THE SOUVENIR BOOKLET

A small 4 x 6 black photo souvenir booklet was discovered when I was working on sorting through items to use in my genealogical documentation. It had taken a lot of research to discover names on the family tree, but this “find” gave me a chance to learn a story that makes the people on the family tree more than just a name. The date on the souvenir booklet was March 1904 and it described the Middletown area of Pennsylvania where our ancestors lived. Understanding the background of this flood gives me an insight into how they lived and what life was like just after the turn of the century.

OUR ANCESTRY

The William B. Leonard family resided on State Street in Middletown, Pennsylvania in 1904. William was born in 1882 and his wife Mary Plott was born in 1887. The couple was married in 1900.

They had three children: “Jim” born in 1905, “Chuck” born in 1912 and Francis born in 1920. This family is on my husband’s side. Charles Edward, called “Chuck”, was my husband’s father so any history we can learn about the family is precious to us.

PENNSYLVANIA AND OUR FAMILY

The Leonard family settled in the area to work in the steel mills. Both the Plotts and Leonards made their home in Middletown. They lived in the area up until the 1940’s when the family moved to Lorain, Ohio where the U S Steel plant was thriving and gave employees a better opportunity for work. Chuck worked as a security guard for U S Steel for 50 years

Also, our family owned property in the Allegheny Mountains in Cook’s Forest about 16 miles from Clarion. The cabin was built in 1960 and was kept in the family until 1998 when we were no longer able to keep up with maintenance due to living Arkansas. The years of being in the Pennsylvania area gave us many memories.

Interestingly enough our son and his wife are now living in the same basic area. It seems fascinating that after a century that the Leonard family has returned to the area where our ancestors once lived.

PENNSYLVANIA WEATHER HISTORY

The 1600’s

Having once lived in the northern part of the US I knew that winters can be quite cold and that spring can come slowly to the area. The Susquehanna River is the main rive in the north central part of Pennsylvania and has a history of flooding in the area. In the 1600’s there was one major flood in February 1692.

THE 1700's

By the 1700’s seven times the water rose and flooded the area. Most of the dates are in the months of January and February. One flood occurred in the month of March and two times in the late 1700’s the Susquehanna overflowed its banks. Perhaps the most interesting one that I read about was the Pumpkin Flood in October 1786. Because it was in the fall several pumpkins that were growing on vines were washed away, hence the name “The Great Pumpkin Flood”.

THE 1800's

In the 1800’s fourteen floods occurred in the area. It seems logical that as settlers moved into the area and lumbering and working of the coal mines changed the area they may have been partially responsible for the damage. In September 1861 the flood was caused by just that, a log drive caught in a valley about a mile below the creek. Heavy rain contributed to the flooding. The Keating railroad bridge was swept away and even bodies from cemeteries rose from the graves and floated down the river.

THE 1900's

Most documentation that I have perused does not mention the flood of 1904 probably because the other floods in that time era were much more destructive. From 1936-1996 eight floods ravaged the area, one which was caused by tropical storm Agnes. It is also interesting to note that the area most recently flooded in March 2008, almost 100 years from the ice and flood storm of 1904.