Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 37, Number 38, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 May 1905 — “Along The Water Front.” [ARTICLE]

“Along The Water Front.”

LATE MARINE NEWS ITEMS FROM THIS SEA PORT The enormous rail 1 » Thursday, is still the all-absorhii i-ni jct of c mversatiod There is n<> record nor remembrance of mure wpter fall ing here in a sim* *r length of time, nor cf a rii-e • f water in so short a tim> Yards and booses were flooded n>*t never were before, and fi-lris »bat soaroely ever were under water before were covered tms nm* In Rensselaer M e f sewer has again proved who.iy inadequate to carry off the ai d vast traots in the n<Tt beast part of town were under ua'er. Cellars by the soore were flooded from one to three or four feet deep, and many houses were entirely surroundfd by water; aod the river {approximated the extreme high water mark of July 2nd. 1902. Even the basement, story of the new library building bad about two feet of water in it. This is a pretty serious matter, as it indicates that this important part of the building can not he tafely used for the purposes it was largely intended for, anttl some more adequate means are adopted for its sewer drainage. Either until makemself sewer is made much larger or a new sewer constructed from the library down ADgelioa street.

Some instances of lightning strokes have been reported. Jerry Shea’s barn, about two miles north was struck Thursday afternoon, and a valuable horse killed, and the barn considerably damaged. The barn was insured, but the horse was not. The barn on D. H. Yeoman’s farm, abont six miles north was also struok, and somewhat damaged. The hired band was in the barn, with a fork in his hand. He was badly shooked, so that he was nnoonsoions fer an hour or more, The lightniDg struok him on the right shoulder near tb*- n and as shown by the soon b6d it left, passed across his couy u r gunally, down the left leg, and tore a large piece ont of the shoe, on the left foot. His name is Neil Pike There were several horses in the barn but they were not hurt. The railroad stock peas east of the depot had several feet of water. 8. R. Niohols and Squire James Yeoman, both had hogs in the pens, for shipment, but rescued them all,

Gardens all over the east part of town are under water, and there are few who have escaped that fate. Cooney Kellner as the owner of the best kept lawn and garden in the city, is about the maddest man in town over the excessive irrgation of his garden. The total rain fall, ss shown by the ram gnage at the looal weather bureau station was 3.85 inches up to 0 o’clock p. m., the time of observation; to this can be added. 19 inches which fell early in the evening. Thus in all the rainfall was 4 inches and 4 hundredths No single days’ rainfall of anything like that magnitude was ever recorded in Rensselaer, though in Remington July 1902 ex aotly three inches fell in jnst one hour’s time by exaot and careful measurement.