Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 41, Number 45, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 February 1909 — RUIN IN WAKE OF SLEET AND WIND [ARTICLE]

RUIN IN WAKE OF SLEET AND WIND

City and Country Enveloped in Worst Storm in Quarter of a Century. No Lights, Few P|iones and Other Troubles.

Rensselaer, all of Jasper county, most of Indiana and other states surrounding it are enveloped in the worst sleet storm experienced in 25 years. According to the recollection of several it was 26 years ago this month that the country was visited by a sleet storm that ruined most of the trees here. It was a worse storm than the present one, according to many, and the crackling limbs as they fell from the trees sounded like distant cannonading. This time the sleet is probably not so bad as it was in 1883, but the damage will be much greater figured in dollars j and cents, for the reason that a quaver of a century ago there were no telephones in . the country and small cities and practically no e’ectric light plants and only about onesixth the number of telegraph wires and poles. The present storm started in at about 10 o’clock Saturday night with a fine light rain that soon began to freeze wherever it touched. By 4 o'clock Sunday morning the added weight of the frozen rain on the trees began to brake off the more fragile limbs and by 6 o’clock the limbs were falling at a quite rapid rate. The fine rain cont nued to fa’l and to-freeze almost all day Sunday and all day the noise of breaking limbs and falling tiees > was kept up. The maple trees seem to have suffered the greatest damage, and the pine trees also suffered a great de 1. Cherry and apple tress, especially the older ones, fell under their great weight of- ice and the falling'limbs and trees caught telephone and light wires and dragged them to the ground or snapped them in twain. In many cases the Ice coated wires which measures almost three-fourths of an inch in diameter and from which hun small icicles about 3 Inches long and scarcely more than an inch apart were 30 heavy that the wires snapped or broke down the poles. Early Sunday morning all the country telephone wires were out of commission : and many ts the city phones, and j throughout the day the trouble increased am' even through the night But few phones off the direct cable lines ape in working order. The broken wires—and poles of both the telephone and light system caused them to all become entangled in many places and they were frequently in such masses that the streets were almost or quite impassable. At the Main street railroad crossing the 1 swagging wires, were caught by a passing engine and all snapped in two and fifty or more wires were broken end sprung back from the track at ihe same time. On the west side of the Washington street river bridge the cross bars at ♦he top of n telephone pole that supported the heaviest cables and many loose wires were broken off and mbst all the phones across the river went out of business. In various parts of lown poles have either been broken est or dragged to the_ground. In the country in all directions the wires and poles are down, not a single phone In any direction being usable. From persons coming into town from all directions comes the word that the poles are so badly down and the wires broken in so many places that it will be almost like erecting a new telephone system to rebuild the old one. The smaller poles suffered most, of course, and this will be especially hard on the Bruner lines extending north. But many of the large poles Are down also *and the Jasper County Telephone Co. estimates its

loss at from $4,000 to $5,000 to the local exchange. The Wolcott exchange, which belongs to the lofcal company, Is also much damaged. This line was rebuilt less than two years ago, following a similar at a cost of about $2,500. Realizing that the demand for material will be great, Delos Thompson, president of the company, and J. J. Montgomery, the manager, went to Chicago cm the early train Monday morning to endeavor to get their order for equipment in as early as possible City Light and Water Superintendent Chamberlain and his assistants worked valiantly all day Sunday, but found that it would be unsafe and impracticable to try to start the plant Sunday night The wires were so crossed with the telephone wires that various sorts of danger would have ensued. The city maa consequently in darkness. The old kerosene lamps were brought out, but many families were out of oil. Some of the stores opened up to respond to demands to supply both lamps and oil, church services were suspended and the “early to bed” program was followed in most homes. The storm all day Sunday was accompanied by a strong wind, mostly from the east. In the afternoon Henry Amsler drove to Parr to look after s:me stock there. He provided plenty of shelter for it and returned the. e early this morning to give it further attention. He found it difficult to reach Farr on account of fallen wires and poles, and found it necessary to cut wires and to drive .down into the ditch to get across seme of tte worst places. This is miserable we-til-er for stock. Oscar Phegley was in McCoysburg Sunday, and returned on the m'lk train Monday morning. The same conditions prevailed there and he said that many telegraph poles al ng the track had fallen under their weight of ice covered wire. The Monon depot has been unable to get into communication with the outside world and, of course, the Western Union wires are down. Passengers arriving on the milk train, which was a half hour late, stated that wires and poles were down at Remington and Goodland. Warren Washburn, formerly of this city, is the manager and chief owner of the Goodland exchange The Indianapolis Star says that the storm is general over Indiana, Illinois, lowa, Southern Wisconsin and Micbigan and extending into tbe east to New York. So many wires are down that the papers are unable to ascertain. the extent of the storm, nor the amount of damage dene. It is feared that considerable loss of life has occurred, especially to small vessels on Lake Michigan. One man was killed at Hammond, being run down by a Monon train. The Tribune reports several injuries in Chicago, which city seems the very center of the storm. Chicago Is so cut off from “telegraph- communications that but little can be g’eaned of the extent of the storm at other places. It is quite probable that Rensselaer will .have no lights tonight, Monday, as workmen find the wires in worse condition ithan they were when the repair wdrk was undertaken Sunday moral np. Heavy clouds hang over the city and a fine, salt-like snow that has not altogether outgrown - the sleet elements began falling shortly after 8 o'clock this Monday morning.