Statue of Liberty in Susquehanna River

The Statue of Liberty is mostly synonymous with New York. A figure standing for freedom, independence, and virtue. But all throughout the World there are numerous replicas, including one hiding away in the middle of the Susquehanna river.

In the Dauphin Narrows just north of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania rests a 25 foot replica of Lady Liberty. But how it ended up here is more fascinating than the statue.

In 1986 the Statue of Liberty was celebrating it's 100th birthday. Lots of celebrations were held and commemorative coins were even minted for the occasion. A gentleman in Pennsylvania decided to come up with another way to honor lady liberty. In a friend's garage in Harrisburg, Gene Stilp spent numerous hours constructing a replica of the infamous statue using old venetian blinds and plywood. On July 1, 1986 Stilp and about a dozen close friends towed the 450 pound statue to the Susquehanna river. The group then occupied two rowboats and two canoes and hauled the replica a 1/2 mile downstream to an abandoned railroad pier poking out of the river. The crew, using ropes, than hoisted the massive likeness onto the old pier. After flipping on the construction light installed in the replica, the men quickly and quietly retreated from the river to enjoy some beers and pizza.

When morning came the gentlemen were in amazement at what was occurring. Traffic began backing up on highway 322 as passing motorists became fascinated and amazed. Morning commuters were pulling over to take pictures and contact radio stations. Initially it was all thought to be a hoax, but word soon traveled about the mysterious statue. The men were elated with the response the statue received. They weren't merely trying to prank everyone, just showing their love for their country.

Originally the statue was only intended to stay until Labor day of that year. But surprisingly stayed in place for 6 years until permanently damaged by a wind storm in 1992. The next several years Mr. Stilp raised money to build a new and improved statue. In 1997 a helicopter lowered the renovated statue into place. The new statue is constructed of wood, fiberglass, and metal. It weighs roughly 8000 pounds. And while Mr. Stilp and his friends initially raised their statue in the middle of night with no red tape. The brand new statue required several permits. It seems this prank to commemorate our country, will now be remembered for decades to come.

Harrisburg State Hospital "City on the Hill"

If only walls could talk, what kind of stories would they tell us? If I went looking for any walls to talk to in the Keystone State, I’d want to start at the Harrisburg State Hospital.

Social Reformer Dorothea Dix helped lobby to get help for the mentally handicapped in the state. In 1845 the Pennsylvania State Lunatic Hospital and Union Asylum for the Insane was founded. In 1848 the name was changed to the less controversial Pennsylvania State Lunatic Hospital, after $50,000.00 was allotted to build. The hospital was completed in in1851, admitting its first patient on October 6^th, becoming the first Mental Hospital in the state.

The Kirkbride building was one of the first insane asylums in the United States using the Kirkbride Plan. Kirkbride was a Philadelphia Psychiatrist in the mid-1800’s, who advocated a system of mental asylum design. The asylums tended to be large with Victorian design.

The Kirkbride building seemed to suffer from poor construction as it only lasted approximately 50 years. Between 1893 and 1912 the hospital was rebuilt, going for the more popular cottage plan. This would consist of several small buildings connected with long partially submerged tunnels, as opposed to one large building.

In 1921 the hospital again changed names, this time more appropriately just the Harrisburg State Hospital. At the hospital’s peak, it consumed more than 1,000 acres and over 70 buildings, and held as many as 2,441 patients. During its lowest levels of employment, it was scary how disproportioned it was, with 1 nurse to 166 patients. The state hospital earned the nickname “City on the Hill” for its self-sufficient ways, including having its own farm, stores and even a power plant. In 1986, the hospital was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1999 the site was used for the setting of the movie “Girl, Interrupted.” In fact, the administration sign that still hangs is a leftover from the film. On January 27, 2006 after 150 years of helping the mentally disabled, the doors were closed, though not completely. The state still uses the buildings as administrative offices.

Movie Trailer from "Girl, Interrupted"

I Survived Three Mile Island

    Early morning in March of 1979 the greatest fear in the nuclear era almost became a reality. The unit 2 reactor on Three Mile Islands power plant almost suffered a meltdown. After a few panic stricken days and not much word on what was happening, citizens of the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania area began to flee. 140,000 citizens evacuated the area due to fears of radiation leakage. Even minute levels of exposure to radiation can cause birth defects and cancer.
    Eventually the plant was deemed safe and no reports of radiation leaks were reported. However after subsequent investigations it was deemed the accident was much worse than originally thought. What transpired in the early hours of that fateful day and the days that followed are sure to always be remembered by those who survived T.M.I. . For more about T.M.I. and the meltdown or other local spots of strange interest go Outta the Way.