august
2004
«Two
large trees block a large portion of the cemetery and obscure several
tombstones.
The
hurricane that moved through the Harrisburg area in mid-August 2004 left
many trees down, damaged homes and interrupted power for many
people. Portions of Swatara Township were hit hard and township
crews worked long shifts clearing trees and debris from area
streets. Shortly after the storm, Barbara Barksdale of the Friends
of Midland checked up on the cemetery and discovered that several large
trees in the cemetery had been toppled by the high winds, and numerous
large branches littered the site. An appeal for extra volunteers
went out and on Saturday, August 21, the regular work crew was joined by a
few community volunteers to begin work to clear the lots.
The
work crew was initially hampered by a lack of a chain saw. Here, a
crewmember attacks a downed tree with a crosscut saw. It appeared
that it was going to be a long day.»
The
regular work crew was hampered in their removal efforts by the lack of a
working chain saw. Fortunately, Mr. Frederick Panza, a Swatara
Township resident, arrived with a working chain saw and by the afternoon
the two large trees had been reduced to firewood.
«Swatara
Township resident Fred Panza arrived to help clear the hurricane
debris. Here, he cuts one of the large trees into firewood.
Photo
credits: George F. Nagle, 2004. All photographs are clickable
for larger images.
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