Plaque Honors
Harry Whitenight

Wednesday, August 8, 1956 began as just another day for construction crews working to dig a tunnel for the Northeastern Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike through the Blue Mountains north of Allentown.

Harry Whitenight, a 51-year-old laborer employed by one of the construction firms retained by the Turnpike to build the tunnel arrived for the afternoon shift and began his daily trek inside the shaft. At the same time, about 3,000 feet south of the north entrance to the tunnel, a truck owned by the New York City construction firm Lipsett, Inc. was being backed into the tunnel to dump a load of concrete.

Newspaper accounts offer sketchy details as to what happened next, but Harry Whitenight's walk to work, and his life, tragically ended when he was knocked down and run over by the concrete mixer truck. He thus entered the history books as the only person to lose his life during construction of Northeastern Extension.

A plaque to honor Mr. Whitenight has now been placed on the south portal of the new Lehigh Tunnel. The plaque reads:

"In Memory of HARRY WHITENIGHT
of Tamaqua, PA, who was killed
August 8, 1956 during construction
of the original Lehigh Tunnel"

Fate placed Harry Whitenight in the Lehigh Tunnel (originally known as the T.J. Evans Tunnel) that summer day as he had begun doing construction work after losing his job with the Tamaqua Colliery when the mine shut down. Whitenight was somewhat famous locally for his ability as a swimmer. He was a Red Cross swimming instructor in the Tamaqua Civilian Defense program and worked as a lifeguard at various pools in the Tamaqua area. Ironically, he was frequently called upon to retrieve the bodies of drowned persons from area ponds and lakes.

He was born in Tamaqua, a son of Bolton and Mary Whitenight. His wife, the former Beatrice Reed, preceded him in death in 1939. His son, Ferris Whitenight, who was living in New Philadelphia when the tragic accident occurred, now lives in Florida. A brother, Bolton Whitenight, is also now a Florida resident.

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