MECHANICSBURG, Cumberland County, Pa —
People were dancing in the streets of downtown Mechanicsburg, Cumberland County, not just for fun, but also for warmth on New Year’s Eve.
While the crowd was smaller than last year, 100s of people still braved the cold to watch the annual wrench drop.
And brave they did! Temperatures were near 0 just before midnight, which made this New Year’s Eve the coldest ever on record in the Harrisburg area.
One minute before midnight, the wrench, and the fire truck crane holding it, started to coming down as the crowd counted down.
As it descended, folks from the fire company held ropes attached to the wrench to help keep it stable. Then, right at midnight, the wrench made it to its final resting spot above Main Street as everyone cheered.
While most of the crowd disappeared quickly after midnight, a few dozen lingered just so they could get a picture with the wrench.
This is the 17th wrench drop in Mechanicsburg, and this New Year’s Eve tradition started in 2003 as a resident’s Eagle Scout project.
