Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1888-03-22
A BIG BLOW.
WHEELING AND VICINITY VISITED BY A
HEAVY CALI, YESTERDAY MORNING.
Houses Partially UursOtsd in the City and Surrounding
Towns People Seriously Alarmed for
T~ims-Datails Of the Damage So
Par Reported.

Between six and seven o'clock yesterday
morning this city and surrounding coun'
try wss visited by an exceptionally heavy
gale of wind, which did considerable dam
age to property and badly frightened no in
considerable number of people. The gale
was accompanied by a heavy rain, which
dashed go violently sgainst windows and
doors as to give the impression that a VIC
lent hail storm was passing over the city.
Many houses, even the most substantial,
were noticeably affected by the violence Of
the storm, and frame dwellings in exposed
situations were rocked on their foundations
in a way to excite the l~iveliest apprehen-
sions in the minds Of their occupants.
In several instances serious damsge was
done to Ioofs, fences, shade trees,
etc. The freight depot of the
B. & O. lost a considerable POT
ton of the iron covering o. its roof, and
the second Presbyterian church building
was similarly affected. The alleged build
ing over the crematorg on the summit OF
Wheeling hill was left a bad wreck by the
wind, and Supt. Serig reported that he
considered the structure dangerous to those
employed about and in it. Several build
ings about town lost their chimneys, and
signs and shutters we're banged about 10 q
lively manner. Those people who CHANGED
to be on the suspension bridge at the time
the wind was most violent had an expert
ence they will not forget in a hurry. OGe
lady, Miss Clara Myers, was carried off heT
feet BY the force of the wind, and was
rolled over and over for quite a distance,
Otto Stump caught her and set her upon
her feet, but both were again blown to the
floor. Finally she got hold of the railing,
to which she held until the wind lulled
little, when che was assisted to the toll
house. Charlie Stump, the Island express
man, went out on the bridge in a new hat.
The wind got hold OF the tile, and in some
mysterious manner blew the crown out Of
it. The personal experiences Of Others
was equally interesting, and during most
of the day narratives Of personal adyen'
lures were TO be heard on all sides.
Across the river in Ohio the storm was
very severe. At St. ClsiIsville several
roofs we're badly damaged, parts of them
being carried away.
At Bridgeport the wind caught in
the northwest corner Of Heinlein's
Block, corner Bank and Pike streets,
and in m instant rolled up tho tin
roof and left the sheetiug bare. AT
Koehnlin's coal works a part Of the chute
was torn do8n, and blown fifty feet away.
A piece of the debris struck a workman OF
the Bridgeport Glass Works, named NJ. l.
Calls, Knocking him into the gutter and
bruising him slightly. A part of the roof
of the Bridgeport Glass Works came Of,
and trees, fences and chimney tops suffered
throughout the town.
Luckily the main force Of the gale was
over in a few minutes, and the wind fell
off to violent gusts, which gradually grew
less frequent, aud finally ceased, leaving
the atmOsphere comparatively calm. When
the wind wss at its worst it was just
within the danger line, and any increase
would have resulted disastrously.