Community Corner

'Were You There?': Historical Museum's '62 Storm Event Set for Thursday

Plan to attend the Ocean City Historical Museum's '62 Storm presentation on March 8.

Ocean City residents and visitors have lived a lifetime minimizing the threat of hurricanes, but they know enough to fear a good nor'easter.

And the 50th anniversary of the most destructive one falls March 6 to 8.

Like most disasters, the Storm of 1962 was an unlucky combination — low-pressure systems merging to create a powerful storm that stalled off the coast as the exceptionally high tides of the spring equinox approached.

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The first high tide was bad ... and five more would follow over the course of three days.

The three-day battering ripped up the Boardwalk, lifted houses off their foundations, buried streets in sand and left much of the island underwater from the beach to the bay.

Find out what's happening in Ocean Citywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The storm struck in an era before 24-hour news and advanced weather forecasting, and Ocean City went without electrical power for an extended period. For anybody who weathered it, the Storm of '62 etched an indelible memory.

The is asking, "Were you there?"

On the 50th anniversary of the storm at 7 p.m. March 8, the museum will sponsor a that includes a slideshow of images from the storm and personal stories of survival. The program is part of the museum's "Natives Night" series that is open to anybody with an interest in Ocean City. It will be held in the lecture room at the .

The museum is asking everybody to bring personal stories, photographs, news articles and any other artifacts they have to share. Everybody is invited to a 6 p.m. reception at the museum before the presentation at the library. The museum and library are adjacent at the at 17th Street and Simpson Avenue. For information, call (609) 399-1801.

Patch is also asking readers to share their stories and photos here. Click on the "Submit Photos and Videos" link to post images. Add stories and anecdotes in the comments section below.

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