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Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Post Script to Western PA, Part II

One more item of interest on the Austin disaster:
While the town was downstream of the dam, in the valley, the brothel was uphill, within site of the dam. The madam was one of the first to realize that the dam was breaking & she became a local hero for getting the word out that the dam was breaking & saving some lives at least.
And another bit on industrial disasters:
I'm currently reading Devra Davis' "When Smoke Ran Like Water." Davis' interest in environmental pollution started when she found out that her childhood home, Donora, PA, had been the site of a severely underreported environmental disaster in 1948. The town had a steelworks & zinc smelting facility, both of which let off a lot of smoke. In the fall of 1948, an air inversion trapped fog and the smoke in the valley for several days, killing about 20 people immediately, and causing health damage to countless others over the following years. Similar incidents happened mid-20th-century in Belgium & England. Apparently, the same conditions are occurring now in China (NPR, Morning Edition).
And, back on the crafty track, I'm just about 1/2 done with the leafy scarf - yea! Right wrist is crampy & somewhat painful - ouch!

2 Comments:

Blogger Bashirs Momma said...

So, was she later known as the Dam Madam?

Sounds better when said aloud.

9:01 AM  
Blogger Bashirs Momma said...

...In a french accent...

9:02 AM  

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