Homes and industries had structural damage and destroyed contents. Many farmers on the island where the water level reached 12 feet lost everything. Roads, bridges, phone and electrical lines had to be repaired or replaced.
Amazingly, much was accomplished by all within less than a month. Businesses and industries had cleaned up, repaired their buildings, and ordered new equipment and stock. Schools and churches were open again. Most importantly, talk of improving flood protection systems turned into action. Eventually, dams were built as was the dike-levee system for Lock Haven.
There is the hope that floods will be studied as part of our history and not our future. Keep dry!!