OLD MAN RIVER!

    SATURDAY, JUNE 23RD., 2018
           OLD MAN RIVER!

     They tell me they didn't plan it that
way but Wilkes-Barre's annual
Riverfest celebration which runs all
this weekend, falls on the anniversary
of the 1972 Tropical Storm Agnes
Flood.
      If you're 50 or under that storm
is just a footnote in local history for
you. Something your Mom and Dad
or grandparents may tell you about.
      I can tell you that nobody was
"celebrating" the Susquehanna back
then!
      The boats you'll see sailing or
racing during Riverfest would have
been using South Main Street in
Wilkes-Barre as they course during
the flood!
       I was News Director of WILK
radio in those days but, with the
permission of my boss, became the
Public Information Officer for
Luzerne County Civil Defense as
the emergency unfolded.
       I was using a two way radio in
the sub-basement of the Luzerne
County Courthouse to broadcast the
latest news as the river kept rising.
During one of my broadcasts water
started gushing up like a fountain
from a drain in the floor! Being
a "trained observer" I felt it might
be time to leave the room. In fact
we all left the sub basement and,
eventually, the Courthouse.
        I watched as the old North,
or Pierce Street Bridge crumbled
to pieces as the fast flowing water
covered its deck and destroyed its
supports.
         I was there as the sirens
sounded warning hundreds of
volunteers to abandon their sand
bagging efforts and go to safety
and I broadcast those now
infamous words "Get out now"
as an evacuation of the city was
ordered!
         I called my wife, who was
on safe ground, and told her I'd
be a little late. I stopped at home
for a few hours three days later!
Glad she knew there was a flood!
         The storm caused about a
billion dollars in damage and 3
lives were lost in our area.
           In time the city rebuilt and
the levees were raised to provide
additional protection although no
one can guarantee the river won't
someday go higher than those
walls.
          But that was then and this
is now. It's great to see the river
being celebrated as an asset rather
than a liability! It's wonderful to
see kayaks and canoes in the water
and to see fishermen trying to catch
"the big one!"
           And it's certainly great to see
water going down drains instead of
gushing up through them!
            Whatever happens in the
years ahead Old Man River really
will keep rolling along and I, for
one, am happy to see people
enjoying it!
             Hope it stays that way and
that all your NEWS is good!