Harvey and Irma, Married 75 Years, Marvel at the Storms Bearing Their Names
Given the ferocity of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma in 2017, this will probably be the first and last time the names appear in tandem.
The Schluters, by contrast, have been appearing in tandem since the 1940s, when Harvey was visiting his brother at a duplex in Spokane
and ran into Irma, staying with her sister in the apartment below while she attended high school.
“I don’t know how they’ve done that, to have a Harvey and Irma,” Mrs. Schluter said Wednesday.
Six master lists of names are kept and used in rotation, so the more minor hurricane names of 2017 will make another appearance in 2023.
They vividly remember many of the major events of the 20th century, from her first time spotting an
airplane, during the Great Depression, to his wonder at watching Neil Armstrong walk on the moon.
In a recent phone interview, Mrs. Schluter even recalled the weather near her home
in Spokane, Wash., on the day that President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.
Harvey was first used as a storm name in 1981, and six other storms have had that name.