30,000 Pounds Of Bananas Spill on the Highway – Again
A truck full of bananas overturned on the Pennsylvania turnpike last Friday. Thankfully, nobody was hospitalized but lanes were shut down on the highway for hours. Can you imagine? 30,000 pounds of mashed bananas all over the place? Bananas, bananas everywhere!
Here’s the thing, this isn’t the first time this has happened. Another famous truck accident in Pennsylvania involving bananas was actually documented in a popular song from the 1970s. The song was recorded by the late folk singer, Harry Chapin. On September 15, 1979, I was fortunate enough to see Chapin perform at my college in Pennsylvania. It was a very enjoyable show and one of the first concerts I’d ever seen.
Harry Chapin was a singer probably best known for his hit tunes, “Cats in the Cradle”, “W.O.L.D”, and “Taxi”. In Pennsylvania though, Chaplin was beloved for a little ditty called, “30,000 Pounds of Bananas,” a folk tune featured on the album, “Verities & Balderdash.”
The song is based on the true story of a truck accident that occurred outside Scranton, Pennsylvania on March 18, 1965.
Eugene P. Sesky was a truck driver who was hauling “30,000 pounds of bananas” to Scranton, Pennsylvania. Sesky was heading down a steep incline on Route 307 when he lost control of the truck. That section of the highway features a two-mile harrowing descent of road that drops more than 500 ft (150 m) in less than 1.5 miles (2.4 km) and ends in the city of Scranton, Pennsylvania on Moosic Street.
Supposedly, either the brakes or the clutch gave out on the truck. Sesky came barreling down Route 307 at approximately 90 mph (140 km/h) and crashed into Scranton, Pennsylvania. As Harry Chaplin sings, “There were 30,000 pounds of bananas” strewn all over the city street. Driver Eugene P. Sesky had reportedly done everything thing to avoid pedestrians, but unfortunately, he was thrown from the vehicle and killed.
Harry Chapin
Harry Chapin claimed to have heard the story from an old man during a bus ride from Scranton. The old man seated next to Chapin said, “Imagine 30,000 pounds of mashed bananas.” And Chapin did imagine it – and wrote the song about the incident.
The tune became somewhat of a favorite on local radio stations in Pennsylvania, during the late 1970s and 1980s. Not too sure how many people really remember this song nowadays, but you can check it out on Spotify. It’s one of Chapin’s more popular songs. Somewhat ironically, Harry Chapin himself died in a vehicle accident on July 16, 1981, about two years after I saw him perform at East Stroudsburg University, in Pennsylvania.
What is it about Pennsylvania and Bananas? This really has nothing much to do about anything. I just heard the story and it reminded me of the Chapin song. Imagine, 30,000 pounds of Bananas. Bananas. Lots and lots of bananas – everywhere.