Johnstown Flood by David McCullough - Chapter One

8/7/2019 Johnstown Flood by David McCullough - Chapter One

1/26
http://bit.ly/dNRwwahttp://on.fb.me/hNhMBuhttp://bit.ly/dSbrpW


2/26

THF.J O H N S T O W NF L O O D

byDavid McCul lough

Simon & Schuster PaperbacksNew York Londo n Toronto Sydney


3/26

S i m o n & S c h u s te r P a p e r b a c k sR o c k e f e l l e r C e n t e r1230 A v e n u e o f th e A m e r i c a sN e w Y o r k , N Y 10020C o p y r i g h t 1968 by D a v i d M c C u l l o u g hA l l r i gh t s re se rved ,i n c l u d i n g t h e r i g h t o f r e p r o d u c t i o ni n w h o l e or i n p a r t i n a n y f o r m .S I M O N & S C H U S T E R P A P E R B A C K S and c o l o p h o n are registered trademarkso f S i m o n & Schus te r , Inc .F o r i n f o r m a t io n r e g a r d i n g spec ia l d i sco un t s fo r bu lk purchases,please c o n t a c t S i m o n & S c h u s t e r S p e c i a l Sa les at1-800-456-6798 or b u s i n e s s @ s i m o n a n d s c h u s t e r . c o mM a n u f a c t u r e d i n the U n i t e d Sta tes o f A m e r i c a40 39 38 37 36 35 34 33 32 31T h e L i b r a r y o f C o n g r e s s ha s c a ta l o g e d the T o u c h s t o n e e d i t i o n as f o l l o ws :M c C u l l o u g h , D a v i d G .

T h e J o h n s t o w n f lood.( A T o u c h s t o n e b o o k )B i b l i o g r a p h y : p.1. F l o o d s P e n n s y l v a n i a J o h n s t o w n . 2. J o h n s t o w n ( P a . ) H i s t o r y . I. T i t l e .[ F 1 5 9 . J 7 M 1 6 1987] 9 7 4 . 8 7 7 8 6 - 2 6 0 5 6

I S B N - 1 3 : 978-0-671-20714-4I S B N - 1 0 : 0-671-20714-8
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


4/26

T H EJ O H N S T O W NF L O O D

"We are creatures of the m o m e n t ; w elive f rom one l it tle space to ano ther;and only one interest at a t ime fillsthese."

W i l l i a m D e a n H o w e l l sin A H a z a r d o f N e w F o r t u n e s , 1889.


5/26

ITh e sky w as red

-i-A g a i n tha t m o r n i n g there had b een a b r i gh t f ros t i n the h o l l o wb e l o w t he d a m , a nd t he s un wa s no t up l o n g be fo r e s t o r m c l oud sr o l l ed i n f r o m the sou theas t.B y l a te a f ternoon a sharp , gus ty w i n d w as b l o w i n g d o w n f ro mthe mounta ins , f l a t t en ing the l ong g ras s a long the l akeshore and

k i c k i n g up t i n y wh i t e c aps ou t i n t he c e n t er o f t he l a ke . T h e b i goa ks a nd g i a n t he m l oc ks , t he h i c ko r i e s a nd b l a c k b i r c h a nd s ug a rmaples t ha t c r o w d e d th e hi l ls ide b e h i n d t h e s u m m e r c o l o n y b e g a nt o s s i n g b a c k a n d f o r t h , c r e a k i n g a n d g r o a n i n g . B r o k e n b r a n c h e sa nd y oung l e a v e s wh i ppe d t h r oug h t he a i r , a nd a t t he i m m e ns ef r ame c lubhouse t ha t s tood a t the wa te r ' s edge , ha l fway among thec o t t a g e s , b l ue wood s m oke t r a i l e d f r om g r e a t b r i c k c h i m ne y s a ndvanished in fas t swir l s , a l m os t a s t houg h t he who l e b u i l d i n g , l ike asp l end id y e l l o w ark , w ere un d er s team , head in g i n to the w i n d .T h e c o l o n y w a s k n o w n as th e S o u t h F o r k F i s h i n g a n d H u n t i n g C l u b . I t was a p r i va te summer r esor t l oca ted on the wes te rns ho re o f a m o u n t a in l a ke i n C a m b r i a C o u n t y , P e n n s y l v a n i a , a b o u th a l f w a y between the cres t of the A l l e g h e n y r ange and the c i t y o f

19


6/26

20 T H E J O H N S T O W N F L O O DJ ohnstown. O n the afternoon of T hu rsd ay, M a y 30, Memoria lD a y , 1889, the club was not quite ten years old, but with its gailypainted buildings, its neat lawns and well-tended flower beds, itlooked spanking new and, in the gray, stormy half-light, sl ightlyout of season.

In three weeks, when the summer season was to start, something like 200 guests were expected. N o w the place looked practical ly deserted. T h e on ly people about were a few em ployees w hol ived at the clubhouse and some half dozen members who had comeup from Pittsburgh for the h ol iday. D . W . C . Bid w el l was there; sowere the young Clarke brothers, J . J . L aw renc e, and several of theSheas and Irwins. E v e r y now and then a cottage door slammed,voices called back and forth from the boathouses. T h e n therew o u l d be silence again, except f or the sound of the w in d .

Sometime not long after dark, it may have been about eightthirty, a young man stepped out onto the long front porch at theclubhouse and w alk ed to the rail ing to take a lo ok at the weather.H i s nam e was J oh n G . Parke, J r. H e was clean-shaven, slight ofbuild, and rather aristocratic-looking. H e was the nep hew andnam esake of Gen eral J ohn G . Parke, then superintendent of W es tPoint. But young Parke was a rare item in his own right for thatpart of the country; he was a college man, having finished threeyears of civi l engineering at the U niv ersity of Pennsylvania. F o rthe present he was employed by the South F o r k F ish ing and H u n t in g Club as the so-called "resident engineer. ,, H e had been on thejob just short of three months, seeing to general repairs, lookingafter the dam , and supervising a cre w of som e tw enty Italian la borers w ho had been hired to install a new ind oor plu m bin g system,and who were now camped out of sight, back in the woods.

In the pitch dark he cou ld ha rd ly see a thin g, so he steppeddown the porch stairs and went a short distance along the boardwalk that led through the trees to the cottages. T h e w a lk , he n o ticed, was sl ightly dam p. A pp are ntly , a f ine rain had fal len sometim e while he was inside ha ving his supper. H e also noticed thatthough the wind was stil l up, the sky overhead was not so dark asbefore; indeed, it seemed to be clearing off some. T h i s was not whathe had expected. W ind storm s on the m ountain nearly always m eanta heavy downpour almost immediately after"thunder-gusts" the


7/26

The sky was red 21local men called them. Parke had been through several already inthe tim e he had been at the lake and kn ew wh at to expect.

It would be as though the whole sky were laying siege to theburly landscape. T h e rain w o u l d drum down l ike an unyie ldingriver. L i g h t n i n g would flash blue-white, again and again across thesky, and thunderclaps w ou ld b oom back and forth do w n the val leyl ike a cannonade, rattling every w in do w along the lakeshore.

T h e n , almost as suddenly as it had started, the siege would l i ft ,and silent, m il k y steam w ou ld rise from the surface o f the waterand the rank smell of the sodden forest floor would hang on in theair for hours.T o n ig h t, however, it appeared there was to be no storm. Parketurned and wa lked back inside. A b ou t nin e-thirty he w ent upstairs,cl imbed into bed , and we nt to sleep.

A b o u t an hou r and a half later, ver y near eleven, the rain began.It came slamming through the blackness in huge wind-drivensheets, beating against the clubhouse, the tossing trees, the lake, andthe dark, untamed country that stretched off in every direction formiles and miles.T h e storm had started out o f K ansas and N ebrask a, tw o daysbefore, o n M a y 28. T h e fol low ing day there had been hard rains inKansas, Missouri, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, and T e n nessee. T r a i n s had been d elayed, roads washed out. In Kansas, alongthe Cottonwood River, a dozen farms had been flattened by tornado-force w inds and several people had been killed . In northernMichigan and parts of Indiana there had been sudden snow squalls.W a rn i ng s had been telegraphed east. O n the night of the 29th theU . S . Signal Service issued notices that the Middle Atlant ic stateswere in for severe local storm s. O n the m ornin g of M a y 30 al l stations in the area reported "threatening weather."

W h e n the storm struck western Pennsylvania it was the worstd o w n p o u r that had ever been recorded for that section of the country . T h e Signal S ervice called it the m ost extensive rainfall of thecentury for so large an area and estimated that from six to eightinches of rain fell in twenty-four hours over nearly the entire central section. O n the moun tains there were places where the fall wasten inches.

But, at the same tim e, there were astonishing d isparities betw een


8/26

22 T H E J O H N S T O W N F L O O Dthe amount of rainfall at places within less than a hundred-mile r adius. A t the S outh F o r k F i sh in g an d H u n t i n g Club, for example, apail left outside overnight would have five inches of water in it thenext m orning when the rain was sti ll com ing dow n. T h e total rainfall at the clubhouse would be somewhere near seven inches.In Pittsb urg h, just sixty-five m iles to the west as the crow flies, thetotal rainfall w ou ld be o nly one and a half inches.

But as the storm beat down on the mountain that night, JohnG . Parke, Jr. , wh o w ould turn twenty-three in less than a month,slept on, never hearing a thing.

-2 -Most of the holiday crowds were back from the cemetery by

the time the rain began T h ur sd ay afternoon. It had been the customary sort of Memoria l D a y in J ohnstow n, despite the weather.

People had been gathering along Main Street since noon. W i t hthe stores closed until six, with school out, and the men off from themills, it looked as though the whole town was turning out. Visitorswere everywhere, in b y special trains from Som erset, A lto on a, andother ne ighboring towns. T h e An cient O r d e r of H ibernians, "astalwart, vigorous looking body of men," as the Johnstown Tribune described them, was stopping over for its annual state convention. H ote ls were full and the forty-odd saloons in Johnstownproper were do ing a brisk business.

T h e R e veren d H . L . Chapman, who lived two doors off Main,in the new Methodist parsonage facing the park, later wrote, "T h emorning was delightful, the city was in its gayest m ood, w ith f lags,banners and flowers everywhere . . . we cou ld see almost everything of interest from our porch . T h e streets were more crowdedthan we had ever seen before."

T h e parade, late starting as always, got under way about two-thirty, m arched up Main, past the Morrel l place, on by the Presbyterian Church and the park, clear to B edford Street. T he re itturned south and headed out along the river to Sandy V a l e , wherethe war dead were buried. T h e fire department m arched, the M o r -rellville O d d F e llows, the A ustrian Music S ociety, the H orners-town D r u m Corps, the Grand A r m y Veterans, and the Sons of


9/26

The sky was red 23V e t e r a n s , a n d h a l f a d o z e n o r m o r e o t h e r g r o u p s o f v a r i o u s s h a p e sa n d s iz e s, e v e r y o n e o f t h e m g e t t i n g a b i g c h e e r , a n d e s p e c i a l l y t h eG r a n d A r m y m e n , se v er al o f w h o m w e r e b e g i n n i n g t o l o o k ast h o u g h th e t h r e e - m i l e t r a m p w a s a l i t t l e m o r e t h a n t h e y w e r e u pt o .

H o w m u c h t h i n g s h a d c h a n g e d s i n c e t h e y h a d m a r c h e d o f f t osave the U n i o n ! I t h a d b e e n n e a r l y t h i r t y y e a r s s i n c e L i n c o l n h a dfirst c a l l e d f o r v o l u n t e e rs . G r a n t a n d L e e w e r e b o t h d e ad , a n d t h e r ew e r e s t ra p p i n g st e e l w o r k e r s w i t h t h i c k , b l a c k m u s ta c he s s t a n d i n ga m o n g t h e c r o w d s a l o n g M a i n S t r e e t w h o h a d b e e n b o r n s i n c eA p p o m a t t o x .

A t t h e s t a r t o f t he w a r J o h n s t o w n h a d be e n n o m o r e th a n at h i r d t h e s iz e i t w a s n o w ; a n d t e n y e a r s b e f o r e t h a t , i t h a d b e e nn o t h i n g b u t a s l ee p y l i t t l e c a n a l t o w n w i t h e ld e rb u sh es g r o w i n gh i g h a l o n g M a i n , a n d s o q u i e t y o u c o u l d h e a r t h e b o a t h o r n s b e f o r et h e b a rg e s c le a r e d t h e b e n d b e l o w t o w n .

B u t e v e r s i n c e t h e w a r , w i t h t he w e s t o p e n i n g u p , t he C a m b r i aI r o n C o m p a n y h a d h a d i ts g i a n t t h re e - to n c o n v e r t e rs g o i n g n i g h ta n d d a y m a k i n g s te el f o r r a i l s a n d b a r b e d w i r e , p l o w s h a r e s , t r a c kb o l t s , a n d s p r i n g t e e th f o r h a r r o w s . T h e v a l l e y w a s f u l l o f s m o k e ,a n d th e c i t y c l a n k e d a n d w h i s t l e d a n d r u m b l e d l o u d e n o u g h t o b eh e a r d f r o m m i l e s o f f . A t n i g h t t h e s k y g l e a m e d s o r e d i t l o o k e d ast h o u g h t he w h o l e v a l l e y w e r e o n f i re . J a m e s Q u i n n , o n e o f J o h n s t o w n ' s m o s t d i s t i n g u i s h e d - l o o k i n g G r a n d A r m y v e t e r a n s a n d i t sl e a d i n g d r y - g o o d s m e r c h a n t , e n j o y e d f e w si g hts m o r e . " T h e s ur es i g n o f p r o s p e r i t y , " h e c a l l e d i t .

Y e a r s a f te r, C h a r l i e S c h w a b , t h e m o s t flam b o yan t o f C a r n e g i e's m e n , d e s c ri b e d th e v i e w o f J o h n s t o w n f r o m h i s b o y h o o dh o m e i n th e m o u n t a i n t o w n o f L o r e t t o , n e a r l y t w e n t y m i le s t o th en o r t h e a s t .

" A l o n g t o w a r d d u s k t o n g u e s o f flam e w o u l d s h o o t u p i n th ep a l l a r o u n d J o h n s t o w n . W h e n so m e f u r n ac e d o o r w a s o p e n e d th ee v e n i n g t u r n e d r e d . A b o y w a t c h i n g f r o m t h e r i m o f h i l l s h a d a v a s ta r e n a b e f o r e h i m , a p l a c e o f v a g u e f o r m s , g r e a t l a bo r s , a n d d a n c i n gfires. A n d t h e m u r k a l w a y s p r es e n t, t h e s m e l l o f t h e f o u n d r y . I tg e t s i n t o y o u r h a ir , y o u r c lo t h es , e v e n y o u r b l o o d . "

M o s t o f t h e m e n w a t c h i n g t he p a r ad e t h a t M e m o r i a l D a yw o u l d h a v e t a k e n a s o m e w h a t l es s r o m a n t i c v i e w . I n th e r o l l i n gm i l l s t h e y w o r k e d u n d e r i n te n se h e a t o n s l i p p e r y i r o n flo o rs w h e r e


10/26

24 T H E J O H N S T O W N F L O O Dmolten metal went tearing by and one false step or slow reactioncould mean horrible accidents. Most of them worked a ten- or eventwelve-hour day, six days a week, and many weeks they workedthe hated "long turn," which meant al l day Sunday and on intoM onday. If they got ten dollars for a week's work they were doingwel l .

A visiting journalist in 1885 described Johnstown as "new,rough, and busy, with the rush of huge mills and factories and thethrob of perpetually passing trains." T h e m ills were set just belo wtow n in the gap in the mountains where the C onem augh R iv erflows westward. O n the hillside close to the mills the trees hadturned an evil-looking black and grew no leaves.

J ohn stow n o f 1889 was not a pretty place. But the land arou ndit was magnificent. F r o m M a i n Street, a man standing among theholiday crowds could see green hills, small mountains, really,hunching i n close on every side, dwarfing the tops of the housesand smokestacks.

T h e city was built on a nearly level flood plain at the confluence of two rivers, down at the bottom of an enormous hole in theAlleghenies. A visitor from the M idd le W est once comm ented," Y o u r sun rises at ten and sets at two," and it was not too great anexaggeration.

T h e rivers, except in spring, appeared to be of little consequence. T h e L itt le Conem augh and S tony C reek, or the S tonyCreek, as everyone in Johnstown has always said (since it is th eStony Creek River), are both m ore like rock y, oversized m ountainstreams than rivers. T h e y are about sixty to eighty yards wid e. N o r ma l l y their current is very fast; in spring they run wild. But ontoward August, as one writer of the 1880's said, there are places oneither river where a good jum per could cross on d ry stones.

T h e L ittle Conem augh, w hi ch is m uch the swifter of the two,rushes in from the east, from the A llegh eny M oun tain. It beginsnear the very top of the mountain, about eighteen miles fromJohnstown, at a coal town called L i l l y . Its sources are Bear R o c kR u n and Bear Creek, T r o u t Run, Bens Creek, Laurel R u n , S o u thF o r k Creek, Clapboard Run and Salt l ick Creek. F r o m an elevationof 2,300 feet at L i l l y , the L ittl e Co nem augh drops 1,147 feet toJohnstown.

T h e Stony Creek flows in from the south. It is a broader, deeper


11/26

The sky ivas re d 25river than the other and is fed by streams with names like BeaverD a m R u n , F a ll en T i m b e r R un , Shade Creek, and Paint Creek. Itstotal drainage is considerably more than that of the L i t t le C o n e -maugh, and until 1889 it had always been thought to be the moredangerous of the two.

W h e n they meet at Johnstown, the rivers form the Cone-maugh, w hic h, farther west, joins the L oyalhanna to form the K is -kiminetas, which in turn flows into the Allegheny about eighteenm iles above Pittsbu rgh.

A t J ohnstow n it was as though the bo ttom had dropped out ofthe ol d earth and left it angry and sm oldering, wh ile all around, thelong, densely forested ridges, "hogbacks" they were called, rol ledoff in every direction like a turbulent green sea. T h e clim b up outof the city took the breath right out of you. But on top it was asthough you had entered another world, clean, open, and sweet-smelling.

In 1889 there were still blac k bear and wild cats o n L a u r e l H i l lto the west of tow n. T h o u g h the loggers had lon g since strippedthe near hills, there were still places within an hour's walk fromM a i n S treet wh ere the forest was not m u ch different than it hadbeen a hundred years before.

N o w and then an eagle could still be spotted high overhead.T h e r e were pheasants, ruffed grouse, geese, loons, and w il d turkeysthat weighed as m uch as twenty pounds. Plenty of m en m archingin the parade could remember the time before the war when therehad been panthers i n the m ountains bi g enough to carry off a wholesheep. A n d it had been o nl y a few years earlier w he n passengerpigeons came across the va lley in num bers bey ond belief. O ne J a n uary the Tribune wrote: " O n S aturday there were imm ense flocksof wild pigeons flying over town, but yesterday it seemed as if allthe birds of this kind at present in existence throughout the entirecountry were engaged in gyrating around overhead. O n e flock wasdeclared to be at least three m iles in length b y h alf a m ile wide."

Stil l , many days there were in the valley itself when the windswept away the smoke and the acrid smell of the mills and the airwas as good as a man could ask for. M a n y nights, and especially inwinter, were the wa y m ountain nights were m eant to be, w ith m i l lions of big stars han ging overhead in a sky the color of coal.

L o o k i n g back, m ost of the people wh o w ou ld remem ber


12/26

26 T H E J O H N S T O W N F L O O DJohnstown as it was on that Memoria l D a y claim ed it was not asunpleasant a place as one m ight im agine. "People were po or, ver ypoor by later standards," one man said, "but they didn't know it."A n d there was an energy, a vitality to life that they would miss inlater years.

M a n y of the m il lworkers l ived in cheap, pine-board com panyhouses along the riverbanks, where, as the Tribune put it, " L o u dan d pestiferous stinks prev ail." B ut there w ere no hideous slum s,such as had spread across the L ow er E ast Side of N e w Y o r k or inChicago and Pittsburgh. T h e kind of appalling conditions thatwould be described the next year by Jacob Riis in his How theOther Half Lives did not exist then in J ohnstown. N o one wenthungry, or begging, though there were always tramps about,drifters, who came with the railroad, heading west nearly always,knocking at back doors for som ething to eat.

T h e y were part of the landscape and people took them forgranted, except when they started coming through in big numbersan d there were alarming stories in the papers about crowds of themhang ing around the depot.O n e diary, kept by a m an w ho lived outside of tow n, includesa day-by-day tramp count . "W ednesday, M a y 1, 1889, T w oT r a m p s . . . T h u r s d a y, M a y 2, T w o T r a m p s , " and so on, withnearly a tramp or tw o every day, week after week.

N e w people came to town, fou nd a job or, i f not, m oved onagain, towa rd Pittsburgh. B ut for m ost everyone w ho decided tostay there was w ork. A lth ou gh lately, J ohnstown m en, too, hadbeen pick ing up and going west to try their luck at the mills in St.L o u i s or the m ines i n Colorado. A n d lately the jobs they left behindwere being fil led b y "hunkies" brough t in to "w ork cheap."

T h e idea did not please people m uch . N o r did it m atterwh ether the contract w orke rs were Italians, Poles, H un gari ans ,R ussians, or Swedes; they were all called H ungarians, "bohunks" or"hunkies." B ut so far, and again unlike the b ig cities, J ohn stow n h adon ly a few such m en, and m ost of them l ived in Cambria City, justdo w n the river, bey ond the new stone bridge that carried the m ainline of the Pennsylvania across the Conemaugh.

T h e vast majority of the people who lined M a i n Street watchin g the parade were either Irish, Scotch-Irish, or Cornish (CousinJacks, they were called), G e r m a n or W elsh , with the G ermans and


13/26

The sky w as red 27the W e l s h g r e a t ly o u tnum be r i ng a l l the rest . T h e r e w e re so m e N e groes, bu t no t m an y , and a f ew o f the l ead ing m erchan ts w ere J ew s .T h e G erm ans and the W e l s h had been the fi rs t s ett le rs . M o reo f t he m , p l u s the S c o t c h - I ri s h , ha d c om e a l on g s oon a fte r t o w o r ki n the mines and f i r s t forges . Qui te a few of the b ig I r i shmen in thec r o w d h ad c o m e i n o r i g i n a l l y to b u i l d the ra i l r oad , then s tayed o n .J ohns t own ha d be e n a n a c t i v e s t op a l ong t he U nd e r g r ound R a i l -r oa d , a nd a f e w o f t he N e g r oe s ha d c om e i n tha t w a y . O t h e r s o ft he m c a m e l at er t o w o r k i n the t a nne r y .T h e r e w e re G e r m a n a nd W e l s h c hu rc he s i n t o w n , a G e r m a nnewspaper, and several I r ish fo r tune tel l e rs . W e l s h and G erm anwe r e s poke n e v e r y whe r e , a l on g w i th e noug h o the r b rog ue s, bu r rs ,a nd twa ng s t o m a ke a "p l a i n A m e r i c a n " f ee l he was i n a co un t ry o f"fer ine rs ," o r so i t o f ten seemed.T h e f ir st wh i te settl er s i n the va l l e y had been S o lom on andS a m u e l Adams and the i r s i s te r Rachae l , who came over the A l l e -g he n y M ou n ta i n s f r om B e d f o r d abou t 1771 and c l e ar ed a pa t c h o fl a nd ne a r t he S t ony C r e e k . U n t i l then the p lace had been known asC o n e m a c k O l d T o w n , after a D e l aw a r e In d i a n v i ll ag e tha t s toodabout where the M e m o r i a l D a y parade had gathered tha t n o o n a tthe foo t o f M a i n .S a m u e l A d a m s a n d a n In d i a n k i l l ed each other in a kni fe f ight ,and the t r ad i t i ona l s to ry i s tha t Rachael was a lso k i l l e d by I nd i a n ssoon a fte r. S o lom o n made a fa st retreat back to the s tockade a t B e d f o r d , and i t was no t f o r ano the r twen ty yea r s o r thereabou ts tha tthe f i rs t perm anen t settler arr iv ed . In 1794, abo ut the tim e Presid en tW a sh in g to n wa s s e nd i ng a n a r m y ov e r t he m oun ta i n s t o pu t d ownth e s o - ca ll ed W h i s k e y R e b e l l i o n i n P i t ts b u r g h , J o se ph S c h an t z , o rJohns , an A m i s h f a rm e r f r om S w i t z e r l a nd , c am e i n t o the v a l l e yw i t h h is w i f e a nd f ou r c h i l d r e n . H e c lea red o f f th i r ty ac res be tweenthe r ivers , ra i sed a cabin , p lanted an orchard , and la id out a v i l lag ew h i c h he ca ll ed C o n e m a u g h O l d T o w n o r ju st C o n e m a ug h a n dw h i c h he ha d e v e r y hope f o r be c om i ng the c o un ty seat.W h e n the coun ty was es tab l i shed i n 1804 and g iven the o ldL a t i n n am e f o r W a l e s C a m b r i a E b e n s b u r g , a m o u n t a i n v i ll a g efifteen mile s t o the nor th , was p i cked as coun ty seat. T hr e e y e a r sla ter Jo seph Jo hn s so ld h i s vi l lage a nd m o v e d o n .The nex t p ropr i e to r was a l ong-ha i r ed " Y o r k C o u n t y D u t c h m a n " (a P e n n s y l v a n i a G e r m a n ) n a m e d P e te r L e v e r g o o d , a n d f r o m


14/26

28 T H E J O H N S T O W N F L O O Dthen until the canal cam e throu gh, the tow n rem ained no m ore thana backwoods trading center. But with the arrival of the canal itbecam e the busiest place in the cou nty . B y 1835 J ohn stow n, as itwas by then known, had a drugstore, a newspaper, a Presbyterianchurch, and a distillery. B y 1840 its popu lation, if the near by settlements were counted, had probably passed 3,000. T h e n , in the1850's, the Pennsylvania Railroad came through, the Cambria IronC o m p a n y was established, and eve ryth ing changed .

B y the start of the 1880's J ohnstown and its neighboring boroughs had a total population of about 15,000. W i th in the next nineyears the population doubled. O n the afternoon of M a y 30, 1889,there were nearly 30,000 people l iv ing in the valley.

Properly speaking Johnstown was only one of several boro ug hsE a st C o n em a u g h, W o o d v a l e , C o n em a u g h, Cambria C i t y ,Prospect, Millvi l le , Morrellvi l le , G r u b b t o w n , M o x h a m , Johnstownwhich were clustered between the hills, packed in so tight thatthere w as scarcely roo m to build anything more.

Petty political jealousies and differences over taxes had keptthem from uniting. As it was there was no tell ing where one beganor the other ended unless you knew, which, of course, everyonewho lived there did. Millvi l le , Prospect, and Cambria C i t y , it wassaid, l ived on the pa y roll of the Cambria m il ls; Conem augh lived onthe G am ier wire works, W ood va le on the woolen m ills there, andJohnstown, in turn, l ived on all the rest of them. Johnstown wasthe center of the lot, geographically and in every other way. It wasfar and away the largest, with a population of its own of perhaps10,000 by 1889, which was four times greater than even the biggestof the others. T h e banks we re there, the hotels, the jail, and a ful l -time police force of nine.

T h e r e were five-story office buildings on M a i n and up-to-datestores. T h e town had an opera house, a night school, a l ibrary, aremarkable number of churches, and several large, handsomehouses, most of which were owned by men high up in the IronC ompany.

M u c h would be written later on how the wealthy men ofJ ohnstown l ived on the high ground, while the poor were crow dedinto the lowlands. T h e fact was that the m ost im posing houses intown were all on M a i n Street, and one of the largest clusters ofco mp a n y houses was up o n Prospect H i l l .


15/26

The sky was red 29T h e rest of the people l i ved i n tw o - and th ree- s to ry f ramehouses w h i c h , o f t en as no t , had a sm al l po rch i n f ron t and a y ardw i t h shade trees a n d a f e w o u t bu i ld i n g s i n b a c k . N e a r l y e v e ry o n ehad a p i ck e t f ence a ro un d h i s p ro per ty , and i n sp ite o f it s f r enz iedg r o w t h , the c i t y s t i l l had more than a few s igns o f i t s recent v i l lagepast.O n t he 22nd o f M a y , fo r example , t he t own fa ther s had ga th ered at the C i t y C o u n c i l chambers to set t le var ious matters of them o m en t , th e m o s t p re s si n g o f w h i c h w as to am en d S ec t io n 1 2 o fC h ap t e r X V I of the Cod i f i e d O r d i n a n c e o f th e B o r o u g h o f J o h n s

t o w n . T h e w o r d " c o w " w as t o b e i n s er ted a f te r " g o a t " i n th e t h i r dl i ne , so tha t i t w o u l d f r o m t h e n o n re a d : " S e c t i o n 12 . A n y p e rs o nw h o shal l w i l l f u l l y suffer h is horse, m are , geld in g , m ule , ho g , goat ,c a w , o r geese t o run a t l a rge w i t h i n th e B o r o u g h s h a ll f o r eachoffense for fe i t and pay for each of sa id an imals so runn ing at largethe sum of one do l lar . . . "L i f e w as co m p ar a t i v e l y s imp le , p leasures few . T he re w ere S a tu rd ay n igh t ban d concer t s i n the park , an d l ec tu res at the l i b ra ry .

S u n d a y s half t h e t o w n p u t o n i t s best a n d w e n t w a l k i n g . F am i l i e sw o u l d p i ck o n e o f t h e n e i g h b o r i n g b o r o u g h s an d w a lk o u t an dback , see ing m uc h and , na tu ra l ly , be ing seen a l l a l o n g th e w a y .T h e r e w a s a n e w s h o w a t th e W a s h i n g t o n S t re et O p e r a H o u s eevery o ther n ight or so . Thus far in 1889 i t had been an especia l lyg o o d season, w i t h such favori tes as Xozo the Magic Queen ( w h i c hb ro ug ht i ts " sp le nd id p ro d u c t i o n " i n " O U R O W N S P E C I A LS C E N E R Y C A R " ) an d Uncle T o m ' s Ca b in appearing i n a s i ng lew eek . ( H ar r i e t B eech e r S t o w e 's l i tt l e d r am a h ad a ls o ch an g ed co n s i de rab ly s in ce th e y ear s b e fo r e th e w a r . T h e Jo h n s t o w n p e r f o r m ance , fo r example , f ea tu red "a pack o f genu ine b loodhounds ; twoT o p s i e s ; T w o M a r k s , E v a a n d h er P o n y ' P r i n c e ' ; A f r i c a n M a n d o l i n Playe rs ; ' T i n k e r ' the famous T r i c k D o n k e y . " )T h e r e w as a lso th e U n i q u e R i n k f o r r o l l e r s k a ti n g , a f ad w h i chseemed to be taper ing of f some tha t sp r ing . T he re w as superb f ishi n g a l o n g th e C o n e m a u g h an d t h e S t o n y C r e e k i n s p r in g a n d s u m m er . D o w n s t r eam f r o m t o w n th e r i v e r w as sta in ed b y w asted u m p e d f r o m t h e mi l l s , bu t above t own the water s t i l l r an c learbe tween sun -bleached bo u lder s and was f u l l o f cat f ish, sunfish, m u l l e t , w a l l ey ed p i k e t ha t ev e r y o n e m i s t ak en ly ca l l ed s a lm o n , t r o u t ,eels, and speedy , m ud -co lo red c raw f i sh .


16/26

30 T H E J O H N S T O W N F L O O DIn spring, too, there was nearly always a good bra wl w hen the

circus came to town. In the fall, w hen the sour gums turned bl oo d-red against the pines, there was w on de rfu l hu ntin g on the m ountains,and fresh deer hanging from butcher shop meathooks was one ofthe signs of the season. I n w inter there were sleigh rides to E be ns -burg, tobogga ning parties, and ice skating at the V o n L u n e n p o n dacross from the new J ohnson S treet Rai l work s up the S tony Creekat M o x h a m .

A n d year rou nd there was a gran d total of 123 saloons tochoose from in the greater J ohn stown area, rangin g from CaliforniaT o m ' s on Market Street to the foul-smelling holes along the backalleys of Cambria City. California T o m D a v is ha d b een a fo r t y-niner. H e was one of the colo rfu l characters of J ohn stown and theback room of his saloon was the favorite gathering place for thoseprofessional men and Cambria Iron officials who liked to take a sociable drink now and then.

But the average saloon was sim ply a place where a w or ki n g-man could stop off at the end of the day to settle the fierce thirstthe heat of the furnaces left h im w ith , or to clear the coal dust fromhis throat. H e was always welcom e there, with out a shave or achange o f clothes. It was his clu b. H e had a schooner of beer or ashot; m ost of the tim e he spent talking .

L i k e any steel tow n J ohn stown had a better than average n u m ber of hard-line drinking m en. O n payday S aturdays the bartenderswere the busiest people in tow n. A n d week after week M on da y'spaper carried an item or two about a "disturbance" Saturday n ighton W ashin gton Street or in Cambria City , and published the namesof two or three citizens who had spent the night in the lockup forbehaving in "frontier fashion."

F or those of still earthier appetite there w as L i z z i e T h o m p s o n ' splace on Frankstown H i l l , at the end of L oc us t S treet. It was thebest-known of the sporting houses, but there were others too, closeby, and on Prospect H i l l . A n d one spring a similar enterprise hadflourished for weeks in the woods outside o f tow n, w hen severalitinerant "soiled doves," as the Tribune called them, set up businessin an abandoned coal m ine.

But primarily , l ife in Johnstown meant a great deal of hardw o rk for just about every bod y. N o t on ly because that was h ow life


17/26

The sky was red 31w a s t h e n , b u t b ec a us e p e o p l e h a d t h e f e e l i n g t h e y w e r e g e t t i n gs o m e w h e r e . T h e c o u n t r y se em e d h e l l - b e n t f o r a g l o r i o u s n e w a ge ,a n d J o h n s t o w n , c l e a r l y , w a s r i g h t u p t h e r e b o o m i n g a l o n g w i t h th eb e s t o f th e m . P i t t s b u r g h a n d C h i c a g o w e r e a w h o l e l o t b i g g e r , t o b es u r e , a n d t a k i n g a f a r b i g g e r p a r t o f t h e b u s in e s s . B u t t h a t w a s a l lr i g h t . F o r J o h n s t o w n t h e s e w e r e th e b e s t y e a r s e v e r .

P r o g r e s s w a s b e i n g m a d e , a n d i t w a s n o t ju s t s o m e t h i n g p e o p l ew e r e r e a d i n g a b o u t . I t w a s h a p p e n i n g a l l a r o u n d t h e m , t o u c h i n gt h e i r l i v e s .

S t r e e t s w e r e b r i g h t a t n i g h t n o w w i t h s p u t t e r i n g w h i t e a r cl i g h t s . T h e r e w a s a n e w r a i l r o a d s ta t io n w i t h b r i g h t - c o l o r e d a w n i n g s . T h e h o s p i t a l w a s n e w ; t w o n e w b us in e ss b l o c k s h a d b e e n f i n -i s h e d o n M a i n . A t e l e p h o n e e x c h a n g e h a d b e g u n s e r v i c e t h a t v e r yy e a r , i n J a n u a r y , a n d a l r e a d y t h e r e w e r e m o r e t h a n s e v e n t y p h o n e si n t o w n . Q u i t e a f e w h o use s h a d n e w b a th r o o m s . T h e H u l b e r tH o u s e , t h e n e w h o t e l o n C l i n t o n S t r e e t , h a d a n e l e v a t o r a n d s t e a mh e a t .

T h e r e w a s a s t r e e t r a i l w a y o u t t o W o o d v a l e a n d a n o th e r u p t oM o x h a m . A l m o s t e v e r y o n e h a d e l e c t r i c i t y o r n a t u r a l ga s i n hi sh o m e . T h e r e w e r e ty p e w r i t e r s i n m o s t o ff ic es , a n d s e v e ra l p e o p l eh a d a l r e a d y b o u g h t o n e o f t h e n e w K o d a k " d e t e c t i v e " c a m e r a s ." A n y b o d y c a n u s e t h e K o d a k , " t h e a d v e r t i s e m e n t s s a i d .

I n v e n t i o n s a n d c h a n g es w e r e c o m i n g a l o n g s o fas t t h a t i t w a sh a r d t o k e e p u p w i t h t h e m a l l . T h e t o w n h a d n o d e b ts , ta x es w e r el o w , a n d t h e c o s t o f th i n g s w a s c o m i n g d o w n l i t t l e b y l i t t l e .

O f c o u r s e , t h e r e w e r e so m e w h o l o o k e d a sk an c e at so m u c hc h a n g e a n d l i k e d t o t a l k a b o u t t he o l d d a y s w h e n t h e y s a id t h e r eh a d n e v e r b e en s o m u c h d r i n k i n g , n o p r o s t i t u t i o n , a n d m e n c o u l ds t i l l d o a d a y ' s w o r k w i t h o u t c o m p l a i n i n g . T h e r e w a s al so s t ro n gr e se n t m e n t a g ai n st t h e c o m p a n y , a n d q u i e t t a l k o f t r o u b l e t o c o m e ,t h o u g h i t w o u l d h av e b e e n v e r y h a r d f o r m o s t m e n a m o n g th o seM e m o r i a l D a y c r o w d s t o ha ve im a g i n e d t h e r e e v e r b e i n g a n a c t u a ls t r i k e i n t h e m i l l s . T h e m i n e r s h a d t r i e d i t , t w i c e , a n d b o t h ti m e s t h ec o m p a n y ha d c l a m p e d d o w n w i t h s u c h s p e e d a n d d e c i s i v e n e s s t h a tt he s tr i k e s h a d b e e n b r o k e n i n n o t i m e .

A n d t h e r e w e r e flo o d s a n d f ires a n d , w o r s t o f a l l , e p i d e m i c st h a t h i t s o s w i f t l y a n d u n e x p e c t e d l y , t e r r i f y i n g e v e r y o n e , a n d k i l l -i n g so m a n y c h i l d r e n . T h e la st b a d t i m e h a d b e en i n 1 87 9 , w h e n


18/26

32 T H E J O H N S T O W N F L O O Ddiphtheria kil led 132 children wi thin a few m onths. D eath wasalways near, and there was never any tell ing when it would strikeagain.

Y e a r in , year out m en were ki l led in the m il ls , or maim ed forlife. Small boys playing around the railroad tracks that cut in andout of the town would jump too late or too soon and lose a leg oran arm, or l ie in a coma for weeks with the whole town talkingabout them un til they stopped breathing forever.

B ut had not l ife always been so? W a s not hard wor k the wi l lof the L o r d ? ("In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, tillthou return unto the gro un d . . .") A n d yes, death too?(". . . fo r dust tho u art, and un to dust shalt th ou retur n.")

A n d besides, was it not a fine thing to be where there was som u c h going on, so m uch to keep a m an busy and his fam ily eatingregularly?

S o far it had been a good year. E xcep t for measles the townseemed pretty healthy. T a l k was that i t would be a good summerfor steel. Prices might well improve, and perhaps wages with them,and there would be no labor trouble to complicate things, as therew o u l d probab ly be in Pittsburgh.

T h e Qu icksteps, J ohnstown's b eloved baseball team , had m adea rather poor showing so far, losing to Braddock, Greensburg, andMcKeesport in a row ; but they had beaten A lto on a once, and m ostpeople felt that about made up for it. T h e newspapers were full ofstories about the W or ld 's F a i r opening in Paris, and its Eif fe lT o w e r , and about the O klahom a T e r r i to r y opening up out west.T o w e r s of structural steel could reach nearly to the heavens, andAmericans cou ld turn a dusty prairie into farms and whole newcities overnight. It was some time to be alive.

B ut perhaps best of all there seemed such a strong spirit ofnational unity everywhere. T h e Constitutional governm ent thoseG r a n d A r m y veterans had fought for had just celebrated its onehundredth birth day that spring and there had been quite a to-doabout it in the newspapers and picture magazines. " A nation i n itshigh hour of im perial pow er and prosperity looks back a hundredyears to its obscure and do ub tful begin nin g . . ." one article began.T h a t the next one hun dred years w ou ld be better stil l , brin gin gwondrous advantages and rewards to mill ions of people who hadalso com e from "obscure and do ub tful" beginnings, seem ed about


19/26

The sky wa s red 33as ce r ta i n a s an y th in g co u ld be ; and espec i a l ly i n a p lace l ike J o h n s t o w n , o n a d a y w h e n f la gs w e r e flying f r o m o n e e n d o f t o w n to th eother , and the " B o y s i n B l u e " w e r e m a r c h i n g ag a in .

W h e n t he r a i n s ta rt ed c o m i n g d o w n abou t f o u r o ' c l oc k , i t wa sv e r y f ine and gen t l e , l i t t l e m ore than a c o l d m i s t . E v e n s o , no onew e l c o m e d i t . T he r e ha d a l re a d y be en m or e t ha n a hund r e d d a y s o fr a in tha t year , and the r i ve r s w ere ru n n in g h ig h as i t was . T h e f i rs ts ig n s o f tr oub l e ha d be e n a he a v y s no w i n A p r i l , w h i c h ha d m e l t e da lm o s t as so o n as i t ca m e d o w n . T h e n i n M a y there had been e l evend a y s o f r a i n .T h e r i v e r s r a n h i g h e v e r y s p r i ng . T h a t wa s t o be e x pe c te d .S o m e sp ri ng s the y r a n s o h i g h t he y filled t h e l o w e r half o f t o w n t othe top door s tep . A f ew t imes the wa te r had been l eve l w i t h first-f loor w i n d o w s a lon g several streets. F l o o d s ha d be com e pa rt o f t heseason, l ike th e d o g w o o d b l o o m i n g o n t he m o u n t a in . Y e t , e ac hyear , there was the hope tha t perhaps th i s t ime the r i ve r s migh tbehave themselves.

I t had a l r eady been such a cur i ou s yea r f o r wea ther . A to rna doi n F e b r u a r y h a d k i l l ed s ev en te en p e o p le i n P i tt s b u r g h . N o t m u c hha d ha ppe ne d i n J o hn s t ow n , bu t t he w i n d c a r r i e d o f f a t i n c h u r c hr o o f at L o r e t t o . T h e A p r i l sn o w had been the heav iest o f the w ho leyear , w i t h f ou r te e n i nc hes o r m or e i n the m oun tai n s . A n d a l lth ro u g h M a y , t empera tu res h a d b e e n b o u n c i n g e v e r y w h i c h w a y ,up i n t he e i g h t i e s one d a y , d own be l ow f r e e z i ng two n i g h t s l a t e r ,t he n ba c k t o t he e i g h ti es ag a i n . N o w i t f e lt m o r e l ik e M a r c h thanM a y .A b o u t five the r a i n s topped and l e f t eve ry th ing f r esh ly r i nsedl o o k i n g . T h e R e v e r e n d C h a p m a n , b a c k o n h is f ro n t p o r c h a fte rp a r t i c i p a t i n g at the graveside cerem on ies , sa t g az in g a t the parkw i t h i ts b i g e lm s and d raped cha in f ence , and thou gh t to h im se l ftha t he had se ldom lo o ke d up o n a l ov e l i e r s cene . O r a t leas t so hewr o t e l a t e r on .

T h e R e v e r e n d h a d b ee n i n J o h n s t o w n o n l y a f e w y e a rs , an d i thad been jus t the month be fo re tha t he and h i s w i f e , A g n e s , h a dm o v e d i n t o the n e w pa rs onag e . H e ha d g r o w n up a l o ng the c a na l t othe we s t o f J o hn s t ow n , at Bla i r sv i l l e , w here h i s f a the r had eked ou ta l i v i n g pa in t i ng decora t i ve scenes and des igns o n packe t bo a ts . H i sfirst c h u r c h ha d be e n i n L i g o n i e r , on the o ther s ide of L a u r e l H i l l .


20/26

34 T H E J O H N S T O W N F L O O DL a t e r there h ad b ee n c h u rc h es i n N e w F l o r e n c e a n d B o l i v a r , d o w nth e C o n em au g h , an d half a dozen o ther p laces be tween Johns townan d P i t t s b u r g h . H e l iked eve ry one o f t hem , he sa id , bu t J oh ns to w nwas som eth ing spec ia l . H i s s tone church nex t doo r was the l a rges ti n t o w n , a l an dm ar k , an d ex cept f o r S t . J o s eph 's , t he G er m an C a t h o l i c ch u r ch o v e r i n C o n em au g h b o r o u g h , n o ch u r ch h ad a l a r g e rm em b ers h ip . H i s n e i g h b o rs ac ro ss th e p a r k , D r . L o w m an an d J o h nF u l t o n , were the f inest sort of Chr i s t i an gen t lemen , and the i r homesw er e as e l eg an tl y f u rn i s h ed as an y i n t o w n . T h e D i b e r t b an k ,Gri f f i th ' s drugstore, the post off ice and the Tribune offices on thef loor above i t , were a l l but a few steps f r o m t h e Rev e r en d ' s f r o n tdoo r . The par sonage faced on t o F r a n k l i n Street , at almost theex ac t d ead cen te r o f J o h n s t o w n .N i g h t se t t l ed i n and the l i gh t s came on a long F r a n k l i n an dM a i n . A f e w b l o c k s a w a y W i l l i a m K u h n a nd D a i s y H o r n e r w e rebe i ng m arr i ed i n a sm al l ce rem on y a t the b r i de ' s hom e. A t theO p e r a H o u se M r . A u g u s ti n D a ly ' s N e w Y o r k p r o d u c t i o n o f ANight Off, " T h e c o m ed y su ccess o f t w o co n t i n en t s ," w as p l ay i n gto a sm al l house. D a l y was the foremost theat r ical producer o f theday , an d A Night Off had been his biggest hi t for several years.L i k e some o f h i s o ther p roduc t ions , i t was an adap ta t i on f rom aG e r m a n c o m e d y , a f a ct w h i c h th e J o h n s t o w n a u d ie n ce u n d o u b t e d l y appreciated .O t h e r t ha n tha t no t much e l se was go ing on . Because o f t heh o l i da y there had been no paper tha t m o r n i n g , b u t a c c o r d i n g t oW e d n e sd a y 's Tribune, ra ins torms were expected la te tha t T h u r s d a y ; t o m o r r o w , F r i d a y , was to be s l i gh t ly w a r m e r . T h e b a ro m e tr icpressure w as repo r ted a t th i r ty , t empera tu re f r o m f o r t y - s i x t o s i x ty -five, h u m i d i t y at s ix ty -n ine per cent .A b o u t nine the ra in began again , gen t le and quiet as ear l ier .B u t an hour or so la ter i t s tar ted pour ing and there seemed no endto i t . " S o m e ti m e i n th e n i g h t , " a c c o r d i n g t o C h a p m a n , " m y w i f easked i f i t were no t r a in in g v ery hard , and I be ing ve ry s l eepy ,bare ly co n s c i o u s o f t h e ex t r ao r d i n a r y do w n p o u r s i m p ly an s w er ed ,' Y e s , ' an d w en t t o s leep , t h i n k i n g n o m o r e o f i t u n t i l m o r n i n g . "


21/26

The sky wa s red 35

-5-George He i se r ' s day d i d no t end un t i l a f t e r t en . I t was h i sprac t i ce to keep the s to re op en u n t i l then . W i t h the sa loons a longW a sh in g to n S t r ee t do ing bus iness on i n to the n igh t , there we r egenera l l y peop le about and he cou ld p i ck up a l i t t l e more t r ade .E i t h e r he o r h is w i fe M a t h i l d e w o u l d be l o o k i n g af ter th ings behindthe c oun t e r, i n a m on g the queen ' s ware and the bar re ls of sugar andcrackers , the cases o f E w a r t s t o b a cc o a n d y e l l o w l a u n d r y so ap ,need les , spools , p ins , and Clark ' s " O - N - T " ( O u r N e w T h r e a d ) .G e o r g e a nd M a th i l d e H e i s e r , a nd t he i r s i x te e n - y e a r- o l d s on ,V i c t o r , l i v e d ups ta i r s over the s tore . They had been a t the samel o c a t i o n , 224 W a s h i n g to n , f o r s e ve ra l y e a rs n o w a nd , a t l o n g la st,business was lo o k in g up . A t f if ty- two, fo r the f ir st tim e in h i s l i fe ,G e o r g e He i s e r wa s g e t t ing on i n the w o r l d .W a sh in g to n S tree t ra n para l le l to M a i n , tw o b l oc k s t o t hen o r t h . F r o m th e S t o n y C r e e k o v e r t o t he L i t t l e C o n e m a u g h , t h eeast-west streetsthe " u p " streets t he y we r e c a l l e d r a n V i n e ,L i n c o l n , M a i n , L o c u s t , W a s h i n g t o n . T h e n c am e th e B & O t ra c ksand the B & O d e po t w h i c h wa s d i r e c t l y a cro ss the street f r o m t h eH e i s e r s to r e. B e y o n d t he t ra c ks we r e tw o m or e streets, B r o a d a n dPear l , then the L i t t l e C o ne m a ug h , and o n t he o the r s id e o f tha t roseP r os pe c t H i l l , steep as a roof . W i t h th e t o w n g r o w i n g th e w a y i thad been , the B a l t i m o r e & O h i o h ad b r o u g h t i n a s pu r f r o m S o m e rse t e ight years before to t ry to take away some of the f re ight bus i ness f r o m th e P e n n s y l v a n i a . A n o l d s ch o o lh o u se h ad b ee n c o n ver ted i n to a depo t , and the steady n ig h t and d ay r acke t o f thet r a i ns r i gh t by the i r window had made qu i te a d i f f e r ence to theHeise rs . B ut w i t h t he s to re d o i n g as w e l l as i t was , George He i se rha d f e w c om p l a i n t s .

G e o r g e h ad b e en t r o u b l e d b y b a d l u c k m u c h o f hi s l i fe . D u r i n g the w a r , at F r e d e r i c ks bu r g , w he n h is un i t ha d be e n m a k i n g ar a p i d w i thd r a w a l , h is c om pa n i o n i n the r a nks , a f e l l o w n a m e d P i k e ,g o t h i t a n d w e n t d o w n g r a b b i n g o n t o G e o r g e ' s l e g a n d p l e a d i n gf o r G eo rge no t to leave h im . A s a r esu l t they were b o th cap turedand George spen t the rest of the war i n L i b b y P r i s o n . T h e n , y e arsl a te r , a t a t ime when he seemed to be ge t t i ng nowhere i n Johns t o w n , G e o r g e h ad g o n e o ff n o r th to O i l C i t y hoping to s t r i ke i t


22/26

36 T H E J O H N S T O W N F L O O Dr i c h . H e w o u n d u p r u n n i n g a b u t c h e r s ho p in s te ad a n d i n n o t i m ew a s b a c k i n J o h n s t o w n , flat b r o k e , w i p e d o u t b y f ir e a n d h i s o w nl a c k o f bus iness sense .

G e o r g e h a d n o t m a r c h e d i n th e p a ra d e t h a t a f t e r n o o n . H i sb l u e u n i f o r m s e l d o m e v e r c a m e o u t o f t h e b i g w a r d r o b e u p s ta i rs .H e w a s n o t m u c h f o r p a r a d e s a n d t h e l i k e . H e se ld o m m i x e d i np o l i t i c s , n e v e r b e c am e a n e n t h us i as t i c c h u r c h m a n . H e n e i t h e rs m o k e d n o r c h e w e d , t h o u g h h e w o u l d t ak e a b e er e v e r y so o f t e na n d o n c e a y e a r h e l i k e d t o m a k e w i n e d o w n i n t he c e l l a r . H e d i de n j o y t h e G r a n d A r m y m e e t i n g s , b u t t h a t w a s l a r g e l y b e c a us e h ee n j o y e d b e i n g w i t h h is f r ie n d s . P e o p l e l i k e d h i m . H e w a s a g o o ds t o r y t e l l e r , e a s y g o i n g . H e w a s al so ab o u t as p h y s i c a l l y p o w e r f u l asa n y m a n i n t o w n , a n d h e w a s a v e r y so f t t o u c h . H e c o u l d l i f t ab a r r e l f u l l o f s u g ar , w h i c h w a s c o n s i d e r e d q u i t e a f ea t; b u t t u r n i n ga w a y a f r i e n d w h o s e c r e d i t m i g h t n o t b e t he b e s t s e e m e d m o r e t h a nh e w a s u p t o .

T w i c e i n h i s l i f e h e h a d l e t f r i en d s h a v e m o n e y w h e n t h e yc a m e t o h i m ; t w i c e he h a d s uf f er ed h e a v i l y f r o m t h e l o ss . F o r t u n a t e l y f o r t he H e i s e r s , M a t h i l d e w a s a d e t e r m i n e d a n d s en s ib le w i f e .S h e w a s t he m a n a g e r o f t h e t w o , a n d a f te r G e o r g e c a m e b a c k f r o mO i l C i t y s h e t o o k c h a r g e . S h e k e p t t h e b o o k s , s a w t h a t h e d i d n o tl e t m u c h g o o n c re d i t . N o r w o u l d she a l l o w h i m t o se t a n y c h a i rso u t o n t h e b a r e w o o d e n flo o r. O t h e r w i s e , s he s a i d , h i s c r o n i e sw o u l d b e s i t t i n g a b o u t h a l f t h e d a y g i v i n g t he p l a c e t h e w r o n g s o r to f a p p ea r an c e . T h e y h a d a t l as t b e e n a bl e t o a d d a n e w w i n d o w t ot he sto r e f r o n t a n d a p pe ar an c e s w o u l d b e m a i n t a i n e d s o l o n g as M a t h i l d e h a d h e r s a y .M a t h i l d e ' s a p pe a ra n c e w a s s t r a i g h t f o r w a r d a n d i n t e l l i g e n t . S h eh a d a f i n e h e a d o f d a r k - b r o w n h a i r, a h i g h f o r e h e a d , a n d a s et t o h e rm o u t h t h a t s ug g e ste d sh e k n e w w h e r e sh e w a s g o i n g a n d t h a tc h a n c e s w e r e g o o d s he w o u l d g e t t h e r e. S h e h a d h a d a c o n s i d e r a b l ea m o u n t o f e d u c a t io n f o r a w o m a n o f t h a t t i m e a n d c o n t i n u e d t ok e ep u p w i t h h e r r e a d i n g . E d u c a t i o n w a s th e t h i n g , a p r o p e r e d u c a t i o n a n d h a r d w o r k . I t h a d b e e n h e r w a y o f l i f e s in c e c h i l d h o o d i nG e r m a n y , a n d s h e i n t e n d e d t o p a s s i t o n t o t h e p r i d e o f h e r l i f e , h e rs o n .

V i c t o r w a s h e r s e c o n d c h i l d . T h e f i rs t , a g i r l , h a d d i e d o f d i p h t h e r i a . V i c t o r h a d b e e n s t r u c k d o w n w i t h i t t o o , b u t he h a d b e e ns tr o n g e r. H e l o o k e d m u c h l i k e h i s f a th e r n o w , o n l y a g a n g l i e r , r a w -


23/26

Th e sky iva s red 37bon e d v e r si on . H e wa s a s eri ous , p i nk - f a c e d b o y , w i t h b i g fe et a ndb l o n d ha i r, t a l le r a l ready than m os t m en and f a r bet ter e d uc a te d . A ts ix teen he knew severa l languages , was w e l l a l ong i n a d v a nc e dm athemat ics , and had read about as w id e l y as any b o y i n J ohn s t o w n . A t his m other ' s ins i stence , h is l i fe wa s a s t e a d y r ound o fs c h oo l , ho m e wo r k , a nd be i ng t u t o r e d i n one e x tr a c ou rs e o rano the r . I f George He i se r had had h i s t r oub les making h i s way ,t ha t wa s one t h i n g ; V i c t o r , M a t h i l d e H e i s e r w a s d e te rm i n e d , w o u l dno t ju st g et on , he w o u l d exce l . T h e r e w o u l d b e n o g o i n g o f f t o th eC a m b r i a w o r k s o r c o a l m in e s f o r t hi s y o u n g m a n , a n d n o c l e r k i n gb e h in d a s tore cou n ter ei ther .N o w and aga in V i c t o r ha d h is m om e n t s a wa y f r om a l l tha t .H i s f a t h e r w o u l d step i n and see tha t he go t some t ime o f f . GeorgeH e i s e r h ad a w o n d e r f u l w a y w i t h c h i l d r e n . H e w a s f o re v er t e l li n gthem s to r ie s and l i s t en ing to the i rs . H e too k a grea t interest in hisson and h is s chem es, one o f w h ic h was to b u i l d a raf t a nd f loatd o w n th e C o n e m a u g h t o th e A l l e g h e n y , th e n o n t o th e O h i o an dMiss i ss ipp i . V i c t o r had taken some n ight c lasses in mechanica ld r a w i n g at the l i b r a r y a nd ha d w o r ke d up p la n s on ho w the r af tshou ld be bu i l t . H i s i d e a wa s to c a t c h t he C on e m a ug h w he n i t w a sh i g h , o t he rw i se h e k n e w he w o u l d r u n a g r o u n d .

In s um m e r he w o u l d b r i n g hom e a c coun t s o f his l o n g r id e s ou to f t o w n to t he ope n c o un t r y a bov e the v a l l e y . O n c e he a nd one o fh i s f ri end s had gon e a l l the w a y to the S ou th F o rk dam to t ake al o o k a t the lake and the sum m er co lo n y , bu t they had been sen t o nthe i r w ay b y the g round s keeper and never go t to see m uc h .O the r n i g h ts V i c t o r t a lked about w a l k i n g to the edge o f t o w nto w a tc h the b i g s um m e r re v i v a l m e e ti ng . H e l ov e d the po w e r f u ls i n g i n g a n d th e w h o o p i n g a n d h o l l e r i n g o f p e o p le " g e t ti n g r e l i g i o n . " O n the w a y hom e he a nd h is f ri end s w o u l d t r y t o i m i t at ew ha t t he y ha d see n, l a ug h i n g a nd po un d i ng e a ch o the r o n the ba c kas they came a long the streets. T h i s wa s t he k i n d of educa t i onG e o r g e H e i s e r u n d e r s t o o d . H e h a d g r o w n u p i n J o h n s t o w n h i m s elf . H i s pe op le ha d be en a m on g the P e nn s y l v a n i a Ge r m a n s w hofirs t set t led the val ley.A f t e r ten the H eis er s tore was c losed fo r the d ay , the l ights outd o w n s ta irs . W h e n th e d o w n p o u r b eg a n , G e o r g e a n d M a t h i l d e d i dno t t h i nk m uc h o f i t , e x c e p t tha t there wou l d a l m os t c e r t a i n l y beh i g h wa te r i n t he m o r n i n g . B u t the t houg h t bo ther ed t he m v e r y


24/26

38 T H E J O H N S T O W N F L O O Dlittle, except for the inconven iences there m ight be. T h e y listenedto the rain drum on the roo f and were glad to be inside.

If there was such a thing as a typ ica l married couple in Johnstow n on the night of M a y 30, 1889, G eorg e and M athilde H eiserw o u l d come about as close as any to qu alifying. T ogeth er, l ikeJ ohnstown itself, they com bined an O l d W o rl d wil l to make goodin the N e w with a sort of earlier-Am erican, cracker-barrel w i l l i n g ness to take life pretty much as it came. Unlike a large number ofJohnstown people, they were not directly beholden to the CambriaIron C om pa ny , but their fortunes, l ike those of the entire valley,depended nonetheless on how red those skies glow ed at night.

T h e y had suffered the death of a child; they had tried theirluck elsewhere and had lost. T h e y fought dirt daily, saved everyspare nickel, and took tremendous pride in the progress they weremaking. A l l things considered, J ohnstow n seemed a go od place tobe. It was their home.


25/26

MILES


26/26

5 Jo n iz r

^mp;,' 'M ^::;i:fi8^K^VIADUCT76'H\GH

% 1 * ~' JA T DA M72'HIGH

**.,., j - # * - , ^ : - 1[ :;^ c^

Documents

Johnstown Flood by David McCullough - Chapter One