'Remembering all these years later': 1889 Johnstown Flood anniversary commemorated with luminaria event

Yahoo

01-06-2025

ST. MICHAEL, Pa. – Nine-year-old Grace Manack, her mother Rachel Manack and her grandmother Nancy Felix, along with other volunteers, spent time on a windy, cold Saturday lighting luminarias at Johnstown Flood National Memorial.
There were 2,209 bags containing candles – one for each person who died 136 years earlier, in the historic Johnstown Flood of May 31, 1889 – placed across the memorial grounds.
'I just think it's important that we're still remembering all these years later because it was such a big event and we shouldn't forget about it,' Felix said.
Rachel Manack said, 'It's pretty special' to participate in the luminaria event with her family.
'I grew up right two miles from here,' she said. 'I definitely remember coming to the 100th anniversary with my grandparents. Then starting to come back with my daughter and sharing the story – we drive through this (park) every single day on our way to drop her off for school – so it's nice to keep that local history and also give back.'
Grace Manack, who attends Forest Hills Elementary School, was 'really happy to do something for the community.'
Leading up to the anniversary day, students from the elementary school also wrote the individual names of victims in black marker on each white bag.
'It's a nice connection with the next generation of school children to learn about this flood,' said Elizabeth Shope, the park's public information officer. 'This history happened right in their backyard. What I really love is when they come out to the park on May 31 with their families because they want to see the bags lit up at night, so they make a connection with it outside of just learning about this event in school.'
Zoey Kurcin, a Greater Johnstown High School student and Girl Scout Troop 60122 member, said seeing the names on the bags 'makes you realize, 'Wow, these were like real people.''
Kurcin added: 'It's not just something that was just made up that your parents tell you the story about. This was like an actual, real thing that happened in the town that you live in.'