Looking Back 1980: First tornado in a century hits Chambersburg, Pa.
Monday, May 12, 1980, was winding down. Families were sitting down to dinner. Some people were just returning home from work. It has been a warm day so many people had opened their windows to allow the fresh air in. Then just after 6 p.m., a large black cloud moved in over Chambersburg, the wind began gusting to incredible speeds and rain fell, sometimes very heavily. “It was like fire rolling over the top of the building. The power lines started snapping like candy,” said a motorist who pulled into The Lumber Yard when the rain became too intense to see through, according to the Public Opinion. Another Chambersburg resident, Ida Beard, said, “I was driving home (via) Radio Hill around 6 and saw a round ball in the sky to my left. It kept getting smaller. I looked like Read more…
LOOKING BACK 1918: Infant paralysis hits Franklin County, Pa.
At first, parents thought their children had been playing too hard. They developed fevers and some of them got headaches. The symptoms would pass, though, but then a few days later, the children would get stiff necks or backs. Some would experience constipation. If they were lucky, that is all that would happen. Unfortunately, not all the children were lucky. Some of them would be playing and fall over unable to use their legs or arms. Others would wake up in the morning unable to move. A few even died unable to breathe. The disease was called infant paralysis in 1918, though it is now better known as polio. The epidemic in Franklin County began in Waynesboro in June 1918 and continued through the fall. Forty-six cases were reported in the county with six children dying because of the disease. Read more…
LOOKING BACK 1906: Chambersburg businesses enjoy Pen-Mar
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. At least that’s how the Chambersburg Merchant’s Association looked at things on July 10, 1906. Nearly every business in town shut down on that Tuesday so employees and town residents could spend the day at Pen-Mar Park for Chambersburg Day. “Pen-Mar is the place for every loyal citizen of town to go to-day. By going to Pen-Mar you will not only have an opportunity of being with the majority of the town people on an outing that will also be benefitting the hospital,” the Public Opinion announced. The weather was clear and pleasant, which encouraged people to make the outing. Special Western Maryland Railroad trains ran throughout the day ferrying people the 24 miles to park. Three trains carried at least 700 passengers to the park. Col. John Mifflin Hood, Read more…
Right city, wrong state
It’s bad enough to get a call that your son’s in jail and needs you to bail him out, but what happens when you show up at the county jail with bail money and the corrections officer has never heard of your son? You may want to look at a map. James Ridings was a 21 year old from Keyser, W.Va. was driving through Franklin County, Pa., on the evening of April 7, 1961. He was a mile north of Waynesboro, Pa., when he pulled onto the Waynesboro-Quincy road from a side street without paying attention to oncoming traffic. His car hit a northbound car being driven by Kenny Cook, Jr. from Quincy, Pa. The crash sent Cook’s car off the road and into a tree. The impact pushed one of the front wheels on the car back three feet. Read more…
Patrick Gass: Explorer, Soldier, Patriot from Franklin County
Patrick Gass was a native son of Franklin County, but the impact of his life stretched far beyond the borders of the county and Commonwealth. “Before he died on April 2nd, 1870 at the age of almost 99 years, great cities had been built and untold wealth found in the land he had helped discover. During the War of 1812 he fought in some of the bloodiest battles of the campaign on the Canadian border, and at the age of 63, after a lifetime spent in the service of his country, he married a girl of 20, whom he survived many years. Born before the Revolution, he lived to see this country grow from the original thirteen colonies to 38 states; he voted at the election of 18 presidents from Washington to Grant who served during his lifetime. Four great Read more…
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