European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 31, 1968, Darmstadt, Hesse                                By Sid Whipple staff writer the Little City of Johnstown nestled in a deep Valley of Western Pennsylvania s Allegheny mountains was a pleasant and profitable place to live in during the 80s.although in some aspects it resembled a Western mining town what wit hits 123 saloons and a discreetly unrecorded number of establishments Cater ing to Earthie pursuits still it had a blossoming culture saturday nigh band concerts lectures in the town Library frequent Road shows in the Washington Street opera House. Approximately 30,000 citizens lived Inthis Happy Valley half of them in Johnstown and the rest in the Little Cir Cle of satellite towns Cambria City. Kernville Wood Vale East Conemaugh and Franklin on the shores of the lit be Conemaugh River and Stony Cree those two streams joined forces below Johnstown rolling on to the Allegheny River and then to the Ohio. Iron and steel formed the basis for the Region s Prosperity. Blast furnaces us ing the newly developed Bessemer sys tem lit up the hillsides with almost continuous fireworks. Johnstown s Famo Scambria Iron co. Employed 7,000 men. And even Andy Carnegie s Pittsburgh Mills were not producing As much ton nage As Dan a orrels Cambria furnaces Johnstown citizens were proud of the town s Progress. Early in 1889 a Tele phone Exchange had been built an boasted More than 70 customers. Arc lights made the City s streets Bright audit was a pleasure to ramble Down to the new depot with its Bright awnings to watch the mail train come in. There was a new Hospital. A new hotel on Linton Street advertised its elevator and steam heat. F fifteen Miles East of this flourishing Valley and some 450 feet above it imprisoned by a great earthen dam Layman made Lake Conemaugh. The Lake was two Miles Long and was estimate to contain 20 million tons of water fed into it by South Fork Creek. This Lake with its 450 acres of posted fishing area was to figure extravagantly in the Furi Ous aftermath of Johnstown s tragedy or the world famous flood of May 31,ioo9. Johnstown s great flood of 1889 later historian David  took a fresh look at Docu ments about the disaster and has come up with a monumental retelling of the Story the Johnstown flood Simon and schuster. It is a fantastically researched volume Rich in the lore of tragedy. While at times it May be a bit confusing largely because of the rapid leaps in time employed in telling the tale it is nevertheless a Reward ing vision of nature broken Loose. Tje citizens in the Valley explain Mccullough had Little to do with Lake Conemaugh. This was sacred territory sacred to the convenience and pleas ures of a Small group of Pittsburg Hiron and steel masters among them Andrew Carnegie and Henry Cla Friek two of America s Industrial giants. R.,1?eusut1 Fork of song and Hunting club had been organized 10 years be fore and owned not Only the Lake andtf16 dam but much of the land around it. The Region was off limits to All but members and selected guests. The dam itself had been intended to serve a useful purpose. In earlier years it had been built to provide a Reservoir for water fed into the main line canal Pennsylvania s transportation Chal Lenge to new York s Erie canal. But the Railroad Era had put canals tout of business and with that there was no practical purpose in maintaining the South Fork Creek dam. The Pittsburgh sportsmen therefore stocked the Lake with fish and spent the pleasant sum Mer months relaxing in 50-room cot re in Vav my  a the engulfing of Johnstown took 10 minutes and then the rubble caught fire trapping at Lea St 500 ?"1"" the i houses at the Edge of the Little Cone Maugh River were knee deep in water controversies raged Over the safety of the dam and the pessimistic conclusion was that someday the dam will bust and them Pittsburgh dudes won t do nothing to Stop  and Noth ing was done. Of _ rom time to time some fears had been expressed Over the safety of the dam particularly since escape pipes Totake care of any excess water seemed to have disappeared and fish weirs clogged with debris further restricted the flow of water Over the dam s Only spillway another engineering fault the dam sagged at its Center wherein was Lour feet lower than at its ends. At times when the Rains came and Post 12 n the night of May 29, 1889, the . Signal service announced that the Middle Atlantic states might expect severe local  on the following morning it reported continuing threat ening  the warnings failed to Dampen the spirits of the Holiday crowds  from Altoona and Somer set celebrating memorial Day. The morning was delightful the City was in its gayest mood with flags banners and Flowers everywhere said the Rev. H. L. Chapman watching the scene from his new methodist parsonage fac ing the municipal Park. The grand Parade headed by the fire department with Flowers sprouting from their squeaking trumpets got underway a Little after two o clock in the afternoon. Spectators cheered the Hor Newtown drum corps the Odd Fellows the grand army vets the sons of vet Erans and the austrian music society on its three mile March to the Ceme Tery. By nine o clock in the evening Moa of the sobered citizens tired of Cele Brating had retired to their Homes. Themore Liberal element had scattered to the saloons. A goodly sized ??2ft Augustin Daly s comedy. A night off in the opera House j the rain began falling at first gentle Shower gathering Force during the night and becoming furious before Dawn the inhabitants slept on Al though some of them afterwards remembered waking up and comment ing on the Force of the downpour. At this Point consideration of the Ter rain Between the Lake Conemaugh dam and the main Street of Johnstown feet below is helpful in understanding the tremendous concentration of Hydraulic Power let Loose when All barriers were Down. From the dam the South Fork Creek ran Northwest to the town of South Fork where it joined the Little Cone Maugh River the combined streams dropping constantly flowed Westward around a great Horseshoe curve at the Heel of which the Pennsy Railroad crossed on a High viaduct. About a mile Down Stream fro South Fork stood a Railroad signal Tower overlooking a tiny settlement con sisting of 30 houses and a Sawmill Knprr As Mineral Point. From this Point the Little Conemaugh its Prog Ress slowed Down by another Large Horseshoe curve dropped steadily Down into Johnstown passing through the Iron town suburbs of East Cone Maugh and  the Western end of Johnstown the River passed under a heavy Stone Edge carry no the Railroad tracks. This Bridge was to become the principal ssh Rne. Of the most horrible phases of Johnstown s destruction. The inhabitants of the 15-mile Gap carved out of the mountains by the Little Cone Teugh awoke after a restless night to find in hundreds of instances that swirling Waters had invaded the streets and were climbing the Steps to encroach on their first floors. But the skies had lightened to some extent and the general belief seemed to be that the storm would prove to be no worse than some of the minor downpours that had similarly flooded Riverside Homes. B y noon however it was agreed that this is the worst one yet and Many families retreated to upper floors Tak ing food and warm clothing with them. Still others took the precaution of climbing into the nearby Hills to View the spreading Waters. Watchers at the South Crock dam however were becoming More Ana More alarmed. The Lake had Rise steadily and was lapping at the sagging Center of the dam and debris Logan tree branches were piling up a either end holding the water Back tithe very Points where it should la a been released to relieve the pressure on the weakened Center. Defeated the observers  Unes from the Lake � South Fork were not yet in operation. The entire Lake seemed to leap into v Ley like a living thing9 ,.it seemed like a Mountain coming looked a Hundred feet high9 m new York Public Library Ltd toll was officially set at 2,209about one tenth of Johnstown s population. Height increased until it struck thereat viaduct. The Bridge held momentarily and the flood like a frustrated Bull lashed Back up the Valley form ing a Lake almost As Large As what had been Lake Conemaugh held Back temporarily by the pile up at the viaduct. Redoubling its fury the flood lunge again at the viaduct smashed its heavy superstructure and drove its unobstructed course towards Johnstown in a wave estimated to be 76 feet High. The Waters engulfed the tiny Village of Mineral Point a mile below the demolished viaduct and swept on to overwhelm the suburban towns of East Conemaugh and Wood Vale. The big wave hit Johnstown at 4.07p.m., less than an hour after breaking through the South Fork dam 15 Miles  Over and Over like Gigantic surf and driving a Black mass of de Bris before it the Wall of water now 36 feet High hit the City at the height of its terrible Power. Hundreds of fam Ilies believing themselves Safe in the upper floors and attics of their Homes watched the approaching killer As stripped through Brick buildings tossed wooden houses High in the air ground hotels into match Wood and bore away the entire conglomerate mass on us boiling Crest. Within a minute they too the fortunate ones were waterborne Riding the perilous Stream on roofs planks mattresses and logs. The flood broke into three sections Back lashed into Stony Creek and headed with its Burden of habitations humans and animals for the massive Stone Bridge which carried the Pennsyl Vania tracks through the next town Cambria City. At this Point came the supreme tragedy. Debris piled up against the massive Stone Arches. Box cars fac tory roofs masses of barbed wire logs dead horses and cows humans some dead and some miraculously alive formed a mountainous Heap higher than the Bridge itself. The wave baffled again hurled itself Back on the inundated town completing its destruction. The engulfing of Johnstown had taken 10 minutes. And then the rubble at the Stone Bridge caught fire trapping at least 500 people. Records showed that perhaps 80 persons died in the Blaze and it was another of Johnstown s Mir Acles that All the others bruised battered and half drowned but still alive escaped. Sword of the catastrophe seeped out of the Valley through the Meage Telegraph facilities the entire nation was horrified. Scores of reporters from metropolitan dailies fought their Way into Johnstown among them a Youngman named Richard Harding Davis who was to become known As the greatest War correspondent of the Era. It also brought to the flattened Cit a woman named Clara Barton and a team of red Cross workers on the first Mission of mercy since organization of the  for the sufferers began pouring in. Before the excitement die Down $3,601.000 had been contributed to the fund and $141,000 had come fro foreign lands a generous slice of the Money from sympathetic  death toll was officially set at 2,209, or about one tenth of Johnstown s population. From the Johnstown flood Courtesy of Simon and schuster t t the stars and stripes was no Way of warning the. Peo Elow. About 3 p.m., the whole dammed to push out All at once said Schwartz Truver one of thes Lew Lesses to the catastrophe. The in Lake seemed to leap into the Val like a living thing said col. Ellas a major Gilomo of the South forking and Hunting club. Mccullough notes that studies by Civ engineers indicated that the water ged into the Valley at a velocity depth comparable to the Niagara Ler As it reaches Niagara Falls. Or it it another Way he says the sting of the South Fork dam was nit like turning Niagara Falls into Valley for 36  Ehrenfeld dispatcher was no in the Pennsy s Telegraph Tower South Fork talking with the in or and conductor of a freight Trinch had been stalled near the station. Denly they looked out the window saw people running. Then they saw water. To looked like a Mountain coming miss Ehrenfeld. It looked like a e Hill rolling Over and Over said Ductor s. W. Keltz. It looked aided feet  in a frantic Rush three made it to higher  Wall of water actually about 40 i nigh moved straight for the rail id Bridge driving ahead of it an inv use mass of debris which included two or three Small Bridges no ius mangled houses dead animals rubbish beyond description. Ine flood Tore the Little town to pieces rushed on its Way toward the 75 if nigh viaduct less than a mile dropping some 50 feet at this and pressed Between narrow Mountain Walls its fury and Friday 4y 31, 1968 the path of the flood the stars and stripes Pone 13