{"id":7293,"date":"2017-03-15T17:58:05","date_gmt":"2017-03-15T21:58:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/?p=7293"},"modified":"2017-03-15T17:58:05","modified_gmt":"2017-03-15T21:58:05","slug":"a-near-disaster-ends-in-a-moment-of-joy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2017\/03\/15\/a-near-disaster-ends-in-a-moment-of-joy\/","title":{"rendered":"A near disaster ends in a moment of joy"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Rescue <\/a>
Rescue workers rush injured people from a PNC Bank Branch in Millville after a roof collapse on March 9, 1992. Nine people were injured when a buildup of rain caused the roof to give way. <\/div> <\/div>
\"Nine <\/a>
Nine people were injured when a buildup of rain caused the roof to give way. (Peter Diana\/Post-Gazette) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Millville <\/a>
Millville officer Ken Landman watches over the bank after the collapse. Debris can be seen through the front door. (Darrell Sapp\/Post-Gazette) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"View <\/a>
View of the collapsed roof from above. (Darrell Sapp\/Post-Gazette) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Bank <\/a>
Bank manager Ellen Kline gave birth hours after the collapse. Husband Alex Sr. wheels his wife and son from a news conference. (Darrell Sapp\/Post-Gazette) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Ellen <\/a>
Ellen Kline plants a kiss on her newborn son’s forehead. (Darrell Sapp\/Post-Gazette) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n
\n

A quarter-century ago on the second Monday of March, a drainage problem on the roof of a Millvale bank nearly turned disastrous.<\/span><\/p>\n

It also managed to make headlines across the country from Pensacola, Fla., to Sioux Falls, S.D. – imagine if we had the viral news cycle back then – because of one little twist: One of the employees working inside at the time went into labor when the ceiling caved in.<\/span><\/p>\n

Surely, roofs of banks collapse around pregnant women all the time, right? So, why is this one worth revisiting 25 years later? Well, because I’m now related to the miracle mom and tot, who just celebrated his 25th birthday.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Author Brian Batko is a Post-Gazette sportswriter.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

My wife and I have been together since high school, a little more than nine years now, and tied the knot in July. But I never knew about her brother\u2019s very newsworthy origin story until it came up in family conversation a few years back.<\/span><\/p>\n

On March 9, 1992, my now-mother-in-law was working as the bank manager at Pittsburgh National Bank\u2019s Millvale branch. As the Post-Gazette wrote it then, \u201cEllen Kline\u2019s day began with disaster \u2026 It ended with joy when she gave birth to a son.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

She and eight others were injured when the roof fell in at 10:44 a.m., but the day had a happy ending when Alex Kline Jr. was born at 10:09 p.m. He was due March 22, but, \u201cI guess the shock kind of woke the baby up and he said, \u2018It\u2019s my time,\u2019 \u201d my father-in-law, Alex Kline Sr., told the Post-Gazette that day.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s tired, but she\u2019s OK,\u201d he told Pittsburgh Press reporter Ed Blazina, now a colleague of mine at the Post-Gazette.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some of the photos from that incident distinctly show the shock and fear of some of the other bank employees that day, but the ones of my family are fun to look at. I asked my mother-in-law why she was wearing a coonskin cap that day, but she corrected me that was just her early-90s hairstyle. And to see my father-in-law quoted in the stories? Somewhat surreal. Even my wife, Chelsea, is mentioned as being the couple\u2019s 15-month-old daughter at the time.<\/span><\/p>\n

For a current update on these local news stars after their 15 minutes of fame, Alex and Ellen had two more kids but no more boys, so it\u2019s a good thing Alex Jr. came out of the collapse unscathed. Speaking of him, he\u2019s now an assistant football coach at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe. You\u2019d think he would\u2019ve been destined to become a banker.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Alex Kline Sr., Alex Kline Jr. and Ellen Kline.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ellen Kline was pregnant when a bank roof collapsed around her.<\/p>\n

Look at the picturesA near disaster ends in a moment of joy<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":7296,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[946],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Digs.PNBRoofCollapse003.jpg?fit=1500%2C839&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2156,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2013\/01\/08\/beach-boys-at-the-civic-arena\/","url_meta":{"origin":7293,"position":0},"title":"Beach Boys at the Civic Arena","date":"January 8, 2013","format":"gallery","excerpt":"Bill Wade took this photograph from the U.S. Steel Tower after the roof opened at 9:12 p.m.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/tumblr_mg4ix6c9mO1rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=1080%2C710&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":871,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/03\/12\/breakout-at-western-penitentiary-of-pennsylvania\/","url_meta":{"origin":7293,"position":1},"title":"Breakout at Western Penitentiary of Pennsylvania","date":"March 12, 2014","format":"gallery","excerpt":"For his four weeks of freedom, Andrew Kazcynski drew 10 to 20 years.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/tumblr_n234agPzH51rr5swxo3_1280.jpg?fit=1080%2C1078&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2536,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2012\/09\/11\/apr-9-1954-demolition-of-the-wabash-building\/","url_meta":{"origin":7293,"position":2},"title":"Demolition of the Wabash Building","date":"September 11, 2012","format":"gallery","excerpt":"\u201cWith roof off, the workmen swarmed in and out of offices. Using crowbars and sledge hammers they pried and smashed.\u201d","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/tumblr_ma0461lLqf1rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=980%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6674,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2016\/03\/29\/about-that-slender-guy-in-the-unbuttoned-shirt\/","url_meta":{"origin":7293,"position":3},"title":"About that slender guy in the unbuttoned shirt","date":"March 29, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"\"He was in total shock,\" witness says of the driver of overturned vehicle.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Digs.carfire004a-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C825&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2638,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2012\/08\/15\/nixon-rally-inside-the-civic\/","url_meta":{"origin":7293,"position":4},"title":"Nixon rally inside the Civic Arena","date":"August 15, 2012","format":"gallery","excerpt":"An enthusiastic crowd of some 17,000 cheered the Republican candidate.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/tumblr_m8rpjcAhvQ1rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C931&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1463,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2013\/08\/26\/havoc-on-fulton-street\/","url_meta":{"origin":7293,"position":5},"title":"Havoc on Fulton Street","date":"August 26, 2013","format":"gallery","excerpt":"At 3:30 a.m. on January 1, 1926, one of the belts broke at the McCutcheon Works.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/tumblr_ms014dOjqg1rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C840&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7293"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/40"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7293"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7293\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7319,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7293\/revisions\/7319"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7296"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7293"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7293"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7293"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}