Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Hurricane Diane 1955, Bloomsbury flooded
Remember when Hurricane Diane caused a flood in downtown Bloomsbury in 1955? I've been looking for a picture I had of me standing in it with boots on and holding our dog down by the swimming pier, but I can't find it... The bridge between Phillipsburg and Easton was washed out and the Army built a temporary Bailey Bridge right next to it. I don't remember if Sheets and Gardner's got flooded, but I would imagine it would have.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
.jpg)
Posts
We have at least one picture of some of us kids standing in the water which came up to the backyards of the row of houses where ours was. Scary! I don't remember if Dad's store was flooded, but I'll ask him. I hope you find your picture.
ReplyDeleteI remember the bailey bridge at Easton... you'd drive across it and had a little "squishy" feeling from it floating on the water. I'll check the family photo album and see if I have any shots of the flood.
ReplyDeleteSorry, I have no photos. The family album stops at Dec. 1954. I don't remember the Graphite Mill offices eever flooding, and that was right next to Sheets & Gardners store. For the store to flood, the water would have to be going over the bridge, and I don't think it ever did.
ReplyDeleteI do have a few picures. The one that really stands out is a photo of our dog standing at the edge of our back porch watching the rising flood waters. Most of the familiies who had docks along the river lost them due to the flood, including us.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know if the actual hurricane hit Bloomsbury, or was the flooded Musconetcong due to activity upstream? I don't remember anything during the night before the morning the river had risen and was all muddy looking.
Faye Dennis Eschenfelder
Ah, yes! like Craig said, I remember the Bailey Bridge being very unsteady and rocking when you went across it. It was always kind of a scary experience, making you wonder if it was going to hold up long enough for you to make it across one more time.
ReplyDeleteI missed the excitement. I do recall my grandparents were up to our cottage with us at Mountain Lake and they insisted on going home. The iron bridge as I recall was closed. They had to take what we referred to (the cement bridge over at that time 22 now 173) over the Musconetcong River. I'd love to see the shots. I've never seen any. But yes we did go to P'burg and over to Easton acrossed that bridge to see the flooding after the water receeded. I know there used to be watermarks all over Easton. But I don't recall any in P'burg.
ReplyDeleteI remember my mother having a picture of her sister Luanne standing in the water at the horse hole holding me in the picture. I was only two years old.
ReplyDeleteAs I recall, the street leading down to the bridge - possibly old Rt 22(?) from the Phillipsburg side - was rather steep. Heading towards Easton, at the top of the hill it veered left, then went downhill, and then turned right to cross the old bridge. Due to the elevation, I'm not surprised that there were no memorable high water marks on the NJ side of the river.
ReplyDeleteHere's an obit from a former West Portal resident and Bloomsbury resident, Carl "Chick" Modica. He used to drive the school bus, when I was a kid, at Bethlehem Township Grade School and then North Hunterdon Regional High School, where I went also. I was born at Warren Hospital, P'Burg and lived in West Portal, till 1966, then moved to Florida, with my parents:
ReplyDeleteCarl "Chick" Modica
Carl "Chick" Modica, 76, of Bloomsbury, formerly of West Portal, NJ died Wednesday in Warren Hospital. Born: In West Portal, NJ, on November 9, 1933,he was a son of the late Rosario and Concetta Paolina Modica. Personal: Chick owned and operated the family farm in West Portal. He also worked as a Custodian and Bus Driver for the former Bethlehem Township School. He also worked for Ray Crisman and Engineer Construction Co. Memberships: Chick was a member of the West Portal Methodist Church. Survivors: Surviving are his beloved fiancé Edie Agostinelli; his children, Jeffrey and his wife Yvonne of Asbury, Carl Jr. and his wife Lisa of Somerset, PA, and Diane Pflugfelder and her husband George of Asbury; A sister, Grace Searles of Easton; six grandchildren and a great-grandson. A brother Joseph and a sister Ann Virgilio died earlier. Services: Funeral Services will be held Monday at 11 a.m. in the Doyle-Devlin Funeral Home Inc. 695 Corliss Ave. in Phillipsburg.Visitation will be held on Sunday from 3 to 5 p.m. in the Funeral Home. Interment will be in Bloomsbury Cemetery. For more information or to send an online condolence, please visit www.devlinfh.com. Memorials: Memorials in Chick's name may be made to the West Portal Methodist Church.
Published in The Express Times on December 11, 2009