It’s been another flood summer. This August, people were evacuated from homes and one person died in Westfield. For those of us “of a certain age,” rising water reminds us of another storm, a Grande Dame—Agnes. The reminders are still visible in building plaques that show where the water level was in June 1972, and those who endured and cleaned up can still smell the flooded buildings, hear the Army helicopters overhead, and see the devastation in our valleys, towns, and homes.

The beginning of the Lock Haven Dike-Levee project was born from that disaster. After Agnes, there was federal and state money, and support for protection from floods for smaller cities. Of course, any collaboration between federal, state, and local levels takes negotiation, is fraught with pitfalls, and always takes far longer than planned. The question then was, “Should we build a dike, or a dam further up the river?”

Dam supporters did not want to lose river access and the view in Lock Haven. These were the same concerns that had scuttled a similar project after the 1936 flood. The US Army Corps of Engineers analyzed the various projects, declaring the dike-levee the cost-effective plan. June Houser, councilwoman by 1981, summed it up: “The value of the libraries, churches, schools, and industries was far more than the money needed to build the levee.” Hammermill Paper Company, one of the largest employers, sided with the engineers on the dike project and hoped that it could be completed by the early 1980s.

Rick Marcinkevage and a group of interns posted plaques on all buildings affected by flooding, and determined the level the river would need to reach to begin flooding the first floor of the structure. Some of these plaques, installed in 1983, are still visible today.

It would be another decade of work, much done by the local Flood Protection Agency, to negotiate the funding, which ended up being half from the federal government, another quarter from the State, and $4.4 million to be raised by Lock Haven. The city floated a bond for the remaining local money, and it narrowly passed in 1990. With that, work began on the dike-levee. Properties along the Lock Haven side of the river, backyard portions of properties with docks, and some properties on the other side that would become flood plain, were purchased.

Outraged opposition, consisting primarily of these property owners, exploded. William T. Piper, owner of Piper Aircraft, and one of the properties that was purchased entirely, was a prominent public face and important organizer of the opposition. This group aimed to win seats on the city council and stop the construction. At first, the group was successful, with “Clean Sweep” taking four seats. However, they could not unseat June Houser, who had worked for the levee project for a decade, along with two other pro-levee council members and Mayor DiAnn Stuempfle. Bob Rolley, former publisher of the Williamsport Sun-Gazette and Lock Haven Express and active in many local groups including Outreach Coordinator of the Clinton County Community Foundation, remembered, “Mayor Stuempfle was the linchpin.”

June Houser was the brake that slowed and eventually frustrated the Clean Sweep team, all property owners in the construction zone. June recalls, “Every time they went to vote on a measure [to stop the levee project], I challenged them with conflict of interest, and they had to abstain. They didn’t count on this.” The technique was effective and, one by one, they resigned.

The Houser home was vandalized several times, always on Friday night. Their daughter was bullied at elementary school. “Graffiti was written on the levee as it was being built at Water Street,” June says. “They did their darndest to stop it.” Mayor Stuempfle was sent black roses, and comments against her were painted on the rock formation above Lock Haven.

But in the end, the anti-levee forces were unable to stop it. In October of 1994, the dike-levee was declared complete. The flooding that the project was to prevent in Lock Haven did not wait long.

In January 1996, a large snowpack was hit with inches of rain and temperatures reaching the sixties. The result was a river that crested at about twenty-six feet, five to seven feet above first floor flooding before the levee. June received calls and letters apologizing for how she had been treated, and a reporter wrote that one man said he would like to kiss June Houser.

The “wins” continued over the years. Lock Haven was spared in 2004, and again in 2011. The top of the dike has become a popular walkway, with beautiful views and an amphitheater on the river. Recreation parks, pavilions, and boat launches in Riverside Park, across the bridge from the city, were developed. This summer, local volunteers cut the ribbon on the walkway that connects the park to the Riverwalk on the levee and the city. The river is now a hub of recreation and a draw for tourists and locals alike.

Bob Rolley says, “Lock Haven wouldn’t be the charming community it is without the peace of mind the levee gives. That peace promotes private investment and improvements.”

But a few scars remain. June says, “I haven’t been on the riverwalk more than ten times since it was built. My husband goes nearly every day. But there are too many memories.”

Bob Rolley recently met with Pat Piper-Smyer, president of the Piper Foundation, as the foundation was merged with the Clinton County Community Foundation. She talked to Bob about how nice it was here in Lock Haven. “Except for that…” pointing to the levee.