The day Five Points became a riot zone
Tuesday will mark the 30th anniversary of the nation’s
first gasoline riots in Levittown.

A demonstrator stands near a burning car during the gas
riot at Five Points in Levittown on June 25, 1979. AP Photo

On a hot Saturday afternoon about 5 p.m. June, 23,
1979, Bristol Township police officer Bob Hairhoger was responding to an
accident on New Falls Road near Red Cedar Drive.

What would transpire a few moments later would grab
international headlines, result in hundreds of arrests and nearly 200 police
officers battling with protesters because of the second Arab oil embargo, which
dried up tanks throughout the country.

Demonstrators stand amidst a burning car at Five Points in
Levittown during the gas riots in 1979. Stacey Leichliter/Courier Times

It began as a peaceful protest against the high price
and availability of diesel fuel with a truckers’ convoy from Falls to support a
small group of demonstrators at Five Points, the intersection of three roads in
the center of Levittown in Bristol Township. The Five Points gas riots occurred
30 years ago this Tuesday and Hairhoger, now retired, recalled every moment as
if it occurred today.

Riots broke out at Five Points in 1979 when gas was just
86 cents a gallon. In May of 2008the price at the pump is $3.99

"I was headed to the accident down on New Falls Road. I
approached the intersection and there was a tractor [trailer] stopped and I
could not get through. I told him to get that truck outta there. The trucker’s
name was Tom Hayden. I told him if anyone is hurt at that wreck and I can’t get
there, I am coming back to lock him up," said Hairhoger, who now works part time
for his former employer.

Hairhoger has the distinction of being the first
officer at the scene, which swelled with people throughout that first night,
during what became a full-blown riot with rocks and bottles being thrown and
fires set.

"People picked up rocks and bottles and threw them at
us. If you were standing still, you got hit. Your first inclination was to throw
them back at them. I was due to finish my shift about 11 p.m. I didn’t get home
until after daybreak. We were all working double shifts through that entire
mess," he said.

 

 

Demonstrators used white paint to deface a gas pump
during the gas riots at Five Points in Levittown in June of 1979. Ron
Brown/Courier Times

The second day of rioting pitted 200 police officers
with close to 1,000 rioters and turned Five Points into a bloody intersection.
Police from three Pennsylvania counties and New Jersey, some with dogs and
swinging billy clubs, clashed with the protesters. Before the second night was
over, 117 were arrested and about 100 protesters and police were injured,
according to newspaper accounts.

Jim Halikman, now 67, a former Bristol Township officer
and Hairhoger’s partner at the time, arrived on the scene shortly after violence
erupted that first night.

"We were working days that week, but stayed until at
least 3 a.m. I finally got to go home, but we had to be back for day work and I
was the early man and after a few hours’ sleep came back to work at 7 a.m. for
three days. It was nasty," said Halikman.

 

The Truckers Halikman said what originally was planned as a peaceful
demonstration turned ugly.

"I remember the truckers coming to the police station
and telling us what they were planning. We actually gave them an escort. They
went up to Five Points to protest but after they left, they came back and that’s
when it got ugly," Halikman recalled.

The truckers’ intentions were not malicious, said Bob
Evans, 60, owner of Evans’ Trucking along Route 13 in Tullytown.

"One of my truckers had no idea what was going on and
was trying to get home to Penndel. He got stuck in the middle of it," said
Evans, looking at a 30-year-old photograph of his truck with people crowded
around it.

Evans said none of his truckers were involved in the
melee, nor got involved in any protests.

 

Protesters being arrested by police during the
gas riots at Five Points in 1979. Harry Sircely/Courier Times

"I never went near the place. As far as I know, the
truck drivers did nothing wrong. They were simply protesting the availability of
diesel fuel," he said.

He did say most of the truckers involved were
independents hauling products out of the former U.S. Steel mill in Falls.

Sam Farruggio, also 60, owner of Farruggio’s
Expressway, Bristol Borough, said he cannot remember if any of the independent
drivers working for him were involved.

"It was all over the availability of diesel fuel. It
was a bad time, but as history shows, fuel prices always rise in the summer. We
hope something like this never happens again," Farruggio said.

 

"It was a couple of scary nights, I’ll tell you," said
Bristol Township police Chief Jim McAndrew, now 60, who was then a state
trooper. "I was there all three nights and it all began as a peaceful
demonstration by mostly independent truckers who were protesting the gas
shortage, not the prices."

McAndrew recalled a car being set ablaze in the middle
of the intersection.

"We originally only had four or five troopers from the
Trevose barracks and I can recall a shot being fired when the car was set afire.
Our supervisor immediately called us together to check our weapons and make sure
none of us fired a shot for his report. We never fired any shots. To the best of
my knowledge, I don’t think anyone knows who fired the shot," the chief said.

McAndrew also recalled telling one of the Philadelphia
TV stations to move its van from the parking lot of Five Points Getty.

"They told me they were set up and weren’t moving. I
told them there was going to be another riot and they better move or they could
get arrested and or hurt. We finally convinced them to move," he said.

On the third and final night of the riots, McAndrew
said 200 state troopers from across the region assembled in the Acme parking lot
and put on riot gear, took off their name tags and ties and marched in formation
toward the intersection.

The Station owner Steven Lankin, 68, has owned Five Points Getty since
1964, and remembers those three chaotic days vividly. Lankin called those three summer days "bad."

"The wives of the truckers were lined up on Edgely Road
up to Five Points. There had to be between 30 and 60 tractors. They just kept
driving back and forth, back and forth," said Lankin.

"My mechanic said there were quite a few people on the
property. The Breed [motorcycle gang] used to come around when it rained, put
their bikes in the shop. Those guys stopped the rowdies from trying to break the
pumps. They looked out for me when I wasn’t here. They told the guys, if they
broke anything, they’re going out to the back of the station and they weren’t
going to walk outta here. I survived a lot better [during the riot] than most
places. We boarded up our place every night for a month."

"We used half-inch plywood and had to put it up every
night and take it down every morning. I did not think I would lose my station
but I was in fear of someone breaking in after we were gone and breaking the
glass," he said. "We made a big wall with studs and put the wall up in front of
the bay doors. We used hinges and took the pins out. We set it up and dropped
the pins through. It wasn’t really gonna stop anybody from breaking in, but it
would stop a rock. It worked."

Lankin said for three mornings he came to work and
found trash and broken beer bottles strewn across his property.

"It turned into a big party. It was just ridiculous,"
he said.

Given the price of gas and that it continues to rise,
Lankin fears another gas riot could take place.

"Only this time, they won’t be throwing rocks and beer
bottles. They will be bringing guns and this time people are gonna get shot. I
fear guns this time because it’s the easy way out. Nobody fights with their
hands anymore," he said.

The day Five Points became
a riot zone

Photos by Courier Times Staff
and Associated Press
hotos

 

 

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