My home town is Valdez, Alaska. I was in Manhattan for college on March 24, 1989, the day the Exxon Valdez ran aground on Bligh Reef. When I heard the news I experienced a shock like the one my parents described feeling when Kennedy was shot. I returned home for the summer a couple of months later, to find my town completely changed. My parents ran the town's weekly newspaper at that time. The paper above is a photo of the Valdez Vanguard "Extra" edition about the spill; the lower paper describes my parents' experience. Click either image to enlarge.
17 comments:
Definetly worth remembering! So interesting to read about your parents' involvement. Hopefully we will see some news coverage on the impact this event has had - even 20 years later.
Love,
Jodi
I remember this day vividly! What a devastating time for that hometown area and for your family reporting on it. Yes, I'll be listening for coverage today.
I remember this! Do you think any lessons were learned since then?...Hey! You are from Alaska! How cool is that!?
Wow that is quite historic news. Something never forgotten.
One time, during Joe Hazelwood's (Captain of the Exxon Valdez) trial, son Craig and I ran into him at a grocery store in Anchorage. Craig (then a teen) asked him if he needed some oil....all kidding aside, that reckless jerk caused a catastrophe on an unimaginable scale. I have not bought Exxon gasoline since.
Valdez is a gorgeous little town. The drive from Anchorage to Valdez encompasses the most spectacular scenery.
Wow. Thanks for sharing that today - it's amazing what kind of "trickle-down" effect a disaster like that can have on a community. Are your parents still in Valdez? I'd be interested to know what it's like there today. (Hey, I may have found a little research project for my nine-year-old to do today...)
When I was little, my grandmother ran a General Store in rural Virginia. She sold everything, including Esso gasoline. Esso eventually became a branch of ExxonMobil. When that tanker crashed, I was living in NY, and hadn't thought of Esso in ages. But I felt strangely connected to that event.
This is soooo relevant right now especially in BC where the government is considering allowing oil tankers into our waters after creating a pipeline from Prince Rupert to the Alberta Tarsands. As they say about oil spills it's just a question of when. All the reassurances from oil companies and governments cannot prevent human error.
www.notankers.ca
Thanks for reminding us all about this. So sad and unfortunately, still too relevant.
Jane: many lessons...the issue is complex and multifactorial. The relationship between the environment, big business, and our needs as consumers has to be critically evaluated in every aspect of life, in my opinion.
Amen to alternative energy research...
Wow, that spill really impacted your family first-hand. I can't imagine what that must've been like.
WOw hard to believe it was 20 years ago.
How a town and its people can change forever. I am sure this has become history telling for little ones growing up.
I remember it well and was horrified even though I didn't have a connection with Alaska yet. I was living in San Diego at the time which was where the Exxon Valdez ended up right after the spill (for repairs? Can't remember why). I went down to the ship yard to see it and take pictures. Such a huge impact on us all and so sad.
I can't believe how long ago that was...it feels like yesterday...and I can NOT believe your family was there, breaking the news as it happened, before "the internets." The horror of that incident is still a hard pill for me to swallow. I haven't been able to buy from Exxon since (not that little ol' me is doing a darn thing to their bottom line, as evidenced by their INCREBLE profits Quarter after Quarter, but I just can't do it on principle).
our shores in Brittany also had to pay a high price in oil several times.
and no matter how far, I remember that one as well;
have they only learned from these ecological disasters ?!
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