Muncy, Pennsylvania Raft Crash Tragedy (1938)

Synopsis

The story was recently re-told in an excellent documentary film (see link above) by Karen L. Frock of Creekside Creative Media. The Last Raft story begins in 1938 with Pennsylvania brothers R. Dudley and V. Ord Tonkin whose family came to the town of Cherry Tree in 1838. Vince Tonkin, Dudley and Ord’s father, had left timber standing with the request that the two brothers occasionally build a raft to float as a living history lesson. Rafting reunions were held every so often, but by 1938, the rafters were getting older, and they decided on one final event. The 1938 trip was a reenactment of log rafting. In the Northeast United States particularly North Eastern, Central Pennsylvania where the logging boom was strongest. Multiple local men decided to hold a memorial rafting trip from Clearfield County to Harrisburg. The men who had done the trip twice before in years past to honor the logging industry in the area agreed on a 1935 trip being their last, however some of the group decided to do it one last time in 1938. Thus why it is also known as The Last Raft Tragedy. The Raft was launched on March 14 at McGee's Mill in western Clearfield County. The 200 mile trip was expected to take a week and a half to complete. In the beginning there were six experienced rafters on board. They tied off multiple times for food, rest and to meet the crowd which began forming along the river-side. The 112 x 25 foot Raft picked up dozens at Lock Haven and Williamsport. The Raft crashed about…

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Details

Running time

40 minutes

Collection

Ephemeral Films

Subjects on the Internet Archive

• Stock Footage

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