Corrected Facts and Date
Ridge Runner,
Your theory while interesting is not the cause of Derry's decline. I am a victim of this tragedy and I believe suffer from PTSD however the town as a whole does not.
The correct date of the tragedy is September 4, 1978. It was a Monday afternoon and one that changed my life forever. The school librairy had created a book about the tragedy and is still available today. True the town changed after that day but it did not go down hill after that. The down hill part started as the economy was on a downward spiral. You remember the Carter administration don't you? The odd-even gas days in which you could only purchase gas depending on the last digit of your license plate whether it was odd or even, the 21.5% prime rate, the double digit inflation, the high unemployment rate. Those were the factors that aided in ending this little town's days of prosperity. I believe the final blow came when Westinghouse sold it's Derry plant to ICI, then shortly thereafter ICI closed the plant leaving hundreds of Derry citizens jobless. People were either forced to move to a locale with employment or take other jobs that paid less.
Sadly, it is an evolutional process that takes place in small towns. Drive through Blairsville, Connellsville, Jeannette, etc. Low income, low self esteem, a lack of work ethic and a dependence upon Government subsidy are the reason for the town the way it is today. Heroin is rampant everywhere and is something that needs to be delt with the old school way.
Until such time that an industry of good size will invest in the town, it will not return to it's glory days and that won't happen any time soon, if at all.
As to the dreadful events of September 4, 1978. I was directly affected as an immediate family member was taken that day. I went from being who I was to being "that kid whose family member was killed" in Derry. Then after the settlement was reached, those who stood in line at the funeral service asking if there was anything they could do, became those who were jealous of me and my family because of the settlement and the incorrect way in which the amount was reported by the papers. To this day 30 years later, people still say behind my back how good I have it while living off my family member. Isn't that nice? My life has been changed and nearly ruined, memories erased of the whole family we used to be. A break down out of the blue when I see or hear something that gives me flashbacks, the fear of losing others in my family and now that I have children, the fear of losing them. The inability to share in certain things like the first day of school, a picnic, a school function because they bring back memories of my old life that cause me such great pain. Yes, sure I am so well off aren't I?
Do you want to know the sad thing, no one involved in this tragic day really communicates to one another. When I see other victims families, they ignore me, and do their best to walk away. You would think that we would have a bond and a sense of warmth and compassion toward one another, but there is nothing. That in and of itself is hurtful to me.
Ridge Runner,
Your theory while interesting is not the cause of Derry's decline. I am a victim of this tragedy and I believe suffer from PTSD however the town as a whole does not.
The correct date of the tragedy is September 4, 1978. It was a Monday afternoon and one that changed my life forever. The school librairy had created a book about the tragedy and is still available today. True the town changed after that day but it did not go down hill after that. The down hill part started as the economy was on a downward spiral. You remember the Carter administration don't you? The odd-even gas days in which you could only purchase gas depending on the last digit of your license plate whether it was odd or even, the 21.5% prime rate, the double digit inflation, the high unemployment rate. Those were the factors that aided in ending this little town's days of prosperity. I believe the final blow came when Westinghouse sold it's Derry plant to ICI, then shortly thereafter ICI closed the plant leaving hundreds of Derry citizens jobless. People were either forced to move to a locale with employment or take other jobs that paid less.
Sadly, it is an evolutional process that takes place in small towns. Drive through Blairsville, Connellsville, Jeannette, etc. Low income, low self esteem, a lack of work ethic and a dependence upon Government subsidy are the reason for the town the way it is today. Heroin is rampant everywhere and is something that needs to be delt with the old school way.
Until such time that an industry of good size will invest in the town, it will not return to it's glory days and that won't happen any time soon, if at all.
As to the dreadful events of September 4, 1978. I was directly affected as an immediate family member was taken that day. I went from being who I was to being "that kid whose family member was killed" in Derry. Then after the settlement was reached, those who stood in line at the funeral service asking if there was anything they could do, became those who were jealous of me and my family because of the settlement and the incorrect way in which the amount was reported by the papers. To this day 30 years later, people still say behind my back how good I have it while living off my family member. Isn't that nice? My life has been changed and nearly ruined, memories erased of the whole family we used to be. A break down out of the blue when I see or hear something that gives me flashbacks, the fear of losing others in my family and now that I have children, the fear of losing them. The inability to share in certain things like the first day of school, a picnic, a school function because they bring back memories of my old life that cause me such great pain. Yes, sure I am so well off aren't I?
Do you want to know the sad thing, no one involved in this tragic day really communicates to one another. When I see other victims families, they ignore me, and do their best to walk away. You would think that we would have a bond and a sense of warmth and compassion toward one another, but there is nothing. That in and of itself is hurtful to me.
