Agnes in NEPA

Riverfest held on same week of Agnes Anniversary

June 21st, 2009 · No Comments

From the Citizens Voice:

http://www.citizensvoice.com/news/riverfest_proves_popular

RiverFest proves popular

By Ryann Grochowski (Staff Writer)
Published: June 21, 2009

WILKES-BARRE - Andrew Bell stood at the edge of the River Common, watching the 4-foot-high Susquehanna current ebb lazily against the rocky bank, listening to the water’s soft murmur.

The last time Bell was this close to the river, he was on a small boat, navigating the submerged streets of Kingston.

Bell, of London, England, was an exchange student at Wyoming Seminary in 1972. On June 23, 1972, the Susquehanna River, swollen with rain from Hurricane Agnes, surged over its levees.

Bell’s host family’s Kingston home was filled with 3 feet of water.

Thirty-seven years later, Bell’s memories are vivid: moving the family’s furniture to the top floor of the house, rowing a boat through their inundated neighborhood.

“It was 41 feet then, wasn’t it?” Bell said. “That bridge, the Market Street Bridge, it was closed. Water was up to that top post.”

Bell, still friends with several of his Wyoming Seminary classmates, visited Wilkes-Barre this week for a wedding. He spent Saturday afternoon at the River Common, enjoying its opening celebration and the nearby RiverFest.

“It’s such a nice facility for the public,” Bell said, watching a small boat on the river. “It’s a beautiful development here. It needs a little sailing club. It could be quite good fun.”

River Common Park’s grand opening coincided with the 10th annual RiverFest, held a few stone-skips across the Susquehanna in Nesbitt Park.

John Maday, a RiverFest organizer, stood on the Susquehanna’s west bank, watching kayakers unload their equipment. More than 300 people took a four-hour kayak ride from Harding to Wilkes-Barre on Saturday, Maday said. The river sojourns are a popular part of RiverFest.

“Last year, it sold out with two outfitters, so we added another,” he said. “Even with three this year, we sold out last week.”

RiverFest 2009 began with a deluge of water. A rainstorm doused festival volunteers early Saturday morning.

“I’m standing under the tent, looking at the rain, and I’m thinking, ‘We’re going to be the only people out here,’” Maday said. “But the weather forecast, we knew in advance. We figured we were going to go with it. It worked out.”

The rain stopped Saturday afternoon, leaving behind mud and puddles but bringing hundreds of people to the riverbank.

“This is beautiful,” said Jerry McHale, a Plains Township resident. “I used to come here in high school, and you never could get close to the river. Now you’re right up there.”

Melissa Boub of Hudson brought her children, Kara, 7, and Ryan, 6, to the festival on Saturday.

“This is so awesome,” Boub said, watching Kara and Ryan inspect insects at the Penn State Cooperative Extension’s “Pest or Guest?” exhibit. “We parked on the Wilkes-Barre side, and honestly, it was my first time here, even walking over the (Market Street) bridge.”

That’s the point, Maday said.

“The RiverFest is family friendly, but the basic premise is environmental awareness, river awareness, learning to appreciate the river,” he said.

RiverFest continues today with a river sojourn from Nesbitt Park to Hunlock Creek.

rgrochowski@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2117 “I’m standing under the tent, looking at the rain, and I’m thinking, ‘We’re going to be the only people out here,’” Maday said. “But the weather forecast, we knew in advance. We figured we were going to go with it. It worked out.”