Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 35, Number 96, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 August 1903 — Two More Barns Burned [ARTICLE]

Two More Barns Burned

And Three Horses Killed By Lightning. Daring the heavy tbaader n orm early last, Tuesday morning, lightning struck a big barn on Charley Bakers farm just south of Mt, Ayr «nd 8 miles west of Rens selaer. The barn was burned and aboat aft its contents except the live stock. A large amount of hay grain, implements, vehicles, and harness were destroyed The total loss was $1,700, with sl*ooo insurance. Still another b»rn struck and borned, was much nearer <t>wn. It belonged to Wilmot Ritchey, and was on the old Sam Ritohey farm about miles southwest of town. £t was struok about 8:30 a. m. Iq the barn and consumed with it were about 800 bushels of corn belonging ti Mr.. Ritchey. There were fo«r horses, in the to the tenant, 'Charlek Standish. Two of these were killed by the lightning and t'he other two were resoued. Mr, Standish also saved most of his harness and implements, but ilfltat a few tons of hay.

’’There was no insurauce on the horses, which were worth about $l6O. Mr. JSiandish is a poor man and feels the loss heavily, Mr. Ritchey’s loss is pretty fully covered by insurance in the Mutual. He has S3OO on the corn and $155 on the barn. The barn was 48 by 60 in a'ze but very old having been built 48 years ago. Its frame was perfectly good yet, being the old-fashion-ed massive timbers, hewn out of the hardwood trees in the vioinity. Mr. Ritchey was asleep when the stroke oame, and did not awake immediately and when he did it, was with difficulty and with the impression strong in his mind he himself had been struck $y lightning. This makes the third barn burned by lightning in that region within a week, the other two being Wm. Washburn’s tad Howard Burr’s. A circle of &T miles would include them

Another case of lightning damage oooured inside theoity limits A fine driving horse belonging to Joe Halligan was atruok and killed iq a pasture north of the railroad, of a vacant block in i9anny-side addition. The lightning first struck the wire fenoe and from that passed to the horse, Mr. Halligan had owned the horse about a year and valued it at $l5O. There were a number other horses in the lot, but this was th/a -dhly one hurt. Oue of these was also a fine driver belonging to Oliver Hammerton, and his horse was the one first but erroniously reported ■Mled.