A home showing the aftermath of the Agnes Flood.

A home showing the aftermath of the Agnes Flood.

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June 23, 1972.

It’s a date that changed the Wyoming Valley forever – the day the waters of the Susquehanna inundated the Wyoming Valley.

Those of us that lived through the Agnes Flood will never forget it.

For those that didn’t, it may be hard to understand the destruction that was left in its wake.

I’m not sure those that weren’t here at the time can understand the spirit of cooperation that ran through the Wyoming Valley has we struggled to recover.

Even though I was only 5 years old at the time, I honestly remember that spirit. Relatives and friends who welcoming displaced families into their homes, teenagers roaming the streets and helping random strangers clean out their homes and organizations such as the Red Cross making sure that the people of the Wyoming Valley had everything they needed are just a few of the examples of the kindness shown the victims of Agnes.

I particularly remember a couple of friendly Ashley police officers making sure a certain lost 5-year-old who took it upon himself to walk to the candy store found his way home.

So as the 50-year anniversary of the disaster approached, we knew we had to do something special to mark this seminal event in the history of our region.

For that reason, we partnered with the good folks at WBRE and WYOU-TV to bring you a look back at the flood that quite literally took everything from many of the residents of our valley.

We believe the partnership ended up producing a review of Agnes like no other ever compiled, including remastered news footage that hasn’t been scene for nearly half a century. (You can see that footage at pahomepage.com or by scanning the QR code with this column. And you can see all the Times Leader stories on Agnes at timesleader.com/agnes)

This special section is culmination of our efforts.

We hope it reminds those that lived through Agnes of how Northeastern Pennsylvania came together to help rebuild the Wyoming Valley in the flood’s wake.

And we hope it helps those that didn’t live through Agnes understand the devastation and lasting impact of the flood on our region.

Joe Soprano is the executive editor of the Times Leader. He was 5 years old when the Agnes Flood forced his family out of their South Franklin Street home in 1972.