The river is important to the area for many reasons including the impact of numerous dams in the southern portion which provide electricity to many portions of the area. It also attracts boaters for kayaking, canoeing and motor-boating. It attracts many who come to fish or watch for migratory species. It is a major source of recreation for tourists and residents.
But it also has many disadvantages, problems and dangers. Flooding and ice jams are often a major problem and can be very dangerous and costly in property damage and death.
Before they built walls to protect Sunbury, the North and West branches which converge there were a major source of flooding. My parents lived through one of the worst ones and told stories of the destruction and horrendous cleanup from the flooding. Today the walls protect that town, but others aren't always as fortunate.
The river is also the source of numerous drownings every year. Rescue attempts are often part of the area news. My cousin Steve died there during his senior year in high school when he tried to swim across the river and couldn't make it. He was an outstanding athlete but not equal to the swift currents and depths of the river.
Today 200 bridges cross the Susquehanna from north to south, but many years ago crossing the river was a major undertaking. Twice my grandfather moved his family across the river from Herndon by using rafts. My mother-in-law's family also used rafts to move from Snyder County to Northumberland County. Unfortunately I didn't learn of these events until just a few years ago when it was no longer possible to learn any of the details about these dangerous moves.
When I was a student at Susquehanna and Bucknell I regularly used the bridge between Shamokin Dam and Sunbury. In those years it was a narrow two-lane bridge that posed a challenge when it was snowy or foggy. When we were dating, my future wife would often need to speed across this bridge at night to get home and beat her curfew after having taken me back to my college dorm.
Years later they built a wide modern bridge to replace the old one. Now traffic can move freely from shore to shore. It also provides good views of the river, dam, recreation areas and, unfortunately, the wall which now surrounds the town.
Unfortunately I know very little about the history of the many bridges in that area. But I recently came upon some interesting information which might explain why my family members used rafts to move their items across the Susquehanna I found a poster that announced The Sunbury Bridge Company's opening of the bridge from Sunbury to Shamokin Dam on Saturday morning, October 5, 1907.
Now the interesting information to me was the schedule of tolls that were charged at that time.
One sheep or hog ..... $0.01
One head of cattle .......$0.02
One mule or horse, led or ridden ........... $0.08
Two-wheeled vehicle and one horse ..... $0.09
Two-wheeled vehicle and two horses ... $0.15
Four-wheeled vehicle and one horse .... $0.15
Four-wheeled vehicle and two horses ... $0.22
Four-wheeled vehicle and four horses .... $0.30
Automobile with one seat ...........$0.15
Automobile with two seats ..... $0.25
For each passenger, in addition to the driver or operator , in each vehicle ...$0.02
Bicycle and rider ....... $0.04
Foot passenger ....... $0.03
So if we had been dating in those times, it would have have cost Dianne $1.04 to pick me up and take back me to Sunbury for a date and then take me back to my dorm later that evening. But that might not have been too bad. While I don't know what gas cost in 1907, i do know that gas was just 17 cents a gallon when we were dating. But in earlier days she might have had some trouble getting across the bridge in time to meet her curfew with all of those cattle, sheep, mules and horses in her way.
Oh how time marches on and leaves us with interesting memories
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