Pennsylvania

Name: The Brady's Bend Flood of 1980
Brand: Lisa Olszak Zumstein
SKU: 9781467170123
Price: 18.74 USD
Availability: InStock

Some students of Pennsylvania history just want to unwind with fond memories of Idlewild. Other readers steel themselves for a heavy dose of Pittsburgh history, with all its ghosts and glories. Excavating the horrors of Duffy’s Cut is not for the faint of heart, even if it is done from the comforts of a Fort Washington home. But no matter what they seek, our Pennsylvania history book catalogue unlocks Pennsylvania’s heritage, from plates of scrapple to veins of coal. [View all Pennsylvania books]

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The Brady's Bend Flood of 1980

Paperback

$24.99 $18.74 Save 25%

The Great Memorial Day Fire of 1945 and Other Schuylkill County Disasters

Paperback

$24.99 $18.74 Save 25%

Three Mile Island

Paperback

$24.99 $18.74 Save 25%

Death in the Mines

Paperback

$21.99 $16.49 Save 25%

Tropical Storm Agnes in Greater Harrisburg

Paperback

$24.99 $18.74 Save 25%

Hurricane Agnes in the Wyoming Valley

Paperback

$24.99 $18.74 Save 25%

Washington County Murder & Mayhem

Paperback

$21.99 $16.49 Save 25%

The Brady's Bend Flood of 1980

9781467170123

$24.99 $18.74 Save 25%

In 1980, a record-breaking thunderstorm unleashed a disastrous amount of water on the tiny town of Brady’s Bend.

In a mere forty minutes, the community was annihilated by a catastrophic flash flood. Residents ran for their lives, and nine people drowned. Although rescue and recovery soon followed, the harrowing experience left a mark on the survivors that remains decades later.

Author and Brady’s Bend native Lisa Olszak Zumstein tells this community’s story in full and reveals how this devastating storm mirrors numerous others in the Appalachian corridor.

The Great Memorial Day Fire of 1945 and Other Schuylkill County Disasters

9781467158831

$24.99 $18.74 Save 25%

Schuylkill County is no stranger to disaster.

Schuylkill County is no stranger to disaster. Protected by volunteers since 1811, residents have faced block-burning conflagrations like the Great Memorial Day Fire of 1945, which consumed sixty-seven buildings in the Mahanoy City Business District, and commercial airplane crashes like United Flight 624 near Ashland, with no survivors. The Red Church propane truck explosion near Orwigsburg caused twelve fatalities, and the Reading Railroad passenger train collision with a gasoline truck in Port Carbon sparked death and destruction, as well as a frantic search for burning money.

Telling these stories with the help of rare and many never-before-seen images, authors and veteran firefighters Michael R. Glore and Michael J. Kitsock revisit some of the region’s most harrowing catastrophes.

Three Mile Island

9781467102858

$24.99 $18.74 Save 25%

Construction of the Unit 1 reactor began on Three Mile Island in May 1968, with the production of commercial electricity beginning in 1974. Approval for the construction of the Unit 2 reactor was granted in November 1969, and it was only producing commercial electricity for less than 90 days when on March 28, 1979, a loud roar erupted from the nuclear power plant that shook windows and awakened residents in the communities on both sides of the Susquehanna River. This loud warning was the result of a series of mechanical and human errors that contributed towards a partial meltdown of the Unit 2 reactor and the most severe nuclear power accident in the history of the United States. In the days that followed, many residents of the surrounding communities left their homes and possessions out of fear of radioactive plumes, meltdowns, and exploding hydrogen bubbles. Those who remained behind faced anxiety and uncertainty, as information flowing from the power plant circumvented the truth and lacked credibility. As the Unit 2 reactor cooled, protests and court battles ensued as attempts were made to restart the power plant's dormant Unit 1 reactor. The Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station symbolized the fight over nuclear power as a safe and viable energy source in the late 20th century.

Death in the Mines

9781596292116

$21.99 $16.49 Save 25%

Through original journal and newspaper accounts, J. Stuart Richards's Death in the Mines revisits Pennsylvania's most notorious mining accidents and rescue attempts from 1869 to 1943.

Since 1870, mining disasters have claimed the lives of over 30,000 men and boys who toiled underground in the anthracite mines of Pennsylvania. Sometimes they survived; many times they did not. The constant threat of fire, explosion, collapsed rock and deadly gas brought miners face to face with death on a daily basis. Through original journal and newspaper accounts, J. Stuart Richards's Death in the Mines revisits Pennsylvania's most notorious mining accidents and rescue attempts from 1869 to 1943. From the fire at Avondale Colliery that resulted in the first law for regulation and inspection of mines, to the gas explosion at Lytle Mine in Primrose that killed fourteen men, Richards reveals multiple facets of Pennsylvania's most perilous profession. Richards, whose family has worked in the mines since 1870, offers a startling yet sensitive tribute to an industry and occupation that is often overlooked and underappreciated

Tropical Storm Agnes in Greater Harrisburg

9780738598239

$24.99 $18.74 Save 25%

Tropical Storm Agnes, along with the unprecedented flooding which resulted from it, is arguably the most significant event to have transpired in the Harrisburg area in the last 150 years. Over the course of June 21 and June 22, 1972, Agnes drenched the region with more than a foot of rain. As a result, the Susquehanna River rose to record-breaking levels and backed into the already overwhelmed feeding creeks and streams. In Harrisburg, armed National Guardsmen patrolled the vacant streets and set up checkpoints to enforce a curfew and deter looting. Surrounded by floodwaters, row homes near the governor's mansion burned, and firefighters waded through chest-high water as they attempted to reach the blaze. Entire neighborhoods in both Shipoke and Steelton were ultimately lost due to the high waters entering homes. To this day, Agnes continues to serve as the measuring stick by which all storms since have been judged.

Hurricane Agnes in the Wyoming Valley

9781467126052

$24.99 $18.74 Save 25%

Although history records the hurricane that struck northeastern Pennsylvania in June 1972 as Agnes, residents of the Wyoming Valley affected by the storm and the resulting damage simply refer to it as the flood. As the Susquehanna River rose to over 40 feet and left her banks, citizens could do nothing but watch as their lives were forever changed. A raging torrent unearthed dozens of previously resting bodies in the Forty Fort Cemetery, houses were knocked off their foundations or swept away entirely, and citizens took to their boats to rescue those who did not heed the warnings of the sirens that wailed when the waters began to surge through the city streets. And yet, amidst the drama, a wedding—scheduled long before the storm—proceeded, though not quite as envisioned by the bride and groom.

Washington County Murder & Mayhem

9781626194007

$21.99 $16.49 Save 25%

Explore the chilling history behind some of southwestern Pennsylvania's most horrifying murders.

In 1907, a young girl was found dead in the Lyric Theatre, leaving behind an unwanted pregnancy and an abusive lover. On an otherwise quiet morning in 1891, a cartful of nitroglycerin exploded. The remains of the driver had to be gathered in a peck basket. The Cannonball Express lived up to its name in 1888, when an open switch caused it to shoot off the track, sending two cars flying. Local journalist A. Parker Burroughs resurrects these and other stories from southwestern Pennsylvania's shadowy past. From foul play at the Burgettstown Fair to the tragic murder of North Franklin's Thelma Young, follow the trail with Burroughs as he uncovers the crimes and intrigues of Washington County.