Superstorm Sandy Didn't Deter Yardley Group From Delaware Canal Walk

YARDLEY, PA —Susan Taylor was determined.

The president of the Yardley Historical Association often leads walking tours of the borough every month.

But a decade ago —right before Halloween —Superstorm Sandy struck and the lights went off for many in Lower Bucks County and most in this tiny borough of 2,500 people, just a stone's throw from the Delaware River.

On Oct. 29, 2012, the hurricane made landfall in New Jersey. And while it devastated parts of the Garden State closer to the shoreline, the soon-to-be-labeled superstorm wreaked havoc for several days in some way or another here.

Taylor was leading a Friends of the Delaware tour of the Delaware Canal towpath, the last leg of a 58-mile journey from Easton to Bristol that ran on successive Saturdays. It was the 5th tour to complete a 12-mile stretch from Black Road Road in Yardley to the Bristol riverfront.

Once Sandy hit and Yardley residents lost power for several days, Taylor —who has lived in Yardley since 1974 —talked with organizers about making a decision or finding the determination for the group of 15 walkers to persevere.

"It was a significant decision to take on the walking tour," Taylor said. "A lot of people were without power. We decided that we'd go. We would do it."

Taylor said drive and determination fueled the group to complete the task of taking the whole walk.

"It was like a little obstacle course," Taylor said. "We encountered tree after tree on the towpath. It was a lovely day after the storm. But we kept encountering evidence of it. When we reached Falls Township, the trees got bigger and bigger. People were having problems climbing over them, but we made it. We encountered downed power lines, enough to make you cautious."

But the group wasn't throwing in the towel.

"With a walk, you have a mindset," Taylor said. "I'm walking all this distance. I want to do it. We had this determination."

Borough Manager Paula Johnson remembers the borough losing power for about five days after Superstorm Sandy hit. She recalls lots of downed trees and power outages.

"We could deal with some downed trees and power lines and some property damage," the then-assistant borough manager said. "We were absolutely spared."

Johnson said that Yardley —which has sections existing in a flood plain —did not have flooding. And that was a great relief to residents.

For two straight years, in 2005 and 2006, the Delaware River crested and flooded Yardley. At that time, the river level crested at 25.33 feet in 2005 and 25.09 feet in 2006, according to the National Weather Service, which tracks the river at nearby Trenton.

On a normal day, the river stands at just under 9 feet.

David Appelbaum had lived in the borough for three years when Hurricane Sandy struck.

He remembers the power going out. But Appelbaum didn't suffer much. In fact, his Breece Drive house became a home for several borough residents over a week's time.

Since his street had underground cables, Appelbaum hooked up a generator and was able to hardwire the heater and lights. He even had a Verizon Fios signal coming through. And people noticed.

"We were warm and comfortable and had a house full of guests for a week," said Appelbaum, now a borough councilman. He said he hosted maybe a dozen people during the day while a half-dozen people would stay overnight.

"People were camping out at my house, saying 'how can you be watching TV?'" he said. "We were like a hotel. We had all the amenities."

Others were not so lucky.

"A lot of power lines were knocked down by trees," he said. "There were trunks of trees in major parts of Yardley."

The Wawa on Main Street brought in a refrigerator truck after a few days without power, he said.

These days, Appelbaum notices a difference since Hurricane Sandy. He said power outages are infrequent since PECO upgraded and updated power lines.

He also remembers the lines of other utility vehicles along Yardley-Morrisville Road that were helping Yardley get back on its feet. And Appelbaum said Yardley needs to remember that.

"Storms cause devastation that we can't ignore," Appelbaum said. "We need to help people when they need help."

Johnson said Superstorm Sandy served as a wake-up call.

Suddenly, many residents purchased generators to prepare for power outages. And people are now more aware of what weather's wrath can bring.

"People are more proactive and watch out for their neighbors," Johnson said. "That storm brought the community together. Mother Nature has gotten much angrier with these hurricanes and tornadoes. She needs to stop."