Johnstown High School - Spectator Yearbook (Johnstown, PA)

Page 13 text:

Mr. Kaufmann. a driving instructor here at JHS, helped many nurses and doctors out of Lee Hospital. Viewers atop Sheraton Inn observe muddy downtown streets. All through the night I got up to look across our yard at the neighbors’ house. At times I couldn't see it, although it was only ten feet away. Other times the lightning lit up the sky and I could see as easily as if it were high noon. Not knowing how bad things were, I got up to go to work at J.A.T.S. (Johnstown Auto- matic Transmission Service), my father’s business. My dad and I just couldn’t believe it when we got to Ohio Street. The whole street had been torn apart. We turned around and went home. A couple of days later we went downtown to clear the parking lot at Lee Hospital with our tow truck. When we pulled one of the cars from the debris we were nearly over- come by a terrible stench. We called over the National Guard. They pulled the body of an elderly man from the car. It was hard to believe he had died right next to the hos- pital. We towed some more cars, but thank God we found no more bodies. V —John Cafeo 9

Page 12 text:

s IGHT ■ m Around 12=30 A.M. my brother and I awoke to a furious pounding on the back door. It was our next-door neighbor, who warned us that most of the cellars were flooding. He offered to turn off the gas in the basement. When the cellar windows broke from the force of the raging water, we began con- centrating our efforts on the first floor. Somehow that early morning we both ac- quired superhuman strength. In the light of one candle and a flashlight, the two of us carried much of our furniture to the second floor. I remember looking out our back window and feeling so helpless. Parts of trees, things from our garage, and even an old mattress flowed through my back yard. What cap- tured my attention most was the five cars the water had stacked up against my neigh- bor’s house. I’ll never forget the relentless noise of that rushing water. The water and mud and debris filled my basement and stained the kitchen floor. When the sun came out that morning, so did the people. Most of us looked at the sit- uation with mixed feelings. Along with the shock were bits of humor and wisecracks. It seemed the only way to act out the morn- ing or the disaster would have been too much to take. Enough heartbreak would come later. —Karen Horoho Above: The movie marquee was prophetic. Below, The destruction on Market Street was massive ONE WAY

Page 14 text:

I never thought anythingsc e bl could happen to my little community of Tannery- ville. Floods happened to other people, but not us. I live up on a hill called Wildcat and I thank God for that. Those of us who were lucky enough to survive the flood will never be able to understand the terror and tragedy the people below us faced that night. That morning I woke to my dad’s screaming words, Oh, my God, there’s no more Hol- low!” He named names of families believed dead, houses and businesses completely washed away. I couldn’t comprehend any of this. I thought it was a big exaggeration. But when I got to what was left of the bottom of our hill, I understood why he had been so frantic. What had once been a little creek was now a raging river. People were just standing around staring. One of my father’s friends asked me if I had seen or heard any- thing about his daughter and her baby. I told him no. Now in tears, he started wading, waist deep, through the water toward her house. Later I learned that they both were dead. Only a minute later, a good friend of mine came up to me and said his girlfriend was dead. He hugged me and held on so long and so tight. Speechless, I wished there were something I could say that might possibly comfort him. But there was nothing I could do. There was nothing I could say to anyone who lost family or friends, but I could give my all to help them get back on their feet again. The flood brought the people of Tan- neryville a lot closer together. We’ll never be the same again, but those of us who sur- vived will always have a special love for one another. —Karen Horner National Guardsmen search for bodies. 0