Jasper County Democrat, Volume 22, Number 11, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 May 1919 — ANOTHERCYCLONE HITS MARION TP. [ARTICLE]

ANOTHERCYCLONE HITS MARION TP.

Several Thousand Dollars Damage Done Sunday Evening A. QUINN FARM HIT HARDEST I And AU His Farm Buildings Completely Wrecked and House Is Moved Off Its Foundation. A cyclone struck a small part of Marion township about 7 o’clock Sunday evening Ibr a short distance, leaving a mass of wreckage in its wake. While no lives were lost nor stock killed, the damage wrought to buildings will probably total |IO,OOO to $12,000. The storm followed a day of continued showers, the first coming during the night or early morning and continuing at intervals throughout the entire day. At about 5 o’clock came a tremendously heavy rain, probably the heaviest that has fallen in this section since the big rains of four years ago this summer. The water came so fast that the sewers were unable to carry it away and in many iplaces it filled the streets from curb to curb, and ran across the sidewalks. There was lots of lightning during the afternoon showers and several bolts evidently struck near town, burning out electric light fuses in quite a number of places.

The first damage observed was out at the old Daugherty farm, where some small buildings were wrecked. About one-fourth of a mile east the old house on the Nancy Reece farm was next in the path of the cyclone, and here most all of the trees surrounding the house were broken down or twisted off and the house itself, which was •unoccupied, was completely demolished and pieces of boards and joists were scattered along on each side df the road for a distance of several hundred yards. At the next house, on the north side of the road, occupied by Vincent Quinn, the shingles were torn from the house badly in several places and some other minor damage done. At the Alex Quinn place (the former A. K. Yeoman farm) the full force of the storm struck, and the wreck there almost beggars description. The three barns, smoke house, two double cribs, scale house, wheat and oats granary and windmill were completely demolished and the debris scattered for quite a distance on northeast, some of the debris being lodged in the hedge on east and just across the road on the north. The house was moved about eight feet off its foundation and badly racked, the chimneys being ruined and the wings torn loose from the main part, etc., etc. This house was built by Mr. Yeoman several years ago and was very strongly constructed, otherwise it would have been completely demolished. The east side of the house was dropped off the foundation and lies on the ground, while the floors and the interior present a sad scene of wreckage. Several of the panes olf glass on the west side were broken out and the total damage to the dwelling house alone is probably between S6OO and SI,OOO. Several shade trees were blown over and broken and quite a niuimiber of trees were uprooted in the orchard. The Alex Quinn house was among the best farmhouses in Jasper county, being nicely finished throughout and supplied with furnace heat.

Mr. Quinn was in one of the barns at the time and it is miraculous indeed that he escaped alive. The family took refuge in the cellar as soon as they could get there, but Mrs. Quinn suffered considerably from the shock and the wetting they received, and was under the doctor’s care Monday. Otherwise all, escaped serious injury. Mr. Quinn had some windstorm insurance, but we were unable to learn the amount of same. Mr. Quinn and family are moving into the house with their son Vincent until their own home is restored to a habitable condition. The Oscar Hauter buildings which were just north of the nar-

row path of the storm, were ontouched, but the wreckage of the old Nancy Reece house was scattered over Mr. Hauter's field east of his (term buildings. The path of the storm was but a hundred feet or so in width evidently, and it lifted or had spent much of its force as it proceeded slightly norfteastward, as most of .the damage east of the Kohley farm was confined to a windmill or two and the breaking down of quite a number of telephone poles. At Mr. Kohley’s, in addition to ruining the orchard, the barn was moved two feet off its foundation, tool shed, hog house, granary, pump shed, etc., were all or partly demolished; some windows broken out of the house, etc. A new hay ladder was lifted off the wagon in the barn lot, struck the hen house and stove a hole in it, thence struck a tree, thence struck the house,* thence dropped to the ground and struck a lilac bush, then raised and was carried off through the trees and part of it landed across the road. A piece of the steel roofing .from the Quinn barn landed on the Lawler barn at Pleasant Ridge, about two miles farther northeast.