Disasters and Tragedies

A disaster (fires, earthquakes, floods) photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Caption: "Trucks Aiding Marooned People at Main St., Johnstown Flood, 3-18-36." The Johnstown Flood of 1889 decimated the city of Johnstown, Pennsylvania , killed over 2,200 people, and--like the Chicago Fire and the San Francisco Earthquake--was sensationalized and documented in numerous books, songs, photos, and other media (see the Johnstown Flood Museum's article on <a href=" Remembering the Johnstown Flood " target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Remembering the Johnstown Flood for a brief discussion of the flood's impact on popular culture). While the failure of a dam was the culprit in the 1889 flood, heavy rains caused more flooding in Johnstown in 1936 and 1977 (about two dozen died in 1936 and eighty-five in 1977). This real photo postcard shows rescue efforts on March 18, 1936, the day after the flood began that year. Men and women stand awkwardly in the bed of a truck as it sloshes through the floodwaters on Main Street in Johnstown (mouse over the image above to see an enlarged view of the truck and its passengers ). Other details worth noting: the "Rothert's 'Furniture That Keeps Faith'" billboard down the street, the neon "Bus Depot" sign just behind and to the right of the rescue truck, and the "Arrow Furniture" van ("America's Finest Furniture") parked below the "Cambria Theatre" sign.

See also the full version of this real photo postcard:

A weather photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park . Handwritten on the back of this real photo postcard: "This picture was taken right after it stopped hailing on Sunday, May 2nd, 1920. Some hail believe me." Although there's no postmark or notation to identify where this photo was taken, it seems likely that the hail pictured here was the result of the same weather system that produced the tornado that devastated the small town of Peggs, Oklahoma , on May 2, 1920. The twister hit Peggs around 8:30 p.m., destroyed most of the town's buildings, killed 71 people, and injured about a hundred more. The National Weather Service still ranks the tornado as the third deadliest in Oklahoma since 1882 .

A real photo postcard. Date and location unknown.

This real photo postcard shows a teacher standing in front of his classroom in what was probably a one-room schoolhouse located in York County, Pennsylvania, sometime in the 1910s. Handwritten on the blackboard is "Elias M. Baugher, Teacher." The calendar in the upper left-hand corner displays the month of March, but the photo isn't clear enough to make out the year. Another interesting detail is the printed sign hanging above the blackboard, which says, "Try, try again." For a close-up of the blackboard, calendar, and sign , mouse over the image above, or select the thumbnail image below. Elias M. Baugher's gravestone appears on the Find A Grave site and reveals that he was born on February 15, 1892, and died September 25, 1918, at the age of 26. He is buried in the Chestnut Grove Brethren Cemetery, located in Jefferson, York County, Pa. The calendar that's visible in the photo tells us that March 1 occurred on a Friday in the year the photo was taken. Since March 1 fell on Fridays in 1907, 1912, and 1918, the photo probably either dates to 1912, when Elias was 20 years old, or to 1918 (the year he died), when he was 26. It's less likely, I would think, that the photo was taken in 1907, when Elias was only 15. A Google Books search turned up the Pennsylvania State Education Association's Report of Proceedings for 1919 , pp. 64-65, which included his name in a list of educators who passed away in 1918 and noted that he "died in camp." The report explained the circumstances: "During the year just closed war and disease exacted from us a heavy toll. Influenza proved a veritable scourge.... It left in its wake sorrow and sadness. More than one hundred teachers of the State were victims of its deadly attack." Another book, York County and the World War (1920), p. 124, relates that Elias was drafted into the army during the last months of World War I (1914-1918) and confirms that he died of flu: "Private Elias M. Baugher. U. S. Infantry, Camp Lee, Va. Private Baugher was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Freeman Baugher of near Jefferson, York County, Pa. He left for Camp Lee, June 24, 1918, with the third County quota of drafted men, where he died of influenza. Prior to entering the service he was engaged in farming in Frederick County, Md. Interment was made at the Chestnut Grove Church of the Brethren. He was 26 years old at the time of his death. He is survived by three brothers and three sisters besides his parents." So it turns out that Elias M. Baugher, a young teacher drafted into the army, fell victim to the 1918 flu pandemic , which, unlike other influenza outbreaks, "killed predominantly previously healthy young adults." As detailed in The American Influenza Epidemic of 1918: A Digital Encyclopedia , Camp Lee, located in Petersburg, Virginia, just 25 miles from Richmond, was home to almost 48,000 soldiers. The camp experienced its first case of the flu on September 13, 1918, and by September 19 there were more than 1,000 cases. Elias died on September 25, and the flu epidemic continued to rage locally in Camp Lee and then in Richmond. Influenza afflicted the country and the world in a global pandemic during the remaining months of 1918 and on into the following year.

See the full version of this real photo postcard for additional information.

Although "TMI" simply means " too much information " to most of us, residents of central Pennsylvania also use it to refer to the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station , a nuclear power plant situated on an island in the Susquehanna River that's three miles downriver from the borough of Middletown and twelve miles from the city of Harrisburg, the state capital. Thirty-five years ago--on March 28, 1979--one of TMI's two nuclear reactors experienced a partial nuclear meltdown , which the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission still calls the "most serious accident in U.S. commercial nuclear power plant operating history." The partial meltdown resulted in a release of radioactive materials, and pregnant women and young children living within a 20-mile radius of the plant were advised to evacuate the area. It took several days until plant operators were certain that the situation was under control. Gary and the Outriders, a local music group, recorded an original song, "Goodbye T.M.I. (The Ballad of Three Mile Island)," and released it as a 45 rpm record. Its catchy melody contrasts with its dire refrain: "Goodbye, goodbye to your life, T.M.I." To hear the song, check it out on YouTube: Gary & The Outriders - Goodbye T.M.I. (1979) . For another musical reaction to the TMI accident, see the cover of the record album, Potter County Was Made by the Hand of God But the Devil Made Three Mile Island , on Flickr.

A photo of something broken for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Handwritten note on the back of this real photo postcard: "Powder mill blew up, March 31, 1910." The remains of a powder mill following an explosion of the black powder (gunpowder) that was being manufactured in the building.

A photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park with a discussion of the flip side (what’s on the reverse of a photo) . Handwritten description on the back of this photo: "Morro Castle, H.B. L. H. Miller, H.B. Two Has Been's. Asbury Park, 1934." I purchased this photo after noticing how the young man, identified on the back as "L. H. Miller," was posing in front of what seems to be an almost ghostly ship. I didn't really understand what "Morro Castle" referred to, but I liked how the location-- Asbury Park , New Jersey--and year--1934--were written on the back. When I checked Wikipedia later, however, I discovered that Morro Castle was the ship's name, and I found out how it ended up at Asbury Park in 1934. As the Wikipedia article explains, " SS Morro Castle was an ocean liner of the 1930s that was built for the Ward Line for voyages between New York City and Havana, Cuba. The ship was named for the Morro Castle fortress that guards the entrance to Havana Bay. On the morning of September 8, 1934, en route from Havana to New York, the ship caught fire and burned, killing 137 passengers and crew members. The ship eventually beached herself near Asbury Park, New Jersey, and remained there for several months until she was towed off and scrapped [on March 14, 1935]." The burning ship drifted until it was just yards away from the Convention Hall pier at Asbury Park, where it became a macabre tourist attraction. An article on the History Bandits site, Dark Tourism and the SS Morro Castle as a Visceral Seaside Attraction , provides further details about the disastrous fire and includes aerial photos that reveal how close the doomed ship came to colliding with the Convention Hall. Given such a terrible tragedy, though, it's hard to imagine why L. H. Miller thought that he was such a " has-been " that he could compare himself to the Morro Castle . Or could it be that someone else wrote on the back of the photo, intending it as a tasteless joke to suggest that Miller was past his prime? Whatever the case might be, the photo reminds us of the fate of those who died or were injured aboard the Morro Castle more than eighty years ago and leaves us wondering what happened to L. H. Miller.

For more information, see the front of this photo:

A picture that tells a sad story (either in the photo or written on the back) for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. The woman at left on the front of this real photo postcard is Jennie B. Dorsey, who was visiting her aunt (her father's sister), Mrs. Amanda J. (Dorsey) Watkins, in Clarksburg, West Virginia, in 1911 (mouse over the image above for a close-up view of the women). As Amanda wrote on the back of the card, "This is a picture of my niece who has the consumption," which was another term for tuberculosis , an incurable infectious disease at the time. On the front of the card, Amanda added, "She has been failing ever since she returned to her home in Scranton, Pa." Sadly, Jennie did pass away the following year on April 3, 1912. She was only 24 years old, and her death certificate listed the cause of her death as pulmonary tuberculosis. This real photo postcard was postmarked in Columbus, Ohio, on July 13, 1911. It was addressed to Miss Lizzie Seitz, Post Office Box, Muncie, Ind. Message on the front of the postcard: Jennie Dorsey & Mrs. Watkins in Clarksburg, W.Va. She has been failing ever since she returned to her home in Scranton, Pa. Message on the other side: Dear Miss Seitz, This is a picture of my niece who has the consumption and I on our lawn, and this is the house we live in. We are at the camp for 2 days. We are not very well in body. Will write more in a letter soon. We all send love. So sorry about your eyes. Use salt water diluted and get the juice of a grape vine. Be careful, don't use strong medicine. Be careful and rest them all you can. I cured mine with salt water.

Jennie B. Dorsey, left, and her aunt, Mrs. Amanda J. (Dorsey) Watkins, in Clarksburg, West Virginia. For more information, see the full version of this real photo postcard:

A memorials photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Inscription on the monument: "The Lost Children of the Alleghenies were found here, May 8, 1856, by Jacob Dibert and Harrison Whysong." See also a detail showing the inscription and the full version of the real photo postcard (below). The Lost Children of the Alleghenies monument stands as a memorial to the sad story of George and Joseph Cox, ages 7 and 5, whose bodies were discovered at the site on May 8, 1856. The boys wandered away from their home in the Allegheny Mountains of northern Bedford County , Pennsylvania, on April 24. The boys' parents sought help when they were unable to locate their children, and hundreds of people eventually came to help search through the mountainous terrain during the following days. After two weeks of searching, however, the boys still had not been found, and the freezing cold weather in the higher altitudes was a cause for concern. A man named Jacob Dibert, who lived some distance away and had not participated in the search, dreamed that he was out in the woods looking for the boys. He dreamed for three nights in succession that he saw a dead deer, a little shoe, and a tree that had fallen across a stream. After crossing the stream, he found the boys' bodies. He sought the help of his brother-in-law, Harrison Whysong, who was familiar with the area where the boys had gone missing. After Jacob described what he saw in his dream, the men attempted to locate the site. They noticed a dead deer, found a boy's shoe, and spotted a tree that had fallen over a stream. They crossed over, and discovered George and Jacob's lifeless bodies. The poignant story of the boys "found by a dream" circulated widely in newspapers and books and by word of mouth. The monument was built and dedicated on May 8, 1906, fifty years after the sad event. For more information, see the Wikipedia article about the Lost Children of the Alleghenies . The boys' story was also the subject of Alison Krauss's 2007 song, "Jacob's Dream."

Inscription on the monument: "The Lost Children of the Alleghenies were found here, May 8, 1856, by Jacob Dibert and Harrison Whysong." For more information, see the cropped version of this real photo postcard.

For more information, see the cropped version of this real photo postcard.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of down on the corner, out on the street (people on the sidewalk or in the street) . Caption: "Middletown Fire, Apr. 9, 1910." This is a real photo postcard of a man walking down the street past the burned-out shells of buildings in Middletown , Pennsylvania. A fire on Saturday, April 9, 1910, decimated the town, destroying 75 commercial buildings and residences in a four-block area of the business district. Notice the dog that's following along behind the man. On the right-hand side of the photo, a second dog is walking past a barrel at the side of the street. Visible in the distance beyond the man, a crowd of people -- probably sightseers -- has gathered in the street.

A photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park topic of disasters (fires, earthquakes, floods, etc) . Caption on this real photo postcard: "Cyclone, June 12, 1911. S. Otselic, N.Y." Damage to trees from a cyclone (tornado) that hit South Otselic , New York, on June 12, 1911. For another photo taken the same day, see Cyclone Damage on Barn , an image from the collection of the Farmers' Museum, Cooperstown, New York.

A cars and trucks photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. This is a real photo postcard addressed on the other side to Mr. Sam Ekey, Warren, Pa., R.D. #4, and postmarked in Warren, Pa., on March 31, 1913. Handwritten message: "Warren, Pa., 3/30, 1913. Dear Brother, Wm. Kopf would like to have his posts Saturday. If you need the money take it, 12½¢ each. Frank needs about 10 7 fts. Maybe we can give Henderson his and give Frank Henderson's from last year [meaning, as far as I can understand, that "Henderson" is going to get the fence posts originally intended for "Frank," and Frank is going to receive his ten seven-foot fence posts from among the ones that they prepared for Henderson last year]. Everything OK. Norman has the mumps. He is at home on the farm. E.E." It's likely that "E.E." was Emil Ekey (1886-1976), who was writing to older brother, Sam Ekey (1881-1965). "Frank" may have been Frank A. Ekey (1868-1959), another brother. A quick search didn't yield any information regarding the other individuals--William Kopf, Henderson, and Norman--that Emil mentions. The flooded street was the result of the Great Flood of 1913 , which "occurred between March 23 and March 26, after major rivers in the central and eastern United States flooded from runoff and several days of heavy rain." I assume that the photo shows a street in Warren , which is located in northeastern Pennsylvania at the confluence of the Allegheny River and Conewango Creek. The license plate on the car in the photo is no. "23801, Penna., 1913," and the man in the driver's seat is looking back at the photographer. Beyond the automobile there are three people--one of them only visible through the vehicle's windshield--wading through the floodwaters. To the left of the threesome is a mailbox stranded by the water, and to its left are two individuals standing in the doorway of a building. A mailman wearing waders and holding a mailbag is standing in the water on the right-hand side of the photo. Perhaps he was headed over to the mailbox to collect the mail. Emil didn't mention the flood in the note he wrote to his brother. I wonder if either of them knew any of the people in the photo. It would also be interesting to know who the photographer was.