.
BLACK SUNDAYSeptember 24, 1950
Norman P. Carlson puts a face on the dark day, which supports the 'forest fire in Canada' reason for black Sunday. Read his detailed account of the Canadian forest fire here.
READ ABOUT THE DARK DAY OF MAY 19, 1780 HERE.
PLUS READ BRADFORD PA'S ACCOUNT OF 'BLACK Sunday'.
This is the query I posted:
"posted by: Betty Rhodes - 11:28am Jun 17, 2000 EDT
During the mid 1950's when I was a young girl living in western Pennsylvania (Wattsburg - Erie County, PA) there was a scary event that occurred. One Sunday afternoon the sky got really dark - dark enough to view the stars. The skies stayed dark for the rest of the day. We did not own a TV set at that time, and with the whole family wondering what was going on - (some thought the end of the world was at hand), my dad took us to Uncle Jakes in Corry to see what his TV set had to say about the situation. After many hours of no announcements or bulletins about the particular event, finally a reading came on the bottom of the screen that said there was a big forest fire in Canada and this was causing the darkened skies. Does anyone have any remembrance of this event? If so I would love to hear from you. This has puzzled me for decades and I would like to know the date and location of this forest fire. What was puzzling for me is seeing the stars - if a forest fire was sending smoke to darken the skies why could we see the stars? And why doesn't the sky darken on that magnitude with the forest fires today in our country? Must have been a truly big fire but can't find it in the historical almanacs.
Sincerely Betty Matteson Rhodes betmatrho@the-red-thread.net
- BLUE MOON EFFECT: The most literal meaning of blue moon is when the moon (not necessarily a full moon) appears to a casual observer to be unusually bluish, which is a rare event. The effect can be caused by smoke or dust particles in the atmosphere, as has happened after forest fires in Sweden and Canada in 1950 and, notably, after the eruption of Krakatoa in 1883, which caused the moon to appear blue for nearly two years.
- 1950 - Forest fires black out the sun over portions of Canada and New England. A Blue moon (in the astronomical sense) is seen as far away as Europe.
- On September 24, 1950, with the Tigers in the middle of a tight pennant race with the Yankees, Robinson became the "goat." Heavy smoke from a Canadian forest fire forced the Tigers to turn on the lights for a Sunday afternoon game against the Indians.
- {source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_24}
I receive emails and letters from others from time to time. Their recollections of this day in 1950 will be posted below.
Betty,
My mother and dad kept handwritten diaries every day of their married lives. I still have all their old diaries in my possession. So because one of your reader’s thread mentioned the date of blackout as occurring on Sunday September 24 1950, I decided to look up what mother wrote in her diary for dates surrounding the event.
Sat Sept 23, 1950 – “Very cold / snowing” {Observation: extremely rare to have snow before mid-November in this part of Canada!}
Sun Sept 24, 1950 – “Very dark from noon on”
Mon Sept 25, 1950 – “Smoke clearing up”
No other mention is made in subsequent entries.
Betty, your thread about the Black Sunday in the early 1950’s triggered memories of conversations I had had with my mother and her father when I was a child living in Grey County, Southern Ontario in the early 1950s. She had told me about a Sunday when near mid-day, the sun became obliterated and darkness fell. For several days, they did not know the cause. They thought the world was about to end. They eventually heard the cause had been a huge forest fire somewhere away out in western North America, 3000+ miles away.
I googled and found the following website https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
The Chinchaga fire appears of the source of daytime darkness in Southern Ontario in and after 24 September 1950.
MWM
Hello Betty:
I remember it was a Sunday in the early 1950's when this strange occurrence took place. I was living west of Owen Sound, Ontario at the time when the sun darkened around noon. It reminded me of twilight time. The atmosphere seemed eerie and the birds went to roost. The adults talked of signs of "the end of the world". We eventually heard that forest fires in the west were so dense; the smoke blew east and blotted out the sun.
Dorothy B. London, Ontario
Hi Betty,
I born in 1945 and grew up in London Ontario. I remember so well the day the sky turned black sometime between 1950-56! My father packed the family in the car and we went downtown to see all the stores lit up like it was night.... it felt like night! It made such an impression on me at the time!!! So, with all the talk now about the upcoming eclipse in AZ, where I reside now, I went online to see if perhaps what I had seen as a child was an eclipse of the sun. What a surprise to find this site and the recollections of others!!!! It was possibly fires??? Gail W
Hello
I was born the evening of September 24th . Story that my family including my Mother told me was that my Mother went into labor earlier that day. She sent my sister Wendy and my cousin Michael to the movies All of a sudden the sky came black and My Mother scared she tried to stop labor I was born at Mercy Hospital in Buffalo NY My parents named me after the 2 Nuns that helped her though delivery with Me! Regards
Paula
Betty....
Are you still collecting first hand stories on Black Sunday? John
Hi Betty:
That Sunday in September 1950 when the day turned into night, I was only 6 and a half years old, but the event made a permanent impression on me and I remember it very clearly. My family lived in the small village of Delaware Ontario, nestled against the river in the Upper Thames River Valley of South-Western Ontario, about 100 miles north-east of Detroit.
Betty Rhodes
We had sat down to dinner after Church with two of our Aunts, visiting from London Ontario, about 12 miles away, to celebrate my Mother's acquisition of a new dining room suite, it became very dark, causing my mother to turn on the dining room light. Soon, everyone had left the table to go outside, where we encountered night and every dog in the village was barking...and some howling. Our adjacent neighbour's rooster crowed constantly.
Betty
I remember it becoming very cool...even cold. I was very aware of agitation in the adults...if not fear, then something akin to it. There was no television there in 1950 and only one radio station available from London...which the adults said didn't know anymore about the dark than they did. Eventually it lightened up, and later we were told it was caused from smoke from forest fires. I was up at my Grandfather's house some days later listening to the old men that gathered there talk about the event, and hearing my Grandpa declaring that he did not believe it was caused by smoke, because it was nothing like the haze they were well acquainted with from distant forest fires, there was no wind that day, there was no smell of smoke, and the stars were visible. My Grandfather was a very bright man, and obviously thought there was more to the phenomena then the reason given by the newspapers. .......
John Mahler
Hi Betty
I
remember a day in PA, visiting my aunt, when the sky turned
dark. My mom and Aunt were terrified which terrified me. I
would have been 5 ½ - 6 years old. My aunt called
their oldest brother, only one in family with TV then, he didn't
know anything. He "prayed" with her as they
thought it might be the 'end if the world'. It was
loooong after that time I asked my mom if they ever found
out...., she said "they" said it was a forest fire in
Canada. The eclipse today (in 2017) brought this
memory back to me. Fascinating to find this post online.
I was
so surprised....and relieved....to read your post. I KNEW
it happened but there's only one other person in the family that
is the age to remember. The 'adults' in the family at that time,
my mom and my aunt, are deceased and no one to confirm the
incident. However, I forwarded your post to a cousin who was also
around 5-6 at the time and he remembered too!!! My mom and
aunt feared the end of the world. Neither household had a
TV and I seem to remember they weren't able to get good radio
connection. We lived in central PA....40 minutes west of Penn
State. Thanks for your post!!!!! Solves a
mystery from my childhood. Social media is a great thing;
too bad we didn't have it back then.
Darlene Duttrey
Hi,
Thank you for this article!!!! I was born in '39, I remember that day, like a nightmare! We were sure it was the end of the world, my parents took us to my aunts house and we prayed the rosary.... we always heard it was a fire in Canada.. I was telling my sons about it --- the eclipse coming brought that event to mind! I decided to google it!! lol and behold -- your article! Thank you, I will read it in its entirety this evening! An interested friend,
Joyce Schauer Kersey, PA
Hello.
I don't know how old this thread is that I found online, but I found an interesting article that indicates that the military was conducting bio-terror exercises on September 20, 1950 on the west coast. Do you think it would have taken 4 days for that to reach us in the east?
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.businessinsider.com/military-government-secret-experiments-biological-chemical-weapons-2016-9
It
would explain why the one woman who posted on your thread said
that there was a high incidence of women having mentally retarded
children during that time. Just a thought. I was born in 1971,
and I just heard about Black Sunday today. So strange! Sincerely,
Trista
Hi Betty
I was sixteen year old and on that Sunday I was working in Tobacco as a primer for Max Gibbons in Calton, Ontario. We were on one of his farms that was about a mile from the main farm and as the tobacco was picked, the tobacco was put in the tobacco boat and unloaded on a table set up so that the two handlers could hand the tobacco to an experienced tier who would tie the tobacco to a three foot, one inch slat, which was then piled on a wagon ready to be taken to the kilns for curing. That morning the air was still, and the tobacco leaves were as cold as ice. Looking at the sky, I could see a dark yellowish cloud on the horizon, which very slowly started to rise above the horizon. As it climbed higher and higher in the sky, the sun was completely covered and before long, it was as if the sun had gone down and darkness covered the whole area. The tobacco handlers and tier used the lights from the trucks that were there to transfer the tobacco to the kilns, but the primers who had to pick the tobacco could only hope that the three bottom leaves were ripe enough to cure. When we asked Max what we should do, he said to pick the bottom three leaves even if they were not ripe for picking. Needless to say the kiln did not cure and the tobacco had to be destroyed. Over one of the car radios, came the announcement that the reason the sky was dark was from a forest fire in North Western Canada, but looking at the sky, it didn’t appear to be simply smoke, nor did it have any smell like smoke. It looked like a cloud, yellowish in colour and remained in one piece and never dispersed with the wind. Smoke would normally disperse depending on the wind. This never happened. The direction of the smoke was North Western Canada, and beyond that point was Russia. The fifties was during the Cold War and each side was testing new weapons to prevent the other side from gaining advantage in the arms race. My father always told us that the cloud was from a nuclear test in the Ural mountains in the U.S.S.R gone wrong and it was the debris from the Ural mountains and not simply a forest fire. The forest fires at Fort McMurray do not act the same way as the one that Sunday in 1950. That same cloud went around the world before it finally dispersed. It was a day I will never forget and have enjoyed reading stories told by others on the day so long ago.
Jim Barker of Ontario
Hi Betty,
I too was born in 1941, May to be exact. So I was 9 at the time. By that age, I was beginning to be interested in things geographical, though it is in hindsight that I recognize that. In any case I remember that it was a Sunday. I lived in London, Ontario. I went to church with my parents and remember sitting beside my Dad. Neither he nor I was much interested in church and I remember doing a lot of gazing out the windows, though they were high up. Church was from 11 am to 12 pm as I recall. As I looked out of the windows I noticed that the sky was beginning to turn yellow. I wondered to myself why this was happening. When we got home from church, it was beginning to get very dark. We had lunch and put on the radio to listen to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, still known as the CBC. At that point there was no news about why it was dark. I think that my parents did call the police but don't think that they had an answer as the darkness had come on quite quickly. I asked my Mother if I could go out to play on the street in front of our house. And, even though it was not winter, I asked if I could wear my leggings. It seemed appropriate to me. For some reason I was never frightened, just curious. By this time it was about 3 in the afternoon. I didn't stay long outside, but it seemed to remind me of winter. I do not recall any smell of smoke in the air. When I did hear that some people thought that it was the end of the World, I thought that that was a ridiculous idea. In the early evening we did hear on the CBC about the possibility of the darkness being associated with a forest fire "out West". That made sense to me. I did grow up to become a geographer! And though I just turned 75 this week, those memories have not changed at all. They are still the same memories that I have always had about that day.
Karen Lochhead
Hello,
I recently was thinking about the day the sky turned black and decided to look online. I knew I was about 10 years old so it would be in the early 50s. That day we were driving home from my grandmother's where we often had Sunday dinner. She lived in Pleasantville Pa and we lived in Chautauqua N Y. It became very dark and no smell of smoke. I remember that my parents were not as concerned about this as I thought they should be and it was never discussed much after that day. I am amazed at the number of people who remember that day as I do and the ability to communicate about it many years later.
Mary R P
Dear Betty
I never knew about this until today . FYI I was born Sept 24,1950. Not sure if you knew this but NBC personality and news woman Jane Pauly was also born same day. thanks for the info. Gary B. born Manitowoc/ Two Rivers Wisc. Betty also please send info on how to buy the book thru the mail I'll be happy to send a check or MO.
Gary.
To who it may concern
I
remember that Sunday that it was so dark you had to have all your
lights on to see. We lived in Erie and had never experienced
anything like this My sister and I went to a movie and when we
came out she thought that we had stayed all day in the movies and
it now was midnight and we were going to be in trouble for
staying so long. When our parents picked us up they said it had
been dark all afternoon and it was only 3:00 in the afternoon. No
one had a answer for what caused the unusual day, they said
a fire in Canada, the army was testing a new weapon, a
spaceship had covered the sun and it was the end of the world on
N on. Very few people remember that day. I would
really like to know what happened. We didn't have cell phones,
computers or much TV we were really in the dark. Let me know what
you know about this day. One thing, it wasn't the end of the
world. John More
Betty,
Is this too late? I was 7 years old, living in Detroit. I remember that day very clearly and have wondered about it. I was with my Dad who had been sailing in a regatta on Lake Ste Clair. The men were finishing up, putting their boats away, etc. my Dad had promised me a "quick sail" before we had to leave. I know it was later in the afternoon, maybe 3 or 4. As the sky darkened I sensed that the adults were frightened and that is what stays with me---the first time I realized that adults could be scared too. I remember the dark sky and I still feel chills thinking of it. I hate to sound dramatic, but it is probably the strongest memory I have from my kid-hood.
Susan from Michigan
Hi Betty
Just discovered your site. So glad to have the experience corroborated. I was eight visiting my Uncle's house in Boardman Ohio when the sky went black. Couldn't remember the exact date but the mystery remained with me. Couldn't then at age eight believe the wildfire explanation, not many wildfire cause a total eclipse of the sun, -like ever before, or since? I guess a mile high column of smoke would explain it.
Bruce
Hello Betty
I remember the day very well. I was born in 1939. My name is John Lupson. I would have been 10 almost eleven years of age. I remember my footsteps of most of that day. I was living in an Orphanage on Richmond Street in London, Ontario. One Sunday afternoon the entire population of London, Ontario began to panic as the skies began to turn dark and then totally black. I think it was around noon time. We walked over to the corner store and bought an ice cream sundae. It was like going to the store in the middle of the night. As kids, we thought it was exciting. Everyone we talked with said it could be the end of the world. As children we thought it was strange to see adults in a state of panic about their own well being while we children, in my group of friends at least, were not fearing for our own lives. For a while, we thought we might get to meet Jesus –that would be great. Then one man in the store said it was on the radio that the darkness was caused by forest fires in the west –in Alberta. Back to the reality of being a kid again –for a few more years anyway. I just happened to be reminded of this because of the recent number of forest fires occurring in British Columbia at this time. I know there are US government Air Force theories about USAF using cloud seed cover weaponry in trials, and also the approval of N bomb trials given that year in January, but I do believe the actual account was because of forest fires in Alberta or even Saskatchewan –or both? Nice to read that so many others across North America remember experiencing the same thing. Take care,
John Lupson
Hi
I also remember the black out. I live in St. Mary's pa. I would have been 10 at the time. I recall the sky started turning yellow with thick clouds coming from the north then finally to complete darkness. There was no odor of smoke and I don't recall any stars visible. It seemed to take a lot longer than two minutes for the darkness to return to daylight. The only explanation I ever heard was the forest fire story which I never believed. My own thoughts are of a government experiment to try to hide the carbon plants in the area from view of aircraft from above. Thanks for posting your site.
Vern Schreiber
Hello,
I remember this event, the Sun apparently turning blue around 16:30 BST on Monday 25th September 1950, continuing that way to sunset, followed by the almost-Full Moon that night, so very prominent. In the afternoon, I was cycling in West Annandale Street, quite close to my home in Bellevue Road, when with some friends, we realised that it was getting a little dark, rather prematurely. With some further darkening, it also became colder, although the Sun was never completely hidden. As the Moon appeared, it also showed up blue; and being almost Full Moon (next day), it was visually more obvious than the Sun and the attendant risks to the eyes. The RAF at Leuchars in Fife sent up at least one aircraft to check the likely cause; and I think the later reports were that the pilot found the smoke layer around the 40,000 feet level.
Alex Dow
Hello Betty
Concerning the Black Sunday event….I was 14 years old attending my freshman year at Kiski Prep School in Saltsburg, PA. I am a Californian and this Eastern business was all new and strange to me. My roommate and I were setting raccoon traps down by the river that afternoon and were so absorbed in our work that we never noticed it was getting dark until it was really dark. We knew we were in heavy trouble since we were sure it was past dinner time where we were assigned tables and our absence would be noticed. Big do-do would befall us. We rushed back to school and found out that the sun was shrouded in smoke. We could smell the smoke and someone told us it was from a huge fire in Canada. We saw no stars, but it is not uncommon, if the situation is right, to see stars at daytime. Standing deep enough in a well and looking up will reveal stars sometimes. If the sun of blotted out in a large enough area and the sky is dark…if there is an opening in the cloud or smoke curtain, you just might see stars. Such an event as Black Sunday was a perfect venue for that to happen. The Black Sunday event may happen again if the present Ontario fire gets big enough and all the ducks line up in the proper order.
Warren M
Hello Betty:
I remember it was a Sunday in the early 1950's when this strange occurrence took place. I was living west of Owen Sound, Ontario at the time when the sun darkened around noon. It reminded me of twilight time. The atmosphere seemed eerie and the birds went to roost. The adults talked of signs of "the end of the world". We eventually heard that forest fires in the west were so dense, the smoke blew east and blotted out the sun. Dorothy B. London, Ontario
Hi Betty
I
was sixteen year old and on that Sunday I was working in Tobacco as a
primer for Max Gibbons in Calton, Ontario. We were on one of his
farms
that was about a mile from the main farm and as the tobacco was picked,
the tobacco was put in the tobacco boat and unloaded on a table set up
so that the two handlers could hand the tobacco to an experienced
tier
who would tie the tobacco to a three foot, one inch slat, which
was
then piled on a wagon ready to be taken to the kilns for curing. That
morning the air was still, and the tobacco leaves were as cold as ice.
Looking at the sky, I could see a dark yellowish cloud on the horizon,
which very slowly started to rise above the horizon. As it climbed
higher and higher in the sky, the sun was completely covered and before
long, it was as if the sun had gone down and darkness covered the whole
area. The
tobacco handlers and tier used the lights from the trucks that were
there to transfer the tobacco to the kilns, but the primers who had to
pick the tobacco could only hope that the three bottom leaves were ripe
enough to cure. When we asked Max what we should do, he said to pick the
bottom three leaves even if they were not ripe for picking. Needless to
say the kiln did not cure and the tobacco had to be destroyed. Over
one of the car radios, came the announcement that the reason the sky
was dark was from a forest fire in North Western Canada, but looking at
the sky, it didn’t appear to be simply smoke, nor did it have any smell
like smoke. It looked like a cloud, yellowish in colour and
remained in
one piece and never dispersed with the wind. Smoke would normally
disperse depending on the wind. This never happened. The direction
of
the smoke was North Western Canada, and beyond that point was Russia.
The fifties was during the Cold War and each side was testing new
weapons to prevent the other side from gaining advantage in the arms
race. My
father always told us that the cloud was from a nuclear test in the
Ural mountains in the U.S.S.R gone wrong and it was the debris from the
Ural mountains and not simply a forest fire. The forest fires at Fort
McMurray do not act the same way as the one that Sunday in 1950. That
same cloud went around the world before it finally dispersed. It was a
day I will never forget and have enjoyed reading stories told by others
on the day so long ago. Jim Barker of Ontario
Hi Betty,
I too was born in 1941, May to be exact. So I was 9 at the time. By that age, I was beginning to be interested in things geographical, though it is in hindsight that I recognize that. In any case I remember that it was a Sunday. I lived in London, Ontario. I went to church with my parents and remember sitting beside my Dad. Neither he nor I was much interested in church and I remember doing a lot of gazing out the windows, though they were high up. Church was from 11 am to 12 pm as I recall. As I looked out of the windows I noticed that the sky was beginning to turn yellow. I wondered to myself why this was happening. When we got home from church, it was beginning to get very dark. We had lunch and put on the radio to listen to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, still known as the CBC. At that point there was no news about why it was dark. I think that my parents did call the police but don't think that they had an answer as the darkness had come on quite quickly. I asked my Mother if I could go out to play on the street in front of our house. And, even though it was not winter, I asked if I could wear my leggings. It seemed appropriate to me. For some reason I was never frightened, just curious. By this time it was about 3 in the afternoon. I didn't stay long outside, but it seemed to remind me of winter. I do not recall any smell of smoke in the air. When I did hear that some people thought that it was the end of the World, I thought that that was a ridiculous idea. In the early evening we did hear on the CBC about the possibility of the darkness being associated with a forest fire "out West". That made sense to me. I did grow up to become a geographer! And though I just turned 75 this week, those memories have not changed at all. They are still the same memories that I have always had about that day. Karen Lochhead
Hello Betty
Concerning the Black Sunday event…. I was 14 years old attending my freshman year at Kiski Prep School in Saltsburg, PA. I am a Californian and this Eastern business was all new and strange to me. My room mate and I were setting raccoon traps down by the river that afternoon and were so absorbed in our work that we never noticed it was getting dark until it was really dark. We knew we were in heavy trouble since we were sure it was past dinner time where we were assigned tables and our absence would be noticed. Big do-do would befall us. We rushed back to school and found out that the sun was shrouded in smoke. We could smell the smoke and someone told us it was from a huge fire in Canada.We saw no stars, but it is not uncommon , if the situation is right, to see stars at daytime. Standing deep enough in a well and looking up will reveal stars sometimes. If the sun of blotted out in a large enough area and the sky is dark…if there is an opening in the cloud or smoke curtain, you just might see stars. Such an event as Black Sunday was a perfect venue for that to happen.
The Black Sunday event may happen again if the present Ontario fire gets big enough and all the ducks line up in the proper order. Warren Masten
Dear Betty
I never knew about this until today . FYI I was born Sept 24,1950. Not sure if you knew this but NBC personality and news woman, Jane Pauly was also born same day. thanks for the info,,,,,,,,,,,,, Gary Bausch, born Manitowoc/ Two Rivers Wisc.
Betty also please send info on how to buy the book thru the mail Ill be happy to send a check or MO Gary Bausch dob 9 24 50
I recently was thinking about the day the sky turned black and decided to look online. I knew I was about 10 years old so it would be in the early 50s. That day we were driving home from my grandmother's where we often had Sunday dinner. She lived in Pleasantville Pa and we lived in Chautauqua N Y. It became very dark and no smell of smoke. I remember that my parents were not as concerned about this as I thought they should be and it was never discussed much after that day. I am amazed at the number of people who remember that day as I do and the ability to communicate about it many years later.
Mary R P
Is this too late? I was 7 years old, living in Detroit. I remember that day very clearly and have wondered about it. I was with my Dad who had been sailing in a regatta on Lake Ste Clair. The men were finishing up, putting their boats away, etc. my Dad had promised me a "quick sail" before we had to leave. I know it was later in the afternoon, maybe 3 or 4. As the sky darkened I sensed that the adults were frightened and that is what stays with me---the first time I realized that adults could be scared too. I remember the dark sky and I still feel chills thinking of it. I hate to sound dramatic, but it is probably the strongest memory I have from my kid-hood. Susan Michigan
Hi Betty, Just discovered your site, (7,9,2015). So glad to have the experience corroborated. I was eight visiting my Uncle's house in Boardman Ohio when the sky went black. Couldn't remember the exact date but the mystery remained with me. Couldn't then at age eight believe the wildfire explanation, not many wildfire cause a total eclipse of the sun, -like ever before, or since? I guess a mile high column of smoke would explain it. Bruce
Hello Betty:
I remember the day very well. I was born in 1939. My name is John Lupson. I would have been 10 almost eleven years of age. I remember my footsteps of most of that day. I was living in an Orphanage on Richmond Street in London, Ontario. One Sunday afternoon the entire population of London, Ontario began to panic as the skies began to turn dark and then totally black. I think it was around noon time. We walked over to the corner store and bought an ice cream sundae. It was like going to the store in the middle of the night. As kids, we thought it was exciting. Everyone we talked with said it could be the end of the world. As children we thought it was strange to see adults in a state of panic about their own well being while we children, in my group of friends at least, were not fearing for our own lives. For a while, we thought we might get to meet Jesus –that would be great. Then one man in the store said it was on the radio that the darkness was caused by forest fires in the west –in Alberta. Back to the reality of being a kid again –for a few more years anyway. I just happened to be reminded of this because of the recent number of forest fires occurring in British Columbia at this time. I know there are US government Air Force theories about USAF using cloud seed cover weaponry in trials, and also the approval of N bomb trials given that year in January, but I do believe the actual account was because of forest fires in Alberta or even Saskatchewan –or both? Nice to read that so many others across North America remember experiencing the same thing.Take care, John Lupson
I also remember the black out. I live in St. Mary's pa. I would have been 10 at the time. I recall the sky started turning yellow with thick clouds coming from the north then finally to complete darkness. There was no odor of smoke and I don't recall any stars visible. It seemed to take a lot longer than two minutes for the darkness to return to daylight. The only explanation I ever heard was the forest fire story which I never believed. My own thoughts are of a government experiment to try to hide the carbon plants in the area from view of aircraft from above. Thanks for posting your site. Vern Schreiber
I remember this event, the Sun apparently turning blue around 16:30 BST on Monday 25th September 1950, continuing that way to sunset, followed by the almost-Full Moon that night, so very prominent. In the afternoon, I was cycling in West Annandale Street, quite close to my home in Bellevue Road, when with some friends, we realised that it was getting a little dark, rather prematurely. With some further darkening, it also became colder, although the Sun was never completely hidden.
As the Moon appeared, it also showed up blue; and being almost Full Moon (next day), it was visually more obvious than the Sun and the attendant risks to the eyes. The RAF at Leuchars in Fife sent up at least one aircraft to check the likely cause; and I think the later reports were that the pilot found the smoke layer around the 40,000 feet level. Alex Dow
Hello Betty
Concerning the Black Sunday event…. I was 14 years old attending my freshman year at Kiski Prep School in Saltsburg, PA. I am a Californian and this Eastern business was all new and strange to me. My room mate and I were setting raccoon traps down by the river that afternoon and were so absorbed in our work that we never noticed it was getting dark until it was really dark. We knew we were in heavy trouble since we were sure it was past dinner time where we were assigned tables and our absence would be noticed. Big do-do would befall us. We rushed back to school and found out that the sun was shrouded in smoke. We could smell the smoke and someone told us it was from a huge fire in Canada. We saw no stars, but it is not uncommon , if the situation is right, to see stars at daytime. Standing deep enough in a well and looking up will reveal stars sometimes. If the sun of blotted out in a large enough area and the sky is dark…if there is an opening in the cloud or smoke curtain, you just might see stars. Such an event as Black Sunday was a perfect venue for that to happen. The Black Sunday event may happen again if the present Ontario fire gets big enough and all the ducks line up in the proper order. Warren M.
I recently was thinking about the day the sky turned black and decided to look online. I knew I was about 10 years old so it would be in the early 50s. That day we were driving home from my grandmother's where we often had Sunday dinner. She lived in Pleasantville Pa and we lived in Chautauqua N Y. It became very dark and no smell of smoke. I remember that my parents were not as concerned about this as I thought they should be and it was never discussed much after that day. I am amazed at the number of people who remember that day as I do and the ability to communicate about it many years later. Mary R P
I too was born in 1941, May to be exact. So I was 9 at the time. By that age, I was beginning to be interested in things geographical, though it is in hindsight that I recognize that.
In any case I remember that it was a Sunday. I lived in London, Ontario. I went to church with my parents and remember sitting beside my Dad. Neither he nor I was much interested in church and I remember doing a lot of gazing out the windows, though they were high up. Church was from 11 am to 12 pm as I recall. As I looked out of the windows I noticed that the sky was beginning to turn yellow. I wondered to myself why this was happening.
When we got home from church, it was beginning to get very dark. We had lunch and put on the radio to listen to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, still known as the CBC. At that point there was no news about why it was dark. I think that my parents did call the police but don't think that they had an answer as the darkness had come on quite quickly.
I asked my Mother if I could go out to play on the street in front of our house. And, even though it was not winter, I asked if I could wear my leggings. It seemed appropriate to me. For some reason I was never frightened, just curious. By this time it was about 3 in the afternoon. I didn't stay long outside, but it seemed to remind me of winter. I do not recall any smell of smoke in the air. When I did hear that some people thought that it was the end of the World, I thought that that was a ridiculous idea.
In the early evening we did hear on the CBC about the possibility of the darkness being associated with a forest fire "out West". That made sense to me. I did grow up to become a geographer!
And though I just turned 75 this week, those memories have not changed at all. They are still the same memories that I have always had about that day.
Karen L.
I remember that Sunday that it was so dark you had to have all your lights on to see. We lived in Erie and had never experienced any thing like this. My sister and I went to a movie and when we came out she thought that we had stayed all day in the movies and it now was midnight and we were going to be in trouble for staying so long. When our parents picked us up they said it had been dark all afternoon and it was only 3:00 in the afternoon. No one had a answer for what caused the unusual day, they said a fire in Canada, the army was testing a new weapon, a spaceship had covered the sun and it was the end of the world on N on. Very few people remember that day. I would really like to know what happened. We didn't have cell phones, computers or much TV we were really in the dark. Let me know what you know about this day. John More P. S. One thing, it wasn't the end of the world.
The adults talked of signs of "the end of the world". We eventually heard that forest fires in the west were so dense, the smoke blew east and blotted out the sun.
Hello Betty,
My name is Paul Barfoot. I was a nearing my sixth birthday in October in Owen Sound Ontario when the skies turned black. I'm really grateful to find all this information about an event that nobody in Owen Sound seems to recall. I was beginning to think
it was all in my imagination. Surprised it was a Sunday. It's interesting that so many recollections of this event come from our neighbor
to the south in PA. I recall thinking, wow, is this it? Nobody seemed willing to explain it and I was left to my own imagination. I never heard any explanation until today, October 13, 2012 when I did a search and found this web site. Cheers, Paul
An aunt told me that there was some hysteria in the downtown area, but it ended so fast that it amounted too little In any case It was a subject of discussion for many years afterward. One of my friends at the time, went on to obtain a PhD in atmospheric Physics I am forwarding the article to him
My father has recounted several times the day that we drove home from visiting his aunt, and the day turned to night. I was only 2 years old at the time. We lived outside Homer City, Pa, about 50 miles east of Pittsburgh. We had a turkey farm and when we arrived, the turkeys were already roosting. He often wondered what had happened and after reading your site, I think he'd still be a bit confused.
DB
I just looked at your site. I have a 8mm movie my dad took of us at Horseshoe Curve the day it got dark in 1951. We lived in Pittsburgh, my dad playing with the Pittsburgh Symphony. He always loved trains, so he took us on a drive to Altoona. The movies show the darkness coming, but that part is quite out of focus. He did get some good shots of trains at the curve, though.
Best wishes,
Dave M. Royal Oak, Michigan
I recall, along with my older siblings, the sudden darkness that caused the sun to disappear from our view,at the time.Some members of the family were startled,at the time, but I was to young to worry about anything.
The next day or so after,my Father informed us that this event was caused by a forest fire somewhere,so he heard.
I grew up in western PA (Jamestown). Although I wasn't born until 1970, I had a high school chemistry teacher who told us about the day "they" turned the sky black..guessing this was around 1983/84. The teacher's name was Mr. Wheeler (don't remember his first name), but remember he lived in Greenville, PA. Anyway, he had worked for a chemical company for many years and only started teaching after he retired from the chemical industry. He told the class that they were performing some chemical experiments and turned the sky black. I hadn't thought of this in years, but something made me remember it today and I decided to google it and found your site. I remember the story because I went home and told my parents. My dad had a very clear recollection of it (he would have been 14 at the time), and even remembered that the story of the forest fire always seemed far fetched to him. Mr. Wheeler certainly would have been old enough in that he was probably in his sixties in 1983/84, so that would have put him in his late 20's in 1950.
Wish I had more details, but remember him saying that the experiment got a bit of hand or something...seem to recall it had to do with man-made weather...rain seeding or something like that.
Jack Courtney
Havertown, PA
My name is Steve k and I was an 8-year old living in Madera, PA As I began reading your blog I clearly remembered that afternoon when the sky darkened. I was thinking it was a Sunday and turns out that was correct. I heard adults talking that it was a forest fire in Canada. Don't recall anything else, like weird happenings.
Hi Betty Rhodes
My wife and I happened onto the subject of the "day of the yellow sky" just yesterday. I was about 13 and living near Harrisburg PA. My recollection is a "single-frame" picture of myself standing in the street beside our house late in the afternoon and marveling at the bright yellow sky, from horizon to horizon. It was like a heavy overcast, featureless cloud, but in stunning bright yellow. I do not remember what I was doing before that single-frame, or what I did after, just that one intense recollection. I do not recall any unnatural darkening of the sky. Possibly I was indoors by then, or possibly that part didn't
happen in my area. My wife was about 10 and recalls playing outside with two friends as the sky yellowed up. She recalls that it stayed yellow for about an hour; then her two friends went home, and she went indoors. She does not remember any darkening of the sky. She clearly recalls that she and her friends were playing 'frenetically', something very uncharacteristic of any of them since they were basically quiet kids.
What impressed the two of us was that we had these jibing recollections, since I was in PA and she was near Indianapolis. Now from your site, I learn that the area affected was much wider than that!
JBG Champaign IL
Imagine your family returning from church on a Sunday morning in the spring. Birds are singing, the sun is shining, and you're looking forward to playing outside,
But that afternoon a "black blizzard" appears from the north. You've seen dust storms before. But this one will make history,
A Famous Storm
Black Sunday, on April 14, 1935, was one of the worst of the dust storms to hit the Plains states.
It blocked the sun and caused rainbow colors in the sky above the cloud of dust. Birds flew away ahead of it. People and animals caught in the dust couldn't breath, and some died.
No Shelter
Even people who were inside their homes were battered by the storm. Dust came in through cracks around doors and windows. It nearly buried some homes and barns.
Crops Destroyed
Not only were the storms harmful to people and animals, but they also killed thousands of acres of corn, wheat, and other crops - sometimes in just one day. After losing much to drought and depression, many farmers in the Dust Bowl were completely ruined.
Shocking
All the dust particles running into each other in the air caused a lot of static electricity. People sometimes knocked each other down just by shaking their hands. They also put cloth over metal door knobs to avoid shocking their hands.
Printed in Times-Observer, Tuesday, April 20, 2010 Warren, PA.
Ms. Rhodes,
I have a very vivid recollection of the "Black Sunday" event but I could not remember the year. I knew it was in the fall and I remember is was on a Sunday. I lived in Western Pennsylvania in a small community east of Ellwood City. There was lots of speculation as to the cause. From the government testing blackout procedures to forest fire in Canada. I know that our family was sort of scared.
Thanks,
David Nevin
Maynardville, TN
My father and I were in our back yard in Kingston, Pennsylvania [near Wilkes-Barre], playing badminton.
I was totally inept at the game.
The Spring weather was rapidly alternating between cloudy and cold, and sunny and warm.
(Overall temp about 62 degrees.) It was about 1 in the afternoon.
Suddenly it went from normal daylight to a late evening darkness in about 20 seconds,
then total night darkness - all in a matter of seconds.
I asked my father "What's going on?"
No sooner had I said it, than I heard a fellow working on the delivery deck of the bakery
across the street ask the same question as he turned on the lights there.
My father said he didn't know.
Stars were visible, and night insects or peepers - I'm not sure which - started chirping.
I would say that the total darkness lasted a minute.
Then the reverse: evening darkness again to total daylight in about 20 seconds.
Just as if nothing had never happened. The whole thing happened in the space of two minutes.
I've never heard any explanation for it. A friend of mine remembers the event, but it could easily
have been ignored or forgotten by people who would have thought it was a passing cloud.
It wasn't. I don't know what it was, but it was quite strange.
Please let me know you received this. Thanks,
Hi Betty! Thank you for your quick response. How incredible that you lived in the area, and went to Kingston high school! I went to Wyoming Seminary Day School in Forty Fort, but I did take a summer course at Kingston High School in about 1967.
My best guess for what my father and I went through is that there must have been some sort of time warp, and that night time imposed itself - briefly - on the day in question.
That may seem far fetched, but it makes more sense than that the earth somehow spun around 180 degrees, but only in Kingston! :-) best wishes to you and yours, bob
<> Jack Courtney<> of Havertown, PA
<>
Dear Betty,
I
looked this event up
on the Internet using “1950 Forest Fire Darkens Skies over Eastern US.”
Our family lived in Salem, Ohio at the time. My memory is brief.
My mother called
my father, a minister, from the back porch, asking him to “Come look at
this.” Father and I
went out with my brother. We found the sky an eerie color.
From horizon to horizon the sky was a solid, soft golden orange.
Like an overcast day, except the color. “What do you
suppose is happening?” Mother asked. Father didn’t reply;
he was still taking it all
in.
“Listen,” mother said. “It’s completely quite.” It was.
There were no sounds whatsoever. No dogs barking, no traffic
noises, no airplanes droning. Mother said, “The birds are
silent.” “Do you think it’s the end of the world?” she asked. Father
stood gazing, looked at her, and shook his head slightly, “No.”
We all stood in
the back yard at 616 7th Street, just below a little mound of grassy
earth, for several minutes. The atmosphere was heavy, and utterly
quiet. We were alone. No neighbors came out. Then we returned
to the house. Father turned on the
radio. I
don’t remember anything
further. I
do recall my mother discussing the event the next day with a neighbor,
and saying the news had said it was a forest fire in Canada. She wasn’t certain it was that, she said. Neil
Betty, Thank you for putting together this information. I was a ten-year-old watching a Cleveland Indians game with my father when this happened. We had driven there from Erie, Pennsylvania that day our only purpose being to watch the game. I remember the sky becoming progressively darker and then the stadium lights coming on in the middle of what minutes before was a clear afternoon. I don’t recall anyone being alarmed by the event and I do recall some speculation at the time that it was caused by a forest fire in Canada. From what I can remember, the cloud seemed very continuous and I could not see the beginning or end of it in any direction. I don’t recall when it ended but I don’t think it was still overhead by the time the game was over. I don’t remember anything being published in the local newspaper about the event and many years ago I stopped asking people around my age if they recall the event and whether they have any information about it. Something motivated me to do an online search of the subject today and happily I found your site. Yours, KRG, Erie, Pa
Hi Betty:
I remember that Sunday afternoon very well. In particular, I
recall looking out the front window and seeing the street lights on.
Chucky and Richard, who lived across the street, played with a wagon on
the sidewalk as their parents sat on the front porch. My mother, who
used every unusual event as a control mechanism, told us something
along the lines that God was behind it all and we better stay inside
and behave. As best as I can remember it was late afternoon and the
darkness only partially abated before night fell. A few days later I
heard the adults talking about the forest fires in Canada – which was
logical given Buffalo’s proximity to Canada - but I was still concerned
that God’s hand was in it. Al
The wild fires in the west
made me remember the day. I was only 3
years old at the time and lived in Altoona PA. I woke up from my afternoon nap to darkness, I was frightened and
cried. My father told me it was smoke
from forest fires but I must have been shaken because I can still remember the
day. For many years I thought I was
imagining it but it really happened. Another Rhodes from PA. Don
Hi Betty,
My Aunt and Mother, each living in Jamestown, NY at the time, recall this event clearly and often speak of it prompting me to do some research into the event. Please find attached a PDF of the Canadian Smoke Newsletter. Please see pages 13, 14 and 15 which describe the incident in Alberta, particularly a dramatic map published in the Toronto Star on Sept 25, 1950. I hope this adds to the body of knowledge you've gathered on this fascinating and legendary event! Kind regards, Michael New York, NY
Dear Betty,
Betty,
I was born in Dunkirk NY. I am 61 years old. My father told me throughout my life about the time when I was a baby that there was a beautiful day in late summer in Western NY when everything went completely dark. He told me that the explanation at the time was that there was a forest fire in Canada. However, there was one fact that did not jibe with the "smoke" explanation. He said they could see the stars and that it was dark as night. His story was consistant throughout his life. My mother confirmed this. She said they were all concerned and that she checked me in my crib and that I slept through the whole thing. The sense I get from their story was that it was day and then it was night, as if the day skipped to night. Lou
I was 10 years old at the time, and I remember my mom made us go out and pick all the tomatoes from our garden she thought we were going to have a big frost that night. Our local radio station said it was a fire up in Canada but I never believed that, and often wondered what the real reason was. Our local “drive-in movie” started to show movies at 4 in the afternoon that day. I live in Butler, Pa. that’s about 30 miles North on Pittsburgh, Pa. I never did hear if it got dark out in the western states that day. Jerry
Just this past Sunday I was talking with my parents and they mentioned this event, which they believe the government was somehow responsible for. It was their first anniversary. I had never heard the story and was intrigued, so I googled it and came across your wonderful website. My parents will be thrilled to know they were not going crazy. They lived in Dunkirk at the time. Thanks again.
Dave
Hi Betty,
I remember this day very well. I was a little kid at the time driving with my parents back from Batavia to Buffalo, NY along Genesee Street. It had been a clear sunny day and then along the horizon the sky began to darken (as if a thunderstorm were approaching). The sky got darker and darker until my dad put on the headlights. My Mom was rather afraid but my Dad said we would just keep going back to Buffalo. Along Genesee Street at that point in time there were dairy farms and I can remember seeing the cows' confusion and then some started walking back to their barns. We got to Buffalo and home and the street lights were on. It was just plain nighttime and the stars were out. Neighbors were out on the street and very frightened. At about 4:00 p.m. that day the sky gradually got lighter and normal daylight occurred. Not many people had TV's in those days - we did and later it was said there was a forest fire in Alberta Canada which seemed absurd even then. There have been forest fires in the west since that day and there was never another day like this. It's the weirdest thing I've ever seen in my life. I've tried to find out more about it over the years and even asked people in my age group who lived here if they remember. I've found that they either did not remember or if they did were extremely reluctant to talk about it. Sylvia
Betty...we were just talking about the strange darkness while my daughter and family were visiting. So, I got on the 'net and found your site...I very distinctly remember that day, altho' until I read the date could not recall it exactly. I remember it being a Sun. in Sept. 1950 when after my family had returned from Mass at our local church in Sharpsville, Pa., we ate our dinner and at 2:30 p.m., my two younger teen age sisters went to the matinee at the Ritz theatre to see "Pride and Predjudice". I had a good book to finish, so I stayed home reading. Mom was napping; Dad was reading the paper and my brothers were out somewhere. I noted that the afternoon kept getting darker and as I read, I had to turn on a lamp. I thought it would storm but the sky was a bright kind of yellow. It kept getting darker and within the hour, the sky and the general outside light seemed to be a deep orange-yellow and getting darker! By the time my sisters returned and my brothers got back, about 5:30, it was like night...very dark with only a tinge of yellow...artificial lights outside (lampposts and car headlights) were unusually white-blue in this strange atmosphere and it continued into the usual time for sun down. We could not distinguish the weird stuff from night, by then. I wondered if the sun would come up the next day...but it did and all seemed normal...there was no good explanation except the "fire in Canada" one, which didn't plausible to us. We also followed the track of the phenomenon and read somewhere that it had gone east and out to sea, eventually ending up in Europe. We also wondered about nuclear experiments in the west and later wondered about the movie John Wayne made around that time. Many of the people out whereever it was made, died from cancer later. Toni
I was 5+ at the time of "Black Sunday" and lived in a suburb of Cleveland. I remember the event well and the official explanation of a fire in Canada, which seemed strange even to a 5 year old. My best friend was 3 at the time and thought it was night when her mother put her down for her afternoon nap. It was very dark - like the darkest of nights - and there was a yellow glow to the blackness. I don't remember anyone mentioning stars.
I was born in 1945 and I remember a Sunday when I was 5 or 6 when it got very dark in the middle of the afternoon. It must have been in September of early October because we were picking tomatoes and all migrant workers quit because they thought it was a sign that they shouldn't be working on Sunday. This was in Fairview, PA. I don't remember seeing any stars or smelling smoke.
As a kid (feb of 1943) I lived in Corry PA. and around noon it was getting dark on a rather sunny day.My folks packed us kids into the car and headed to titusville pa. to be with family members..Sure was a scar'y day for most of us..My parents did not say to much on the drive down,but sure was some wonderful colors in the sky..I being the oldest of five children was most concerned about it..Later in the day we were playing in the yard on 515 s. franklin st. titusville when it started to get light again ,say abot 4;30....Turned out to be a nice sunny day in a very short time.. I have asked just lately at church (seventh-Day Adventist church in Lowville Pa.)if anyone remembered that dark day..So I punched it into google.com. And found your site..did not smell any smoke or fallout from this day.Cows went to the barn and no birds..Not much traffic..Heard later everyone saying that the papers had a little write up that it was a fire in canada...yea Right!! Often wondered about this. Thanks for the info. and May God Bless!!! Jerry
ps. We were studying prophesy in the bible about end time issues and another dark day in history,so I renewed my interest.. Thanks for getting back to me....
Hi,
Hi my name is Gene Palmer. I remember that day very well, I was at a aunt of mine ,outside of Plumville Pa. Which is between Indian and Kittaning Pa. She had a farm, and all of the chickens headed for the hen house, and the cows headed for the barn. I grew up in the hills of central pa, were the were no city lights. I never saw any nights as dark as that Sunday afternoon. Gene Palmer
Hi
I was 7 at the time of the Black Sunday. We lived near Smicksburg, PA, which is north east of Pittsburgh, east of Indiana, PA and south of Punxsutawney, PA. I remember that the chickens went to roost and that we could see the stars. I often think of that day and how strange it was. The grown ups were frightened but we kids thought it was neat. I remember the explanation being that it was a large forest fire in Canada. Great to see the answer on the web. Kay Good
My name is Jo Ann Boller and I live in northwestern Pennsylvania. I remember that day very well. It was the Sept. after I had graduated from high school. I was visiting my aunt and uncle who lived up the street from me and around 3 pm it got as dark as night. My aunt thought it was the end of the world. I remember running home as my Mother was alone because my Dad was at work. We heard rumors of forest fires in Canada and also some gov't testing of some sort but never did hear anything for sure. It's has been interesting reading the letters from other people that remember that weird happening. Thanks . Jo Ann Boller, Port Allegany, Pa.
Hi Betty
Thank for posting my Memories [see below].
The funeral director (Charles Scoff). Would tell me every time we met. That he would never forget the day he buried my grandfather. (Even after 40 years) Must have made a lasting impression him also.
Sincerely ... Charlie Tyler
Hi Betty,
My Name is Charlie Tyler I was born in 1941 so I was about
9 years old, at that time. I remember that day, very well.
It is the day we buried my grandfather. After the serimonties at the
gravesite, we arrive at his home. I remember his chickens going to
roost.
I knew something was strange at that time. I wasn't very concerned,
until i noticed the older people.They were TERRIFIED, some were
praying, When you are 9 years old and see 15 to 20 older people,
terrified.You don't forget that. To the best of my memory.It was a
clear bright day, no clouds, and no rainstorms. It was if night was
coming on, but a faster pace. It took about 15 minutes, until it was as
dark as midnight. This dark time lasted about one half hour, then in 15
minutes it was back to a normal Sunday bright afternoon. The sky did
NOT turn to any color.
Please direct me to other information sites. If you have any.
Sincerely ... Charlie Tyler
Dear Betty,
I just happened upon your inquiry of Black Sunday, 1950 (I've heard it referred to as that). I too have never heard any explanation as to that phenomenon. I can't tell you a whole lot about it. However, I can tell you that it was September 24, 1950. The reason that I know of it is because that was the day that I was born. When I was about 16, an aunt of mine felt a need to let me know about it. Like it was because of me. Jean Irwin
CAN'T BE OF MUCH HELP WITH DETAILS, BUT I WAS JUST A LITTLE GIRL AND REMEMBER THAT DAY VERY WELL. WE WERE ALL VERY FRIGHTENED AND ALSO THOUGHT IT WAS THEN END OF THE WORLD. SUE
Hi Betty,
I wasn't yet born when this happened, but my parents told us about it several times. They too mentioned the explanation of a big fire in Canada, but also other explanations, like the CIA, and so forth. I don't recall the part about being able to see the stars while this was going on. I now live in California, and recently lived through a spooky fire that darkened the sky a few Sunday afternoons ago. There was no way you could see stars, and only a fraction of the sky was darkened. The only way (I think) you could see stars was if the hour was near sunset, and the smoke from the fire obscured the sunset, but left the remainder of the sky clear. This doesn't jive with what you and my parents give as the time of the event. If you find anything out, please let me know. Kirk Evans
Betty
This won't be much help I am afraid, but as I read your remarks about the dark sky I remembered a Sunday afternoon car ride when I was a kid.
The sky became as dark as night. My father later talked to an uncle who was an air force pilot. My uncle said that the event was the result of a government experiment using powdered silver nitrate to seed clouds as a cover for our bombers on future missions, and that the cloud floated across the country from the desert in New Mexico. I remember it well.
I am now 57. It was about fifty years ago, but I still remember the excitement! I lived in Erie, where I was born, when this incident ocurred. The "chemical" (and other "defense-related") experiments were initially conducted in California, Nevada, and New Mexico between 1945 and 1955, commencing even before WWII ended. Interestingly, I have heard from several sources that they believed that an early version of a nuclear bomb was accidently detonated resulting not only in the darkening cloud, but in many military and civilian deaths. Unfortunately, we (the US government) are +all too capable of orchestrating cover-ups so well that truth becomes a non-sequitur. (I KNOW that this scenario was a possibility!)
Anyway, this is an interesting subject. You have no idea how much you have been deceived by those that you trust! I had to bite my tongue so many times I am surprised that I didn't bite it off!!!
Take care!
Bill
CommissionerWm.L. Miller
Col. USAF (Ret.)
Dear Betty,
I lived on Powell Avenue in Erie from 1945 to 1953. My father was then transferred to Louisville, KY with GE. I very distinctly remember the day it was pitch black. I thought it was on a weekday as I remember my mother calling my father at GE to find out what was going on. He called us back to tell us the news that it was a forest fire in Canada. I've told that story to my husband and children and they think I've invented the story as they find it hard to believe that smoke from across the lake could make it that dark. I don't remember any stars though. I was recently in Erie working on genealogy and should have looked up the old newspapers. It occurred before Oct. 1953, when we moved to KY.
My cousin who is still in Erie doesn't remember it, but she's younger than I am. I'm planning to call another Erie cousin today who now lives in Colorado. She's a few years older so may have a clearer memory of the event.
I'll let you know if I find out anything from my cousin.
Heather Scarlett Hurley
Dear Ms. Rhodes:
I do indeed remember the event you describe in your posting under "Erie Legends" at GoErie.com. I was five or six years old at the time and it made a life-long impression. To check my information, I talked to my father and he confirms what little I'm able to tell you.
At the time of this event, my family was living on West 7th Street in Erie. That's important because we moved from West 7th in the summer of 1951, which would put the event a little earlier than the mid-fifties.
My dad confirms that it happened on a Sunday afternoon but we both agree that the atmosphere had cleared before nightfall. I have a very distinct image of the sky to the north of us still laced with traces of semi-transparent, smokey-looking clouds.
My dad didn't recall the Canadian forest fire explanation but did say that many people thought it signaled the end of the world. He also said that he never heard what seemed like a credible explanation.
On the other hand, I did remember the forest fire explanation but also recall talk of a possible Department of Defense experiment. Most of the adults around me, including my father who was in London during the Blitz, would immediately understand the value of a man-made blackout.
Certainly, if that were the explanation, we'd be given the cover story and that would be it.
I'm not saying that it's a credible explanation, only that people who survived a World War, and then found themselves at the edge of a nuclear abyss, were sometimes asked to do and believe things that would seem quite ludicrous today. (Not that my choosing to live fifty miles downwind from two aging nuclear power plants isn't also.)
For instance, not long after the event we're talking about, I remember taking part in a countywide practice evacuation. It was scheduled for a weekend and we were literally on the road for hours following the directions of Civil Defense personnel in white coveralls and yellow or white helmets. Weird sort of Sunday drive, right?
Although I've not been much help, I'd be very interested in your findings. And I will keep your e-mail address in case anything of interest turns up.
Sincerely,
Larry Knickerbocker
PS I can't let my kids know that I've spoken to anyone about this because I always ridicule their interest in the X-Files and it's one of the few pleasures I have in life. (LOL.)
To: Betmatrho
I have a vague recollection of that period when the skies darkened. I remember that night came in the afternoon and was told that it was a total eclipse of the sun.
Mary Jane
Betty,
Hi! Yes, I too remember that dark day when it was as dark as midnight and the Cleveland Indians had to turn on the stadium lights. I have always been curious about it and skeptical about "forest fires" being the cause. I remember that because I had always been a nervous kid in a family of stoics and they took no interest in the phemomenon, so I woke my oldest sister who was a RN, sleeping because she was on the night shift, she yelled at me for waking her and, because she was religious, told me my fear was caused by a "guilty conscience"! I didn't bother anymore about it, but have always been curious. As you said how could smoke cause that and one still see the stars. I did see a mention of it in an old copy of Life Magazine. I would be interested in learning more and will let you know if I see anything. Especially interested because as a kid had nothing on my conscience! Name withheld
Good Morning Betty,
Sorry for the delay but I had my Black Sunday file disappear in the move I did this past year.
Do you still need the dates and information on when the sky turned black in the 1950s?
The Official Black Sunday occured several years before I was born. My family talked about it on occassion and it was simular to 3 other days which happened as I was very young. I am hoping to get more information or to locate the newspaper articles on them but so far I have no dates to go on or reference points to narrow the search beyond a 10 year time area. There was a Black-out in the 1870s that I hope to be able to research within the next few months but the one most people refer to occured September 24, 1950 making the newspaper headlines around the world Monday September 25, 1950 and for several days following. New York Times, Jamestown Dispatch, and Warren Times I have seen articles to .......I have a copy of the Warren paper which I can photo copy and mail to you if you would like this for your files. Basically the sky turned different colors then black around 3 pm over the Northeast Seaboard. Some thought it was judgement day - end of the world while many thought the government was doing an experiment. The story came out of severe forest fires in Canada and the smoke drifted across the US and eventially was rained clean over Europe. gordon mathis (to read the article from the Warren Times Newspaper - click here)
Betty,
I will need an address to send the article to......
I went over to the Warren Library today and I looked up the file on micrfilm from Warren Times Mirror and Observer to be certain of the date and facts. You should be able to access your newspapers and find simular articles that were published nation wide. It sounds like an interesting project and I will be interested to see other perspecitives and especially other dates that simular things happened.
I am hoping to get more information on the 1870 and track down the same type articles. I do regular research and am the author or the Trivia Game of Warren County, PA (1985)
Gordon
Hi Betty,
It took a little longer to get there but our mail around here seems slow. I am on the board of directors representing stamp clubs for the local post office and will let them know at the next meeting.
There have been forest fires, inclduing bad ones, since then and none have ever turned the skies black. I think the explanation is lame. I have seen volcanoes blow and not turn the sky black although I did see one turn a rich grey. (when I lived in AK). I remember the sky turning black at least once and a dark red in the middle of Sunday afternoons when I was young and I was born well after the forest fire Black Sunday. I just think that maybe there is more to it and it will be interesting to hear other people talk about their experiences and perhaps some more dates will come up.
If I ever trip over additional information I will let you know. Good luck with the project!!!!!
gordon
To: Betmatrho
Subject: Re: dark Sunday in the 50's
I was only 6 then, but now that you mention it I do remember. I seem to recall also that it was reported as a huge forest fire somewhere or a junkyard tire fire, but was too young at the time to question it. I am copying my Mom on this - maybe she or my Dad remembers something.
Bill Klauk
To: Betmatrho
I'm 53 and have a strong recollection of the day your refer to. I remember being told of the Canadian fire. I notice your posting was made a while ago. Have you received any interesting feedback?
Bill Lillis
Re: Dark Skies
I remember the day well! It got darker and darker like before a storm but there was no storm in the air. It was only frightening if you thought it was the end of the world...for those of us who were "believers" there had to be another explanation..the forest fires in Canada were the only explanation we ever got unless I've forgotten something. We must have been having a gathering here that day as I vaguely remember someone else was here..Maybe Uncle Louis (Schibetta) who often visited us on Sundays. Helen Klauk
HI BETTY RHODES..OF WATTSBURG!
MY NAME IS CLIFF SHILLING...I REMEMBER THAT DAY IN THE EARLY 50'S....I WAS A RADIO AND TV ANNOUNCER IN ERIE...AND THAT SUNDAY I WAS IN MY PIPER CUB AIRPLANE FLY SOUTH TO BROOKVILLE, PENNA...MY HOME TOWN...AND WHEN I TOOK OFF FROM THE AIRPORT AT KEARSARGE...I LOOKED NORTH TOWARD CANADA AND SAW THE BIG DARK AREA....I WOULD TURN MY PLANE AROUND IN A CIRCLE OCCASIONALLY TO WATCH AND SEE WHAT IT MIGHT BE.
I NOTICED AS I FLEW ON SOUTH...THAT IT WAS CLOSING IN ON ME.....IT TOOK ME AN HOUR TO GET TO BROOKVILLE...AND JUST AS I WAS LANDING I COULD SMELL WOOD BURNING LIKE SMOKE...AND I WASN'T ON THE GROUND MORE THAN 15 MINUTES BEFORE IT WAS PITCH DARK...IT LASTED FOR ABOUT I WOULD SAY, TRYING TO REMEMBER BACK THAT FAR IN TIME...ABOUT 1/2 HOUR TO AND HOUR....I DIDN'T KEEP TRACK OF THE TIME...BUT IT GOT BACK TO DAYLIGHT AGAIN...AND LATER I TOOK OFF AND FLEW BACK TO ERIE... I CHECKED IN THE THE FLIGHT SERVICE PEOPLE AT ERIE AIRPORT AND THEY TOLD ME THAT IT WAS A FOREST FIRE IN CANADA THAT CAUSED THAT BLACKOUT...IT WAS SMOKE!
AS I HAD SUSPECTED WHEN ON THE GROUND IN BROOKVILLE....SO I HOPE THAT THIS CLEARS UP THE MYSTERY FOR YOU, JUST IN CASE YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY HEARD FROM SOMEONE ELSE...I LIVE IN BEVERLY HILLS, FLORIDA SINCE RETIRING FROM RADIO AND TELEVISION...I WORKED AT CHANNEL 12, WICU IN ERIE AND CHANNEL 35...I WAS THE HOST OF DANCE PARTY" EVERY SATURDAY FOR 9 YEARS...A BANDSTAND TYPE SHOW FOR TEENAGERS...AND I WAS A DISC JOCKEY ON WIKK...WERC...WJET AND WLEU...I WORKED ON THEM ALL...NOT AT THE SAME TIME OF COURSE...
I LEFT ERIE IN 1964 AND WENT TO A NEW YORK RADIO STATION TO WORK.. AND RETIRED IN 1994 IN FLORIDA...I HAVE A LOT OF MEMORIES ABOUT YOUR AREA...I HOPE THIS HAS BEEN HELPFUL TO YOU... GOD BLESS YOU ..I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR BACK FROM YOU IF YOU COULD PLEASE.
SINCERELY, CLIFF SHILLING
My mother's recollections:
I remember that day pretty good. We were planning to go to North East, (PA) after apples so it was sometime in the fall. We changed our plans and didn't go after apples, but instead went to Corry to visit 'Uncle' Jake. The TV reported a forest fire across the bottom of the screen but it seemed like a strange forest fire. Everyone had to use their headlights when driving because it got quite dark early in the afternoon. It was in the early 50's.
Mom (Ethel Matteson)
Hello Betty, I remember that day,we(my family and I) were at my sisters house in Erie(I am Helen Klauks sister & Bill Klauks aunt) We spent a lot of time that day looking at the sky but I don't remember any stars, only the explanation from news reports that there forest fires in Canada and the wind blew the smoke in our direction. Laura Price
Dear Betty;
My name is Ron Joy, born in Dunkirk, NY, 40 miles east of Erie, PA. I remember the day in question and did some research in the mid 80's. My goal was to disprove the forest fire theory! I set this research aside for a number of years and during a recent visit to Erie, I asked a person my age if they remembered the incident. They did not, but it stirred my interest again. With the power of the internet I thought I might have better luck. Low and behold I found your inquiry.
If this truely was a forest fire cloud, we should be able to track it back to it's source. Edmonton. Have you continued your research since 2000 and if so what can you share.
I was born also i n 1941, and many of my classmates (1959) and later 60,61 etc contracted MS. I always wondered if there wasn't a conection between the two.
Here is what I found out about the cloud formation per the newspapers.
The "smoke cloud" drifted down from Canadian Forest fires, Edmonton, Alberta. According to newspaper accounts, the cloud in question, was sighted over the Eastern portion of the US and was traveling in an easterly direction toward the Atlantic Ocean. Sightings were reported as far north as toronto and south to Knoxville, TN. Astronomers observing the eclipse of the moon the night of Sept 24-25 reported obscuration of the moon. Estimates of the cloud formation was 1700 miles long and 200 miles wide. Airline pilots reported the cloud was as high as 25000 ft. Others flying at lower levels also encountered the cloud, indicating it was approx. 3 miles thick. It was last reported over the Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Maryland and heading out to sea.
I tried to link a "dirty" nuclear explosion for this event. If so the government covered it up pretty well. I could not find any information of a test on or around Sept 1950. Many verterans of the nuclear test era have websites and are still fighting the government for some kind of answer.
I hope you will enjoy the info. If you are still interested in researching this subject let me know.
Thanks Ron
Hi Betty,
Re: the Black Sunday....I was young also...however, out here in Calif. we did have a long term eclipse of the sun one day. I recall that it was our most pronounced we had ever seen. Now, I don't know the exact year, etc....and we are a bit more West than you all in PA, but suppose it happened on the same day as the fire?
Don't know, but that's just an idea.
Barb Byington-Rosner
Hi:
I was in the Academy stadium that Sunday that went completely black, however, I do not have any idea of what happened either. It certainly was a scary day. If you find any info on this day, I would appreciate hearing back from you. I presently live in Fla., but lived in Erie until 1967.
Ruth
Hello from Canada:
I have just been reading about the Black Sunday incident, on Sunday Sept 24 1950, you have posted. For years I have tried to pinpoint, and verify, that incident. I knew it happened, but I seemed to be the only one that remembered. I think people were beginning to think I was crazy. I was in my teens, but of course my parents are long since passed away, as have my siblings. I no longer, and haven't lived in that area for over 45 years People of my own age group around here don't recall it. My wife, can't remember it , or her siblings. I remember it well as on Sundays we often used to hitch hike, just to go some place. I remembered it was in September, and I thought it was 1950 or 1951. We always calculated how far we should go so we would get a ride back before dark. We lived in a small town in Ontario, about 30 miles from Toronto. That day a friend and I hiked west, and made it to Stratford about 80 miles away. We walked around for awhile and not having watches didn't know the time. We realized it was starting to get dark and went looking for the time It was , as I recall about 4 in the afternoon. It got darker, we barely had the bus fare back home between us, but we had to take the bus. It was as dark as any night, I don't remember the stars being out, or any moon. Before we got home, which was about two hours, it was like having a sunrise as the sky lightened, but then because of the time it got dark again. We didn't know if the same thing had happened at home with the darkness, but it had. It affected most of Eastern Canada The forest fires were given as the cause and I always accepted that. After all ,volcanic eruptions do that and when the Indonesian volcano Krakatoa exploded in 1883, they say its dust turned sunsets green and the moon blue all around the world for the best part of two years. I am glad I found your page, really enjoyed it. Don Cofell
Betty -- Thank you for starting this investigation.
September 24, 1950 has always been a mystery to me that I occasionally think about, and wonder. I remember that Sunday in Titusville quite well, although I didn't remember the date. I was almost 13 and, as our family and other churchgoers went outside after the morning service (about noon), we remarked about how odd the sky looked: an eerie dark yellow. As I recall, it was the same color in every direction. The afternoon proceeded normally for me. I went home with a church friend for dinner with her family.
I can't recall anyone acting worried or afraid. Maybe that was because, as Bible-familiar Christians, we didn't expect the world to end that way. By about 2 p.m., it was as black as any dark night, but because it was mid-day, after all, we went for a walk around the town. I don't remember any stars, but I don't remember looking at the sky during the dark period, either. My memory says it stayed dark until late afternoon, but by the time we returned to church for our evening service (6:30, I think) the light was back to normal. I can't remember that anyone in the church that evening seemed upset or that there was anything unusual about the service. Nor do I remember any discussion about it the next day at school.
All I ever heard as an explanation was the story about the forest fire in Canada, but that never has made good sense to me. It remains one of life's mysteries. I have never been able to understand, either, why there wasn't a big hullabaloo about it. Or maybe there was, and I wasn't aware of it because I didn't read the newspaper and we didn't have television. I enjoyed reading the memories of others on your website. Thanks again for sharing.
Janet -- Delaware
Dear Betty,
Thanks so much for doing all this work! How wonderful to finally get an explanation after all those years of wondering. It's hard to believe that a forest fire all the way out in Alberta could cause so much smoke in Erie but it made it all the way to England & Holland! Makes Erie sound pretty close. Thanks again so much for your great web site and all your work. Heather Hurley Henryville, IN (formerly Erie)
"It was a cloudy day. Early in the afternoon, the sun disappeared and it became as dark as midnight. Lamps were lit and lanterns brought out. I went outside to walk around and check the livestock, and found that the chickens had all gone to roost, all the wild birds had gone to sleep, and the farm animals had gone into their normal nightime sleeping places in barns and coops. We could see that the streetlights had come on in the nearby town. We had no Television at the time, but heard over the radio that there was a forest fire in Canada producing so much smoke that it had blacked out the sun."
"People were very frightened, and some thought the world was coming to an end. Others thought the Russians had done 'something' as the Cold War was in full flower then. Some thought the dreaded nuclear holocaust had come, but most people I knew thought it was a secret government smoke-screen experiment related to Cold War defense. The true believers in conspiracy never would accept the forest fire 'cover-up' story as they called it. Some of my classmates to this day still stick to the 'government cover-up' tale. Whatever one's thoughts at the time, it was a very frightening day. As the day waned, the smoke thinned a bit and the sun could be seen through the blackness as a faint blue orb, but it never did get light outside. After nightfall the moon which was full that night, was blue. I read later that blue moons were seen as far away as Europe on Sept. 26, 1950."
"There was a pervasive smoky smell in the air that didn't smell like wood smoke, but like peat smoke, a smell similar to smoldering wet hay. I remember being ill for several days afterward with a cold-like respiratory disorder including runny nose, stuffy head and irritated eyes."
"Most people who lived in Western Pennsylvania at the time remember that day vividly if they had any reason to be out-of-doors. We always called it 'Black Sunday' afterward. Sometimes you read references from people said they saw stars because it was so dark, but that is not true. Obviously no stars were visible because the smoke was so thick we could not even see the sun. I remember a sky that was totally black, smelled like smoke and was truly frightening."
From Tom Whiting of Erie Pennsylvania: "I was just a young boy 5 or 6 years old, living in New Castle PA in the summer of 1946 or 1947 when smoke from forest fires (in Canada?) drifted down over the Western Pennsylvania area. It got really dark in the daytime;I remember the street lights came on in the early afternoon, like 1 or 2 pm, and you could smell the slight odor of smoke. Anyway, for a night or two, we had this bluish-tinged near-full moon. I don't remember the exact year or month. I just remember we kids were all scared, and thought maybe the world was coming to an end. (Not because of the moon, but rather the daytime darkness). My one and only Real Blue Moon!"
And from Samuel L. Sievers of Vincennes, Indiana: "I am 64 years old. I recall riding with my father in his large semi-trailor, returning to southern Indiana from Chicago's South Watermarket. This was a bouncy 6-hour trip. We were hauling watermelons, so it had to be in late July or more likely August, somewhere between 1954-1957. I wondered what sort of evil the bluish moon meant, and dad wisely said it was probably dust or smoke."
| Alexander v. United States | 352 U.S. 892 | 234 F. 2d 861 | 11/5/56 | This suit was brought by Stewart M. Alexander, Jr., against the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C. § § 1346(b), 2671 et seq., to recover damages for injuries received while he was riding as a passenger in a United States Air Force aircraft, which crashed in attempting to land at the municipal airport at Evansville, Indiana on September 24, 1950. The Government denied liability on the grounds (1) that the flight, which was undertaken for Alexander's convenience, was unauthorized; and (2) that the evidence failed to show either that the aircraft was negligently maintained or that it was negligently operated. The district judge, however, found for the plaintiff and assessed the damages at $ 75,000.00. | 1200 | Cert Denied |
FYI
Truman ordered development of hydrogen bomb (Jan. 31, 1950)
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a Canadian Research Scientist click here For an account from: Legends of Lawrence County, PA Volume II click here |
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Betty Rhodes and put 'Black Sunday' in the subject line please.
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