Lou’s View – June 25, 2015

Four Events

by Lou Bernard

What if I’d been there?

It’s something I think about sometimes, and I get asked some variation of it about once a week. I’m the local historian, and I know a lot of the stuff that happened in Clinton County. I’ve studied it and written about it for years.

But what if I’d actually been there? What if I’d been able to attend some of these incidents, and see it unfold for real? If I could go back in time, are there any I’d choose to attend?

Yeah, there are. If I could travel back in time….Let’s say this October, I manage to tackle Marty McFly when he shows up, and steal his Delorean….There are some events I would definitely choose to visit.

The Great Runaway (July 1778): Does this one count as Clinton County history? The county wasn’t even founded yet. But it did happen here, in the area of present-day Lock Haven, so I’m declaring it an official piece of Clinton County history that I’d have liked to see. I’m writing this column.

Anyway, in the summer of 1778, tensions were heating up between the settlers and the Native Americans. Across the Susquehanna River from Fort Reed, one lone Native American arrived to warn them that they were about to be attacked.

This sent the settlers into a frenzy, and they decided to run for Fort Augusta in present-day Sunbury. They piled into the river on rafts, logs—Whatever would float. Some of them threw their furniture in and sat on it. The men, carrying their rifles, walked alongside the river, and the women and children rode in the water. When it got shallow, the women would jump into the water and push the floating items along. It must have been something to see.

The Founding of Lock Haven (November 1833): It was the fall of 1833 when Jerry Church first came to the area to visit his brother. He stayed in a local hotel, and loved the area, with the forests and the canal locks. So he raised some money and bought two hundred acres of land, which he sold on November 4, 1833.

He gathered everyone in front of the hotel, and had the land auctioned off in lots. The first one went to a hotel owner and wannabe actor, Frank Smith—It’s at the corner of Water and Jay Streets. The biggest went to James Jefferis, a retired pirate from Chester County. All the people gathered, bidding on properties to build a town….It would have been amazing to be there.

Nine days after, while they were creating their new town, the Rain of Fire happened. On November 13, 1833, the brightest meteor shower on record was seen in the skies—Everyone thought the world was ending, but when it failed to end, they sat back to watch the show. Half the east coast saw the meteor shower—But only one town had been founded the previous week.

The Water Street Fire (December 1862): This one must have been exciting, and heartwarming, as well. In December of 1862, a fire broke out in the area of Water and Jay Streets, wiping out seventy businesses. During the fire, a local lawyer’s office was looted. When the dust cleared, a lot of the stores had been destroyed, just in time for Christmas.

But this is where the “heartwarming” part comes in. The remaining stores cooperated, and opened their doors to the ones that had lost their buildings. They allowed the fire victims to share their space and sell their items, and the newspapers pitched in by running ads showing which businesses could be found where. And since the city pulled together, it turned out to be a good holiday for everyone.

The 1936 Flood (March 1936): Boy, this is really getting cheerful, isn’t it? I guess it’s not my fault that so many of Lock Haven’s fascinating incidents involve disasters. I will say, however, that not only would I have loved to see the 1936 flood, but I would have liked to specifically be in the Ross Library at the time.

Mary Elizabeth Crocker was the head librarian in 1936. She was living upstairs in the library when she heard the flood was coming. Help couldn’t make it, so she began on her own—Running books up the stairs to the attic, hoping to get them to safety. She did it, too—Thousands of books were lost, but it would have been much worse if Mary hadn’t been there. She broke her shoulder doing it, but that didn’t stop her—Mary Crocker was the coolest, toughest librarian this place has ever seen.

I’d have loved to have been beside her, helping out. I’d have enjoyed carrying the books upstairs, and then taking refuge in the library’s attic, waiting for the boats to arrive. I could have pitched in, and helped. Saved some books maybe.

If I had been there.

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