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Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. Low 62F. Winds light and variable.
Justin Strawser/The Daily Item Kate Hullihen Hess and Donna Ross, who spraypainted the original “We love you wall” message on the Sunbury Flood Wall in 1972, pose with a banner placed on the wall along Front and Market streets by the Sunbury Municipal Authority on Monday.
Kate Hullihen Hess and Donna Boardman, who spray painted the original “We Love You Wall” message on the Sunbury Flood Wall in 1972, stand in front of a banner placed on the wall this month to mark the 50th anniversary.
Justin Strawser/The Daily Item Kate Hullihen Hess and Donna Ross, who spraypainted the original “We love you wall” message on the Sunbury Flood Wall in 1972, pose with a banner placed on the wall along Front and Market streets by the Sunbury Municipal Authority on Monday.
Kate Hullihen Hess and Donna Boardman, who spray painted the original “We Love You Wall” message on the Sunbury Flood Wall in 1972, stand in front of a banner placed on the wall this month to mark the 50th anniversary.
SUNBURY — A banner honoring the 50th anniversary of Hurricane Agnes was placed on Monday on the Sunbury Flood Wall at Front and Market streets.
The banner, created by the Sunbury Municipal Authority Flood Control, features the iconic “We love you wall” photograph from 1972.
Former Sunbury residents Donna Ross and Kate Hullihen Hess, who were working for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers during the cleanup of the flood, were the two individuals who secretly spraypainted the message five decades ago.
“We just felt for the 50th anniversary we wanted everyone to remember this event and appreciate the wall we have,” said Sunbury Municipal Authority Manager Jeff Lewis. “We still get feedback that ‘we’re so happy it’s here.’ It protected us in 2011, 2004, 2006. It continues to do its job 50 years later.”
The left side of the banner has the blown-up photo of the message with the added word “still” in red between “we” and “love.” The right side of the banner has the flood control logo with the words “protecting our past, securing our future.”
Lewis invited Ross and Hess to the banner on Monday morning to take a photograph with the banner.
While the original message was written on the wall near Reagan Street, the municipal board decided to put the banner near Front Street for more visibility, said Lewis.
“We’re proud and thrilled to be a part of the history not only of the wall but of the city of Sunbury,” said Ross.
“This will go down forever. It makes us both really proud to have played a role in such a memorable event.”
“We just want to say thanks to Jeff for doing this and recognizing us, and putting this banner up,” said Hess.
Lewis said Ross and Hess are “international stars.”
He’s been told the photograph is hanging in U.S. Army Corps of Engineers offices in Germany and England.
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