Jasper County Democrat, Volume 18, Number 103, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 March 1916 — GREAT DAMAGE DONE BY STORM [ARTICLE]

GREAT DAMAGE DONE BY STORM

Which Passed Through Jasper County Tuesday Night. WRECKED BUILDINGS IN WAKE Of Cyclone and Damage Will Reach Many Thousands of Dollars—Man and Babe Killed at Monon and Passenger Train Blown From Track Near Marion.

Another destructive windstorm struck Jasper county at about 10 o’clock Tuesday night and its path of from three to five miles in width was marked by wrecked farm houses, barns and outbuildings, windmills, telephone lines, etc., entailing

a property loss totalling many thousands of dollars. While no lives were lost here, Robert Rector, aged 45 years, said to have formerly resided in Monticello, was killed at Monon w'hen his house w r ag wrecked. Five other people were killed in other parts of the state and a Clover Leaf passenger train of three coaches was blown from the tracks near Marion while running at high speed. Fortunately no one w'as killed in the train Wreck, but the passengers were more or less cut or bruised. The storm seems to have first been heard of over near Kankakee, 111., where a number of houses and barns were wrecked, and it then came on east striking Morocco, Foresman and through the south part of Newton and Marion townships, and thence east through Monon, Logansport and clear across Indiana to the Ohio river, spending its force as it reached the eastern part of the state. While storms of this character are not very frequent in this section of the country, we have for the past few years been visited by about one each season somewhere in this vicinity, but none of them have come quite so early in the spring as this and were usually preceded by a day Or two of quite warm weather. There were no indications Tuesday afternoon or early evening of any seven storm. The forenoon had been but moderately warm and in the afternoon it turned somewhat cooler and the indications were more favorable for snow than for a severe electrical storm with rain, hail and wind. The path of the wind storm is said to have been from three to five miles wide. Farm houses, bams, cribs and windmills suffered most. Many barns and other outbuildings were completely wrecked, while s /me farm houses were badly racked, the roofs partly torn off and many window's broken. The actual duration of the cyclone wind was perhaps not more than one or two minutes.

Following are some of the losses reported in this immediate vicinity. In some cases wind storm insurance was carried and the losses will be made good, but in many others the owngrs Fhemselves must bear the lose.

Over at Foresman the windows were blown out of the general store and considerable damage resulted to the stock of goods. Some houses anil outbuildings were also wrecked there. On the Sommers farm in Jordan tp., occupied by Clarence Pruett, several windows were blowu out of the house and the chimney knocked off, the cupalo blown off the big barn, the barn doors torn off, and the building itself wrenched and left leaning toward the east. At Jay Lamson’s farm his cattle barn and implement shed was completely wrecked, the roof partly torn off the horse barn and one cow was killed.

The Hill farm, occupied by David Shumaker, and at the Lyons and William Washburn farms much damage was done to barns and outbuildings.

•Silos and windmills were quite generally destroyed in the storm’s path, especially the latter. Two windmills on the Washburn farm and one on the Alva McCashen farm were blown over.

John Bill, who now owns and occupies the former Henry Ilaag farm, suffered the destruction of his big barn 30x40 feet and he o had to chop out his six head of horses therefrom. The animals were not injured, however.

The roof and one side and one end of the barn w’ere torn away, windmill blow r n down and the house racked and windows broken. Mr. Bill had no insurance.

While the buildings at St. Joseph’s college escaped with very little loss, only a little minor damage being done to some of the smaller outbuildings, considerable damage 'vas done farther north and south of the college. At Henry Luers’ place, just south of the Catholic cemetery, his windmill was blown ilat, seemingly about the only damage done there, but from the road running east just north of the Mrs. Ida Pierce san s . on south to Tom Cain’s farm house, every one of the 25 or 30 big new telephone poles put in a few' years ago by the Central Union Telephone Co., w r ere broken off and carried with the wires over into the field, from 50 to 100 feet in some instances. A few shingles were torn off Tom’s house in two or three places. At the James school house, which seemed to be about the southern line

of the storm, the coal house whs completely demolished and the roof and sides of the building scattered about promiscuously. On the J. J. Lawier farms west of town five windmills and two derricks were wrecked together with two barns on the former Hartsell farm, a new building in wfiich - stsred" two carloads of oil meal, the barn on the farm formerly' occupied by' Nick Schmitter, the house and outbuildings badly wrecked on the MonUett farm occupied by David Baier and a 40-foot crib completely wrecked. Andrew Kahler’s big barn was wrecked also. Minor damage is reported to outbuildings in the south part of e.Vvton township, John Rush, Ed Goetz and Philip Paulus being among the sufferers. Mort Ritchey in Jordan tp. had several head of cattle buried by a straw stack, but with the assistance of neighbors dug them all out before morning and saved their lives. Very little damage w T as reported north or northwest of Rensselaer. The Barney Maeinbrook, Joe Borntrager, Arnold and Joe Luers, Joe Adams, W. W. Sage and other farms in that vicinity suffered more or less damage to houses, barns, outbuildings and windmills. The south half of Maienbrook’s corn crib was torn all to pieces, the gable end torn out of his horse barn and a big door from the barn torn to pieces and thrown upon the roof of the house.

Barney's windmill, which he says is one of the oldest and therefore one of the weakest in that neighborhood, was about the only windmill left standing. At Arnold Luer's thfe windmill was blown over on the house and at the Joe Luers’ farm the barn was torn to pieces. On the Joe Adame farnl, occupied by J. U. ff, one barn and the windmill was wrecked. At Joe Borntrager's in the same neighborhood the windmill was blown down, the roof torn off his barn and part of the roof torn off the farm house. The chimney fell from the house into the room where two of Mr. Borntrager’s children w ere sleeping, and a plank was jamed through the ceiling of the room near their bed, but the children were not hurt in the least. The household goods were damaged quite a little by the rain. A wood silo was blown down on the Charles Porter farm west of town, a cement silo near by withstanding the storm. On the Carr Bros, farm the tenant house north of the farm house suffered the loss of a chimney and several shingles. 4 Trees were uprooted nearby and the barn was blown to pieces* The big new barn on the former Ham Savior place was party turned around and badiv damaged. At the Charles Weiss farrii, west of'Rensselaer, one or more barns and sheds were wrecked. Charles Bowers’ residence, on another of the Lawler farms, was moved several feet from its foundation. Following are some of the individual loses to farm houses,’barns and outbuildings reported to the G. H. McLain agency, where windstorm insurance was carried, with estimates Q»f the owners of the loss they had suffered. No adjustments, of course, have as yet been made: John Kellner . . . ...... .. . $l5O Henry Kolhoff .... .. . ..... 400 Henry Kolhoff .. . ......... 5 John Kolhoff .. ~ ~..; ... . . 200 Joe Kolhoff ... . ....... .. . . 20ft 11. Maiealirook ............ 200 Andrew Kabler . .... . . ... . . 1.000 Harvey Davisson . . .... ... . . 175 A. C. Scott 200 Charley Phegley ............ 50 Jack Hoyes . ... - ... 50 Larsh and Ritchey . . . , : . . . . . 50 Chas. Kissinger . ... . ..... . 150 Merritt Strain .... ;.. .. ; ... 75 M. E. Bice . . . .... ... .. . B. T. Lanham ..... ... . . . . . . . 50 J. J. Lawler ............... 75 J. J. Lawler ............. . , 75 A. C. Pancoast . 200 E. Leek .... A. ............ . Arthur Mayliew 50 E. Stibbe ................. 25 W. E. Schaffer .. . 200 Leslie Alter yy. . ... ... .. . 5 W. \. Lake .. . ... .... .. . 10 Tom McAlier . 175 A. Feemster 250 B. Arnsler . ........ , , ... . . 150 Tone Keiper .... .. .. .... .;. , The following are among the person u who suffered loss in R. D. Thompson's agency, but we are unable to give their estimates of the losses:

W. V. Porter. J. and M E. Rush, H. A. Thomas, j. B. Thompson. Fred Waling. .Margaret Washburn, A. F. Webber, C. R. Weiss. R. E. Hopkins. W. R. Hough, James K. Damson, J. J. Lawler. A. and A. Peters. A. J. Biggs, Geo. A. Daugherty, jr., D. E. Grow, A. A. and W. M. Hoover. Charles H. Porter, I). S. Baler and j Walter Smith. Little effects of the wind were noticed in Rensselaer A little rain j receded by a few terrific flashes of . lightning was followed by quite a severe wind and a heavy fall of hail, some of the hail being as large as English walnuts. Some of the fuses were- burned out on the electric lights and one of the ornamental j light globes at the corner of Front • a fid W ashington st reets was blown off j and broken. Quite a number of residence lights were put out of commission and the electric and telephone linemen were busy all next day repairing the damage. The telegraph lines and the block system on suffered considerably and trains were late most {ol the day Wednesday as a result. I In many places the woven and j barb wire was torn loose from the j I once posts and carried over into the ; toad by the accumulation of corn | stalks and other debris. The plant of the Monon Crushed Stone Co. was party wrecked and it is said that every school house in Monon township was damaged more or less. A ]>arn on the Kelly sheep ranch southwest of Monon was destroyed and much damage done to barn?, farm houses and telephone lines all through that section. Robert Rector, who was killed at Monon, was employed by the Monon Crushed Stone Co., and was killed when his home blew* down. Considerable stock is reported killed over in White county by the collapse of farm buildings. Milo Ricketts, 16 years old, was killed at Logansport: Clarence Wilsca. 21 years old, of Harrison tp„ Cass county, burned to death in fire

following wreck of house; Silas Williams, 71 years old. kiled in Grant county, when home was wrecked; a 4-year-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Alspach, near Montpelier, killed in being hurled from door of home into an open field. The Montieello Herald tells of the death of the infant child of Mrs. Albert Erwin of Monon on Wednesday afternoon from injuries received from being blown from its mother's arms during the storm. Scores of farm residences, barns and other out-' buildings between Motion and Monti- ( cello, the Buffalo neighborhood and, on east, were leveled by the wind; and quite a little stock killed. The Herald estimates the damage in White county to he half a million dollars. The Montieello Telephone Co. estimate their damage to poles and wires at $2,500. The Schultz factory at Montieello wap damaged $2,000.

Speaking of the damage wrought in Morocco and vicinity, the Kentland Enterprise says: "The West fire wall of the story brick building occupied by Smart's restaurant was blown over. The entire top of the one story brick block West of the Citizens Bank and occupied by Henderson's barber shop, Purdy's meat market and Deardurff's jewelry store was toppled over into the street. Just a moment previous the first show at the opera house, a few doors to the west, had adjourned and the crowd passed in front of these buildings. Had the storm struck at this time a number of people would doubtless have been killed. From the twostory brick building occupied by Martin Bros, hardware store, the wind peeled off every foot of the roof but did not otherwise damage the building. The main business street yesterday morning was well' littered with tin roofs, tree limbs and toppled over chimneys: Two entire store fronts were blown in and a number partially so. “At the Christian church a company of about 200 were enjoying an entertainment when the storm broke, and it required the cool heads to avert a panic. The large art windows were doubled in like paper.

Other churches of the tow r n were also damaged some, “A freak of the storm was revealed at one home where the windows were sucked out by ,the wind, rather than blown in. Many people Were in bed at the time the storm broke, and stories are rife as to the scares occasioned by falling chimneys and crashing glass. ‘The country surrounding Morocco suffered in like proportion. A 1 large barn on the Mrs. Gertie Chizum j farm tenanted by 'Harry Henry, was blown down. Thirty head of stock was in the barn, and two hogs were ; killed. Harve Rust also lost a barn. Dr. Triplett a barn and silo, Carey 1 Hagen a barn, Ross Lucas a big barn and crib, Victor Carlson a barn, and 'on the .1. AL. Padgett farm a barn was demolished and a large crib was blown around on its foundation. East of Alorocco on the Mrs. George Deardurff farm a barn was wrecked, i Eight horses within were unhurt. At 1 the Francis Elijah farm a barn and slock shed were razed. .. A colt in the barn was found after the storni lied to a manger post and unhurt. Damage in the way of unroofed barns, was also reported at the farms of Scott Clark, H. L. Wright, Martin Barker. John Zohorosky, and in fact such damage was general in the whole scope of the county from about two miles north of Ade to a like distance north of Alorocco, and extending east and west clear across the county.”