Three Mile Abandon. . .

I lived in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch Country, for nearly the entire year of 1988. On weekends I loved to get out and ramble around the countryside, and made several day trips to the Susquehanna River valley area. You may recall that back in 1979 the nuclear power plant at Three Mile Island experienced a major problem, not quite perhaps on the scale of Tchernobyl, but all sources seem to agree that there was a serious release of radioactive matter into the atmosphere. Just how bad ? Who knows, the debate apparently is not closed. What I do know, is that wandering around the area to the east of Three Mile Island in 1988, I was surprised at the number of abandoned houses all over the region. Some that I visited looked like people had left in a big hurry, leaving clothes in closets and canned or bottled food in cupboards and cellars. Some were literally falling down. Here are two examples. . . what a strange world we live in. . .

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