 It was one of Herdic's few business ventures that was not profitable.He divested himself of the Williamsport Passenger Railway Company in 1879, a time in Herdic's life when he lost most of his wealth (only to reacquire most of it soon after).Peter Herdic used his position as an owner of the Susquehanna Boom to maintain high levies on the lumbermen who floated their logs down the West Branch Susquehanna River.