1905: "CLIMATE CHAGE" 110 YEARS AGO!

With all the media buzz regarding "climate change" and "global warming," this article shows that there were unusual weather changes 110 years ago. As this is being posted, the prognosticators are calling for a genuine blizzard as a "north easter" moves up the middle Atlantic coast. The eastern coastlines from Delaware to Maine are supposedly getting the brunt of the storm with dangerously high winds, coastal flooding, and snow up to 16 to 24 inches inches.

1960: The Blizzard of 1960

 MMany thanks to Mr. Tom Tighue, of Ewing for this photo which he found at the "Trentoniana" collection at the Trenton Free Public Library. Tom is a fellow local history source and very knowledgeable in local area history.

 

1932: GLOBAL WARMING DURING THE GREAT DEPRESSION?

I present here a graphic which clearly shows that global warming was not a factor back in the 1930's as can be seen in the full page Trenton Times article. However, I must admit, I remember ice skating for days on end back in the 1940's when Kuser's Pond and St. Mary's pond were frozen over for days. I also remember when snow was a frequent occurrence in the central Jersey area. Today, all those storms miraculously evade our area, and most of the meteorologists forecast the weather we used to experience "to the north and west of the area."

2012: OCTOBER 30: HURRICANE SANDY AT KUSER FARM PARK

TODAY (OCTOBER 31) IS MY FIRST DAY BACK AT THE LOCAL HISTORY WORKSHOP IN THE HAMILTON TOWNSHIP PUBLIC LIBRARY. IT WAS A VERY STRESSFUL TIME FOR MANY LOCALS, MYSELF INCLUDED AS WE ALL WAITED TO SEE WHAT HAVOC HURRICANE SANDY WOULD BRING TO THE MERCER COUNTY AREA. THE SERIES OF PHOTOS BELOW SHOW THE RESULTS OF SANDY'S VISIT TO THE KUSER FARM. THESE ARE ONLY TWO OF THE MANY TREES THAT WERE LOST OVER IN THE WOODED AREA BORDERING NEWKIRK AVENUE. THE LAST TIME I WAS INVOLVED WITH A HURRICANE AT KUSER FARM WAS BACK IN NOVEMBER, 1950 WHEN A DEVASTATING HURRICANE KNOCKED DOWN COUNTLESS TREES AT THE FARM. BACK THEN, WE USED A TWO MAN CROSSCUT SAW, A SLEDGE HAMMER, AND A STEEL WEDGE TO CLEAN UP MANY, BUT NOT ALL OF THE DOWNED TREES.

 

1902: CYCLONE IN OUR AREA 110 AUGUSTS AGO

This is a rerun of a graphic that was posted a long while ago. I have re posted it in August 2012 to show that we had extremes in the weather long before the environmentalists introduced us to global warming. The "dog days of August" bring with it temperature changes, high humidity, warm fronts colliding with cold fronts, and various other weather conditions that can and often do lead to destructively disastrous storms such as that reported in the front page graphic above.$100,000 dollars in 1902 dollars would be an infinitesimal amount when calculated these 110 years later.

1955: WHEN MOTHER NATURE DESTROYED THE YARDLEY BRIDGE

"Yardley bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down,
Yardley Bridge is falling down, my fair lady.."

This great photo of the destruction of the Yardley bridge was sent to me by my friend and fellow Sacred Heart parishioner Bill Kearney Sr. Bill managed to capture just the right angle to see the damage caused by that destructive area wide floods that hit this area back in August, 1955. I was over in Europe in the U.S. Army when the storm hit, but "AFN" (Armed Forces Network) radio gave it full coverage. A house from up river came floating merrily merrily down the stream and slammed into the bridge, taking out a major portion of the span. I have re-formatted the front page above, superimposed Bill's photo over a not too clear photo of the bridge as published in the Trenton Sunday Times Advertiser of August 21, 1955.

Anonymous said...

Hey, that's my Dad! I have the original framed and hanging in my house in Trenton's Island neighborhood. (Like I need reminders about floods!) This June 15, 2012, The Island Neighborhood is hosting a garden tour...the theme..Flooded with Flowers. Stop by...10-3 pm. Bill K., Jr.

Thursday, April 26, 2012

1905: GLOBAL WARMING?

I have an extensive number of articles in the "WEATHER RELATED" folder in the Hamilton Library Local History Collection. Wasn't it Mark Twain who said everyone talks about the weather but no one can do anything about it? We have been (and are) experiencing very strange weather events here in the 12th year of the 21st century. We have had Al Gore types assuring us that we are on the road to climactic disaster if we don't control our atmosphere with less pollution. Indeed, "Global Warming" is now a very prominent subject in our 21st century vocabulary.

2010: WINTER SEASON

The photo above is a reminder that February and March can be a period of snowy winter weather. The photo below is one of my favorites. Robins have once again returned to Hamilton Township for the 2012 season. Last week, I woke up and found a flock of at least 40 of them on my front and back lawns. Assuming they would be all over the neighborhood, I looked for them on my way to the library and it appears they chose my location for whatever reason. There were none to be seen on the many lawns I passed on my way to the library, nor on the huge grassy area outside of my library picture window. I would guess that their "homing" instincts remembered my home as a bird-friendly location because they seem to flock to my yard in the waning days of February as they return to the north. The photo below shows one partaking of a drink of water at my bird bath. A few days earlier, at least 12 were flocked around a tray of water that I placed in the back your for them.

1882: AN EQUINOCTIAL STORM HITS CENTRAL JERSEY

From the "WEATHER RELATED" folder in the Hamilton Library Local History Collection, this very large article details the incredible damage a torrential rail storm cause to the Mercer County area back in 1892. Bridges were washed away, hundreds of building destroyed, and the above report details some of the disastrous results of the storm.

NOTE: THE SIZE OF THIS GRAPHIC WILL REQUIRE A LARGE LCD COMPUTER DISPLAY. IT WILL PROBABLY BE TOO SMALL AND BLURRY FOR THE OLD CRT (CATHODE RAY TUBE) MONITOR WHICH MANY STILL USE. IT IS BARELY LEGIBLE ON MY 19" LCD MONITOR.

1881 and 1890: THAT TROUBLESOME JACOBS CREEK BRIDGE

As one who has an intense interest in preserving the past, the Jacobs Creek bridge is a subject dear to my heart. There are those who would like to bridge over that historic creek with a concrete and steel monstrosity which in my opinion would destroy the bucolic country image of the original bridges that once spanned that historic site. The Jacobs Creek bridge has been prominent in the news recently, and it is nice to know that history will be preserved. Over the years the bridges that spanned Jacobs Creek in the Titusville-West Trenton area have fallen on hard times. Above is a graphic telling part of the story, including a new bridge which had to be built just about a decade later when the Mercer County area of New Jersey became the victim of one of those fabled "storms of the century." The September 25, 1882 extract is from a detailed Trenton Evening Times article describing the incredible damage that "Equinoctial" storm caused in the area.

1948 AND 2011: GLOBAL WARMING.....HMMMM!

As I reach the portals of senior citizenship, I still love the snow, but unlike my younger years, I no longer go
"belly flopping" on my steel runner sled. (Note: I could never afford that "Flexible Flyer.") I have closely watched today's kids, and they are all outfitted with that newfangled molded plastic where they sit on their sled and slide down the hill. Belly flopping is much more exciting and far more fun...a  running gallop, an airborne leap in the air with our trusty sled, our bodies following close behind. We land on the sled while in motion, the sled's steel runners skimming through the snow at breakneck speed, and we are on an exhilarating and very speedy ride to the bottom of the hill.

1939: FLOODING ON KENT STREET IN CHAMBERSBURG

You don't have to be near a body of water to have flooded streets. Above is an example of the many times we have all seen the results of a sudden cloudburst resulting in street flooding, or days of heavy rain. It's difficult to imagine the scene above occurring again.
Mack said...
Hi Tom:)
I think in some of these cases poor storm drains cause this to happen. I never remember flooding
where we were no matter how hard it rained..on the other hand I do agree the luck of the draw cloudburst heavy rain for a period of time long enough could likely flood any area.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

1944: GLOBAL WARMING

We had "global warming" in the past as seen in the above article. To those of us who lived during that time, this year's lack of rainfall and extreme heat, is just another "been there----done that" thing for us. Those visitors who are old enough to remember that heat wave and the MANY that preceded it will agree that we didn't have room air conditioners back then, only electric fans and back yard galvanized wash tubs which we sat in as we "got under the hose".

1877: HAMILTON SQUARE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH LOSES THE BELLTOWER

Among the millions of pages in my collection of Trenton newspapers are many accounts of countless churches in the area which lost their steeples or bell towers; actually, their crowning glory. The First Baptist Church in Trenton had a majestic steeple which reached toward the heavens but it gave way to mother nature. The downed spire in the photo was 120 feet high and brought down into the yard of the adjacent Reed property. Future research should reveal the actual date. For some reason the 175th anniversary history published in 1950 doesn't give the actual date.

1910: GLOBAL WARMING IN EARLY HAMILTON OR GLOBAL COOLING?

There has been much talk about of global warming of late. The above article tells of the guys at Hamilton Square back in 1910, sitting around a wood burning stove in the general store, and talking about the weather. Harsh winters indeed. However, even though harsh winters were often cited in the past, so too were those winters when it was unusually unseasonably warm and less severe. Have faith: Mother nature has a way of balancing her seasons; she's been doing it since we read in the book of Genesis, "In the beginning....".

2010: ROBINS AND FORSYTHIA: HARBINGERS OF SPRING

I am entering my 77th spring season in this wonderful township of Hamilton. As each year piles on with increased rapidity, along comes spring and God's ethereal gift. Even though we are still facing still another snowy weekend, I take comfort in the Crocus, Daffodils, and Tulip bulbs that have already sent their leaves through the ground, ready to display God's annual handiwork to his flock.

1946: WHITE CHRISTMAS AN AREA RARITY

From the "WEATHER-RELATED" folder in the Local History Collection, this article which all of us "old timers know to be true:" White Christmases are a rarity in the middle Atlantic. Most of the storms barrelling in from the west hit the Appalachian mountains, and something happens that only a meteorologist can explain.

1947: WHEN SNOW STORMS WERE SNOWSTORMS!

Yeah, the 18 inch snowfall we had over the weekend was impressive, but it paled in comparison to the 1947 blizzard that crippled the mid-Atlantic those 62 winters ago. Kuser Farm was a real winter wonderland. In the photo upper right, my buddy Don Slabicki and I are holding a copy of the "New York Sun," which told of the crippling situation it caused in New York City. The two lower photos are from the Trenton Evening Times of February 20th.

FROM RALPH LUCARELLA:
Hi Tom: I remember all those heavy snow storms and icy roads very well. That hill on Chamber St. right over State scared me to death. I recall driving there one day when all of a sudden the car started skidding and thank God there wasn't much traffic or else I'd be a goner. I'll be going down to Florida this week and I'll be thinking about those days while I'm visiting my daughter. Happy Holidays.

1933: REMEMBER WHEN IT SNOWED IN TRENTON?

We have been going through a long string of winters here in central New Jersey without snow. As you can see by the graphic above, these kids are having a great time sledding over in the Parkside-Edgewood Avenue area during the Christmas season of 1933. One wonders how many of those sleds were brand new Christmas gifts received a day or so earlier on Christmas day. How I remember those great years when we took our sleds up Kuser's hill and "belly-flopped" down to the bottom of that long forgotten hill. I haven't seen a kid belly flop in years. Most kids today sit on a plastic sled and coast. They don't know what they're missing. Remember how us poor kids envied those kids whose moms and dads could afford a "Flexie?" What? You don't know what a "Flexie" is? Ask grand pop about the Cadillac of sleds!

1979: POND RUN CHANNELIZATION

Many thanks to HHS '51 classmate Alice Schmidt Mullen
for this excellent photo of Pond Run. Alice wrote:

---------------**********--------------------

Dear Tom,

I know that it's really the old creek, but we always referred to it as the 'crick'. This photo was taken from Park Lane, and the crick was running in back of Akers Hardware and Webster Grimm's.

What I want to know is.........from the article on your today's web site, it sounds as if the crick no longer looks like this. This was taken back in 1947. If it's changed, does this mean that we must refer to it as the creek now? I haven't been on Park Lane since 1955.

The big old lot where we used to play baseball is on the left side of the creek. It was just a grass field bordered by Park Lane, Hollywood Drive, and the street across from Joan Ann Terrace. Was it called Crest Ave.? Didn't think that I'd ever forget the name of that street. I used to walk on it during all of my Greenwood School days.

From your pal,
Alice
I just ran across this article from the Mercer Messenger relating to the horrific flooding in the Pond Run area and other areas which were affected by the flooding of that little tributary over the years. Ken and Mary Ann Warner are close family friends. At that time, they lived on Leukel Avenue and Pond Run bounded their back yard. In the early 70's one of those "every hundred years" storms hit the Central Jersey area. The water flooded their basement and was up to the top level of their basement stairway. I can still see their pool table afloat. I asked Jack Lacy to fill me in on the details of the Hamilton Township "Channelization" project, and as usual, he came through:

From Jack Lacy, Former
Hamilton TownshipCouncil President:

"We had two 500-year storms hit Hamilton within a week of one another in Aug. 1975. Those caused the Pond Run flooding and was part of the '75 campaign that saw the Rafferty Team capture the mayor's office for the first time and four of the five council seats (yours truly included). I remember the first budget hearings in Jan. '76, right after we were sworn into office, when Colonial Fire Co. asked the council for row boats because of inadequacies from their recent experience with evacuating flood victims from their homes.

Those experiences pushed us hard to find "flood solutions" and a big part was the channelization project. Have to say it did work. Since completion there haven't been any more "devastating" floods in the area. Of course, in addition to the channel we also bought nine homes (resold seven that were moved, demolished two) and created a floodway which we know today as the athletic fields for Cook AA and the Hamilton PAL at the end of Leukel Ave. In time of potential floods those fields which are surrounded by berms receive flood waters overflowing from Pond Run."