Panic at TMI

If you can't see it, it isn't there. That was the reassurance bridesmaids and family gave bride-to-be Stephanie (Deardorff) Merrifield as she prepared to marry on March 31, 1979 - three days after the worst nuclear accident in U.S. history. On March 28 the plant in Middletown experienced a partial meltdown. A 20-mile radius around the town was put on alert for a possible evacuation. Pregnant women and young children were advised to leave. Gov. Dick Thornburgh canceled appointments that day, without explanation, including one with West Manchester Township resident James Shindler, who later packed up to leave with his wife. Teachers closed classroom windows and pulled down the blinds. They refused to let the students go outside, much less home, for several hours. If you can't see it, it isn't there.

York Daily Record