Girl Scout Try-Its

Welcome to the Johnstown Flood National Memorial! We are so happy that you chose our site to complete your Listening to the Past Try It badge. In this packet you will find six activities to do that relate to the Johnstown Flood Memorial. To earn your Try It badge, you must complete four of the activities. If you want to have even more fun you can do five or even all six! Just by coming to visit this building you are on your way to completing one of your four activities. Good job!

Now, while you are here take a look around and learn all about the great flood that hit Johnstown in 1889. If you already know the story, try to find out some interesting things you did not know. We have lots of fun exhibits and a very interesting film. If you ever have a question just find one of our park rangers and she or he will be able to help you. And most important of all, don’t forget to have fun!

A special note to Troop Leaders…

This packet has been created to help your Girl Scouts earn the Try It badge entitled "Listening to the Past". The program has been designed so that the Girl Scouts can perform activities that relate to the Johnstown Flood Memorial and may, therefore, extend their knowledge about the site and its interpretive story. We are so pleased that you have chosen to visit this site and we hope that you and your troop have a great deal of fun completing these activities. If you have any questions, please ask a ranger.

Try It badges may be purchased through the Girl Scout Council Office. In Johnstown, the office is located at 612 Locust Street and the phone number is (814) 536-5371. Thank you for visiting our site and please let us know how you enjoyed this program!

Sincerely,

The Education Department
Johnstown Flood National Memorial
(814) 495-4643

When you listen to the past you learn to appreciate your own life. You also learn many interesting things about what life was like in the past. Earning this badge will help you learn about what life was like in Johnstown over 100 years ago and about the amazing things that happened in this city. There are six activities to choose from. To earn your badge, you must complete four of them. The six activities are:

The following pages will tell you about the six activities and how to perform them. Remember to ask a ranger if you have questions and have fun!

Did you know that there are lots of people in your community who have hundreds of interesting stories to tell about what life was like in the past? People who are older have lived longer and have had more experiences. Because of that, they have more stories to tell than younger people do. Just think, if someone is 80 years old, they have 80 years worth of stories to tell! Imagine how many stories you will have to tell about your life by the time you are 80.

To complete activity #1 you must find some older people in your community and listen to their stories. Tape record their stories or take notes while they are talking so you can remember their stories and you can share them with your Brownie Girl Scout Troop. When you do this, you are conducting an interview. And when you interview people about their past experiences, you are taking part in oral history!

Who should you interview?

Since you are learning about the Johnstown Flood today, try to find someone who can tell you about the flood. The flood happened in 1889, over 100 years ago, so you won’t be able to find anyone who can remember it firsthand, but you might find someone who had a relative that was in the flood. Also, there were two more big floods in Johnstown; one in 1936 and one in 1977. They were not as big as the 1889 flood, but they were very memorable. Ask the person you are interviewing if she or he remembers the other floods and what they were like.

How to find someone to interview

In order to find some older people to interview you can look at a local nursing home or at a community center. You can also get the names of some older people in the community at the local historical society or try looking in your own family. The stories that older members of your family have to tell you will probably be the most interesting of all. Ask the person about her/his life experiences, her/his family, what she/he did as a child, what her/his job was, and anything else you may want to know.

When you are interviewing someone, you must remember certain manners. Remember, the person you are interviewing is giving you her/his time, so you must be sure to treat her/him accordingly. Here are some good things to remember:

• Be on time.
• Be prepared. Have your questions ready, your notebook out, and your equipment in good working order.
• Be polite. Say please and thank you and address people formally (using Mr., Mrs., Ms., Miss, and so on)
• Provide time for the person to answer questions. Be patient when answers take a long time.
• Do not argue with or correct the subject. Oral histories are not always accurate but they do provide important information about feelings and impressions.
• End your interview by thanking your subject.
• After the interview, send a thank you letter to the subject.

(This list of manners was provided by the Library of Congress)

One more thing…

If you plan to tape record the interview be sure to ask the person first. Some people don’t like to be taped and would prefer that you just take notes. Always be polite and follow their wishes. And make sure you find out some fun or exciting facts to share with your Brownie Girl Scout Troop!

One of the most fun things to do with an adult is to visit historic buildings, monuments, and sites in your neighborhood. To complete this activity, you must visit some historic sites and learn some interesting facts about them.

Congratulations! You have already completed half of this badge by coming to visit the Johnstown Flood National Memorial. If you’ve been here long, you’ve probably completed the other half. There are so many interesting stories and facts about the Flood Memorial that I’m sure you’ve come across lots of them.

While you look around the Flood Memorial Visitor’s Center try to find the answers to these interesting facts:

• How tall was the South Fork Dam?
• How many lovely Victorian cottages lined the edge of beautiful Lake Conemaugh? How many remain to this day? (you might need the help of a park ranger for this one)
• Where were most of the members of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club from and what were some of the things they did at their resort?
• Look at the big mass of wreckage with the tree sticking out. That is what most people saw coming at them when the flood hit because the water had picked up so much wreckage on the way. What things can you find in the mass?
• When the dam broke, 20 million tons of water poured into the valley with the force of what waterfall? (you may have to listen to the fiber optic map for this answer)
• What terrible thing happened at the great Stone Bridge?
• How many people were killed in the Johnstown Flood of 1889? How do you think that compares with disasters like the Titanic?

The South Fork Fishing and Hunting Clubhouse, St. Michael, PA

There are so many interesting stories to hear about the flood. The park rangers will be able to tell you all about them. Politely ask one of the park rangers one or all of the following questions and see how many amazing stories she or he can tell you.

• Who is the young man portrayed on the mass of wreckage and what happened to him in the flood?
• Could you please tell me who John Hess was and how he became a hero?
• Can you please tell me about Clara Barton and how her Red Cross organization helped the people of Johnstown after the flood?
• As you look around, try to think of other questions for the park rangers. They know all about the flood and they would love to tell you about it.

The Johnstown area is a place very rich in local history. There are many other historic sites nearby that you could also visit with your troop or with your parents. Here are some ideas:

• The Johnstown Flood Museum
• The Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site
• The Horseshoe Curve
• The Staple Bend Tunnel
• The Johnstown Inclined Plane
• The Altoona Railroaders Museum

Some other interesting things to remember during your visit:

• Look on the diorama (model of the lake) and try to find what building you’re in.
• Look out the big windows in the visitor’s center and try to find the Clubhouse. It is still standing in the village of St. Michael and can be seen from the window. Ask a ranger for help if you need it.
• Look out the windows to see the remains of the South Fork Dam. You can walk right out onto the remaining sides of the dam. They are called abutments. Look between the abutments to see the big hole where the lake poured out into the valley.
• Be sure to watch the fiber optic map (the large triangle shaped map) down on the bottom floor. Press the button on the side and it will show you the path of the flood.
• Look at the lit-up pictures on the wall by the fiber optic map. They show the destruction of Johnstown after the flood. Think about how amazing it is that the residents of Johnstown cleaned up and rebuilt the city into a prosperous and beautiful place to live.

On a hill high above the city of Johnstown sits Grandview Cemetery. It is the largest cemetery in the Johnstown area and contains 62,000 graves. Most of the flood victims are buried in this cemetery. To complete activity #3 you will visit Grandview Cemetery and learn some things about it while you are there.

While you are at the cemetery, you will look for certain things. It’s a big place so be sure to always stay with an adult while you are there. Also, remember that a cemetery is a place to remember your best behavior. Don’t run or shout. Always behave in a respectful manner.

What you will need…

When you visit Grandview Cemetery, you will be making some tombstone rubbings. In order to do this you will need:

• Children’s crayons (the large ones with one flat side if possible)
• Paper (If possible, get a roll of paper so you can rip off the appropriate size)

Victims of the flood

After the flood, many of the victims were buried in Grandview Cemetery. Can you find some tombstones with the date "May 31, 1889" on them? Many have very interesting inscriptions such as "drowned in the great flood of the Conemaugh". Try to find tombstones with inscriptions like these and make rubbings of them. To make a tombstone rubbing…

1. Brush off the stone with your hand or a paper towel.
2. Rip off a piece of paper the appropriate size.
3. Hold it firmly against the stone (this works better if you have a helper to hold it for you).
4. Rub the flat side of the crayon against the paper (if you have white or light paper, use a dark color like black or blue).

***Remember, do not use the point of the crayon. It won’t work that way!***

5. Most Important: respect the tombstones, don’t damage them, and clean up after yourself before you leave.

One of the most interesting parts of Grandview Cemetery is the Plot of the Unknown. This is where the flood victims that could not be identified were laid to rest. 777 identical white marble headstones bear only numbers, no names. If you saw the film at the Johnstown Flood Memorial you probably caught a glimpse of this part of the cemetery.

• Find the plot and make one or two rubbings of the numbered headstones. This will help you tell the rest of your troop or friends and family about this unusual plot.
• Look at the large monument overlooking the plot. Go up to it and read the inscription. You may want to take a picture or make a rubbing of it. The three figures on top of it stand for Faith, Hope, and Charity. This monument was a gift of the people of Johnstown to remember the victims of the flood.

Sandyvale Cemetery

The oldest cemetery in Johnstown is Sandyvale Cemetery, located on Hickory Street in Johnstown. Sandyvale was significantly damaged in the 1889 flood and again in the St. Patrick’s Day flood of 1936. Few of the original markers still stand, having been washed away by the floods. If you wish to visit this cemetery as well, be especially careful with the older tombstones. They have endured three major floods and over 100 years of erosion. Before you attempt to do a rubbing, be sure that the tombstone is strong enough that your rubbing will cause no damage.

Directions to Grandview Cemetery…

From downtown Johnstown, take Menoher Blvd, (the Easy Grade) up the hill. When you get to the top, Grandview Cemetery will be on your right.

One of the best things about learning about the past is that you get to learn lots of interesting stories that you can tell to others. Now, the Johnstown Flood of 1889 created so many interesting stories that you could spend years trying to learn them all and you still probably couldn’t learn all of them. Luckily for you, to complete this activity you only have to learn two.

Once you have read these stories, you can share them with your troop, your friends at school, your family, and just about anyone. If you are here with your troop, you will all be reading the same stories so you might want to try going to the library to find another story. Or, maybe you could find an interesting story in the exhibits at the Visitor’s Center.

These two stories are both 100% true and both happened because of the flood. One is the story of a 6-year-old girl who lived in Johnstown when the flood hit. Her name was Gertrude Quinn. The other is the story of a woman who dedicated her life to helping other people. When she heard about the flood in Johnstown, she immediately came to the city to help the people recover from the disaster. You have probably heard of her. Her name was Clara Barton.

Clara Barton and the Red Cross

On Christmas Day, 1821, Clarissa Harlowe Barton was born in the town of North Oxford, Massachusetts to Stephen and Sarah Barton. Her parents and four older siblings always called her Clara. Clara’s brothers and sisters were all more than ten years older than she and they all contributed to her education. She was devoted to her family and they taught her the importance of hard work.

Clara became a schoolteacher and was dearly loved by all of her students. While teaching in her school in Oxford, she worked tirelessly to assert her own rights. Clara lobbied to be paid the same salary that the male teachers were being paid. At that time, women were paid a lower wage, even when they did the same work, simply because they were female. Clara said, "I may sometimes be willing to teach for nothing, but if paid at all, I shall never do a man’s work for less than a man’s pay." Clara also fought for women to have the right to vote.

In 1852 Clara started a free school in Bordentown, New Jersey. This was a public school for people who could not afford to send their children to private academies. Public schools were far less common in the 1850s than they are today. The Bordentown School was very successful and after establishing it, Clara moved to Washington D.C. She became a clerk in a Patent Office and was, at that time, the only woman employed by the United States Government.

In 1861, the Civil War began. Clara was an ardent supporter of the Union cause. Concerned that many of her former students would be fighting in the war and would not have sufficient clothing and supplies, she organized donations of supplies from all over New England for the troops. Wanting to do more as the war crept on, Clara went directly to the battlefront, putting herself in harm’s way to aid the suffering soldiers. She traveled into the war zone with shells exploding around her and bullets sometimes carrying off portions of her dress as they whizzed past. Clara was truly an "Angel of the Battlefield."

Clara became a public figure after the war. She continued to lobby for women’s rights and for the education and support of the slaves that had been freed in the Civil War. In 1870 she traveled to Europe to aid sufferers of the Franco-Prussian War. Here, Clara worked with an organization called the International Red Cross.

In 1881, Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross to help relieve the suffering of Americans in need. Throughout the 1880s Clara’s Red Cross helped ease the distress of victims of earthquakes, tornadoes, fires, and disease epidemics, but it wasn’t until 1889 that the newly formed Red Cross had its first major test.

The Johnstown Flood of 1889 was a disaster of major proportions. Reports of it swept the nation and it was the biggest news story since the assassination of Lincoln. Clara had pushed for an American chapter of the Red Cross, arguing that the purpose of such an organization would be to specialize in the relief efforts of major disasters. The Great Flood was just the sort of event that the Red Cross was meant for and Clara intended to prove the worth of her organization in Johnstown.

Clara set off for Johnstown as soon as she heard of the suffering there, exclaiming, "if ever a people needed help it was these." The first train to make it into the shattered city carried Clara and a team of doctors. She set up headquarters in a tent and immediately began issuing orders from a makeshift desk consisting of a dry-goods box. She and her staff set up medical tents, built hotels and small cottages, and distributed an endless amount of clothing, shoes, blankets, and food.

People all over America heard of the suffering in Johnstown and relief in the form of money, furniture, ironware, mattresses, pillows, bedding, shoes, clothing, blankets, building materials, food, cooking utensils, and other necessities of life poured in from cities and towns across the nation. The city of Johnstown had been completely destroyed and the survivors had to rely on outside aid for everything since the flood had carried away every scrap of edible food and usable clothing. Clara was determined to give the people of Johnstown hope as well as material provisions. She immediately organized the building of small houses and "Red Cross Hotels" for the shelter of the survivors. It was still raining in Johnstown everyday for over a month after the flood and, as the city was covered in mud and wreckage, sturdy shelter was a high priority.

For five long months Clara worked tirelessly to help the people of Johnstown. She did not leave the city even once during those months claiming that the Red Cross stayed where it was needed as long as it was needed. "We are always the last to leave the field," she said.

When Clara did finally leave Johnstown it was amid tears of thanks from the people she had so greatly helped. The residents of Johnstown held a reception in her honor and presented her with a gold locket and pin set with diamonds and amethysts. Clara was very proud of the city she helped to rebuild. She later wrote,

The people of Johnstown never forgot the "Angel" who worked so selflessly to aid them in their time of need. Johnstown "lost no opportunity to show her gratitude to the world" when her residents, while still rebuilding their own city, contributed funds to Clara’s relief efforts in tornado-devastated Louisville and famine-stricken Russia. George Swank, editor of the Johnstown Tribune, wrote of her, "Too much cannot be said in praise of this lady…To her timely and heroic work, more than to that of any other human being, are the people of the Conemaugh Valley indebted."

The Amazing Story of Gertrude Quinn

As Gertrude sat on the front porch dangling her feet in the muddy water, she didn’t notice her father coming home. James Quinn, who had been fearful of the great South Fork Dam for some time, had come to take his children to high ground on the hills surrounding the city. When he saw Gertrude disobeying his orders, he scolded her and ordered her to get new stockings on, for the family was moving to the hills.

As James was waiting for everyone to get ready, he heard the rumbling of the terrible wave. He screamed for everyone to run to the hills and not to go back for anything. Gertrude’s father picked up her baby sister, Marie, and instructed everyone in the house to follow him. Gertrude’s two sisters, Helen and Rosemary, were immediately at their father’s side and Gertrude ran out the door and prepared to jump off the porch, into the muddy water, and make her way to the hills with her family. Just then, she felt something pulling her back.

Gertrude’s Aunt Abbie, who had her own baby, Richard, with her, did not like the idea of trudging through the muddy water. She was certain that such a grand and sturdy building as the Quinn house could never be washed away. Many times she had told Gertrude’s father "You are too anxious, this big house could never go." She still believed that she was safe inside the Quinn home, so she pulled Gertrude back with her and, carrying her baby, instructed Libby to follow her up to the third floor of the house. Libby picked up Gertrude and followed Aunt Abbie up the stairs.

Gertrude bit and scratched and screamed to be let go. She wanted to follow her father and sisters but Aunt Abbie would not allow it. She threw open the front window of the house and they looked at the scene below. Bells rang and whistles blew as thousands of people struggled to make it to the hill, the mountain of water and debris bearing down on them.

Gertrude, Libby, Aunt Abbie, and baby Richard crawled into the playhouse on the third floor as they heard the rumbling of the flood. Gertrude’s father reached the hill and looked back in horror to see that his daughter and the others had not followed him. He turned to go back for them just as he saw his house rock back and forth for a moment and then disappear into the great wave.

Inside the house Gertrude was screaming "Papa! Papa!" as loud as she could. The others were all terrified for their lives. "This is the end of the world!" exclaimed Aunt Abbie. "We will all die together!" Just as the wave hit, Gertrude saw the floorboards cracking open, yellow water bubbling up, and then suddenly her aunt, her baby cousin, and Libby were all gone. They vanished into the water leaving Gertrude alone.

Gertrude struggled to keep the water, mud, and sticks out of her mouth. She turned around and saw a ray of light. She wasn’t sure where it was coming from but she jumped toward it. As her house collapsed into the muddy water Gertrude found herself on a makeshift raft of debris, mattress, and bedding. This was the beginning of a wild ride.

Gertrude’s raft whirled and tossed through what used to be Johnstown. She described the rushing waters as being "like boiling taffy in a giant cauldron." As she careened past trees and wreckage, whole houses floated past her. The makeshift raft tilted down and then up and Gertrude had to spring back and forth from end to end to keep it balanced. She screamed for help but no one seemed to notice. Most of the people were too busy holding on to roofs, chimneys, or whatever else they could find. Her raft floated more than two miles upstream and then back down again before a man named Maxwell McAchren spotted her.

Maxwell McAchren was a big strong man who worked in the town’s mill. He was floating on a roof with about 20 other people when he saw little Gertrude on her raft. The people on the roof tried to stop Maxwell from saving Gertrude. They told him it was too dangerous and that he would be killed. Maxwell replied, "I am going to save that baby. Do you people think an angel from heaven is going to come down and help you? God helps them that help themselves."

With that, Maxwell jumped into the churning water. He was strong and a good swimmer so he was able to make it to Gertrude’s raft. Just as he climbed aboard the raft, the roof he had been riding on crashed and sank into the water.

Gertrude held onto Maxwell with all her might. She was so happy to be rescued! But she wasn’t safe yet. The two of them were riding the raft, trying to avoid crashing into trees, buildings, pieces of buildings, railroad cars, bridges, and whatever else was floating in the water. They also tried to stay away from the giant whirlpool at the edge of the city that would spin their small raft round and round until they were dashed into the water.

As Gertrude and Maxwell passed near the hillside, they noticed and man holding another man by his ankles and dangling him out of a window. The two men were pulling people out of the water to safety. They spotted Maxwell McAchren and little Gertrude on the raft and one of them yelled, "Throw that baby over here to us."

Maxwell shouted back to him, "Do you think you can catch her?"

"We can try." He called back.

Maxwell decided it was the only hope and so he picked Gertrude up and tossed her up, up, up, high into the air. She flew 20 feet over the muddy water before landing in the arms of Henry Koch. His companion, George Skinner, pulled him in by the ankles and Gertrude was finally safe.

Maxwell McAchren still had a wild ride left before him. He rode the raft four miles downstream until he was rescued. His heroism had saved little Gertrude Quinn.

Gertrude’s father, James, was very happy that his child had been saved from the terrible flood. He told her that if he saw Maxwell McAchren in town that he would thank him but he told Gertrude that she was never allowed to see Maxwell again, not even to thank him.

Gertrude’s father did have a reason for forbidding Gertrude to see Maxwell. Gertrude’s family was one of the wealthiest in Johnstown. She lived in a beautiful three-story brick house on Main Street. She had lots of lovely toys and clothes and her father’s store was a very successful business.

Maxwell McAchren worked in the mill. Millworkers were not very wealthy and Gertrude’s father did not think it was proper for her to speak with someone from a lower economic class. This seems very unfair but it was a commonly held view in 1889.

Gertrude was only six years old and she had to obey her father’s orders but she secretly planned to find Maxwell McAchren one day when she was older and thank him for saving her.

When Gertrude was old enough to do what she wanted, she began to search for Maxwell McAchren. As she looked for him she discovered that she was too late. She was reading a newspaper one day when she saw the announcement that he had recently died.

Gertrude never forgot the man who saved her life. She sent a dozen roses to Maxwell’s funeral. When Gertrude got even older, she decided to share the story of how she was saved. She wrote a book called Johnstown and Its Flood. In it, she told the story of her rescue and called Maxwell McAchren "my saviour", "my personal guardian angel", and "my hero".

Activity # 5: Act It Out

Have you ever wanted to be an actress like the people you see on TV and in the movies? Well, here’s your chance! To complete this activity, you will become an actress.

Activity #5 requires you to choose a favorite real person or fictional character from the past and act like her. Here’s what you can do:

1. Choose a person or character and act out a scene from her life. You can use the stories in activity #4 to act out a scene from the life of Gertrude Quinn or Clara Barton. Or, research the life of another person who was involved in the Johnstown Flood and act out a scene from her life. You can get one of your friends from your Girl Scout troop to act with you and you can write a small scene to act out. This could be the beginning of a career as a playwright! If you choose not to write a scene you can just make up the words as you go along. This is called improvisation. Or you can…
2. Dress up like the person you chose and act like her during your Girl Scout meeting. If you chose Clara Barton, this could mean that you pass out snacks to your troop members the way Clara helped the people of Johnstown. Be creative with your costume and the way you act and explain it to your troop members so they can learn the story too.

Activity # 6: Games of the Past

Did you know the Johnstown Flood occurred in a period of time known as the Victorian Era? This was because Queen Victoria of England, who reigned for many years, was so influential on style, clothing, and behavior that the time period was named for her.

During the Victorian Era, games for young ladies were designed to impart good manners and moral behavior. Verbal games were popular as they were thought to be educational and encourage polite conversation. Board games and card games were also popular amusements for the parlor. Games such as football and baseball were strictly for boys. Proper young ladies did not engage in such rough sports. If a young lady wished to amuse herself out of doors, a civilized game of croquet would be just the thing. My, how times have changed!

To complete activity # 6 you must learn to play a game from the past and teach it to others. The following games were popular children’s games in 1889. Gertrude Quinn and her friends may have played them. You may already know these games. If you wish, you may want to ask your parents, grandparents, aunts, or uncles to teach you a game from their childhood. You may be surprised at how much fun you’ll have.

Yes or No

Yes or No was a parlor game that was popular because it could be played without any props and was useful for settling children down "after a romp." In order to play, one person had to think of something and the other children asked questions in order to "guess the thought." The questions must require only a yes or no answer. For example:

• Is the thing you’re thinking of alive? (yes)
• Is it a plant? (no)
• Is it an animal? (yes)
• Is it bigger than a person is? (no)
• Is it a dog? (no)
• Is it a cat? (yes)

Crazy Eights