only in meadville
Last Monday started as a typical, quiet summer day in my hometown of Meadville. A crew was doing demolition work at Allegheny College mid-morning when the unexpected happened — the chain holding a wrecking ball snapped, sending a nearly 2,000 pound wrecking ball rolling down North Street before coming to an abrupt stop in the trunk of a unsuspecting Ford Taurus! You’ll want to check out the slideshow (set to music) posted by The Meadville Tribune for a better sense of the damage and chaos.
I first received news of the runaway wrecking ball from Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s website. I quickly e-mailed my parents, using a subject line that read, “Only in Meadville.” They immediately knew that I was aware of the town’s latest 15 minutes of fame. Apparently my brother, who lives in southern California, saw footage on the news and called home to share a chuckle with my parents as well.
Meadville is famous for a few things: the invention of the zipper, Channellock tools, Dad’s dog food, Eddie’s Footlong Hot Dogs, and now a runaway wrecking ball!