The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-07-05
errifo Storm OF Wind, Rain, Hall
and Lightning In Helena
Yesterday.
IN Electric Bolt Strikes the Scan
dinavian Church on Ho-
back Street.
|ho Minister, His wife and Child Badly
Shocked, and Part of the
Building Wrecked.

AlOu& ROOuO nx OTCIOcA yussOtA"J 49,
loon and for just eight minutes the people
Helena witnessed n OF the most
PArrifc storms Of wind, rain. hail and light
hing ever seen In this region. The wind
cached q velocity of forty.eiaht miles an
hour, and slender trees and ~shrubbeFy were
klmost levelled to the ground. II was
hearty an impossibility for pedestrians to
btand up against the strong wind, and no
Roadway could be made against 1t. Follow
no the wind came the rain, and when It did
some it fell in sheets. On the east side OF
he city hal accompanied the rain. and tho
FORCE with which the hailstones struck was
hat of bullets out OF q gun. Inside OF ave
minutes the temperature fell from "a to 81
E~aeQroes. The lightning was sharp and
Vivid during the storm, and did great
lamace TO at least one place In Helena,
while reports of damage outside may %
Expected. "a
The First Evangelical scandinavian
phurch, corner Hoback and Butte streets.
was struck by lightning and one END
pf the building nearly, demol'sned.
The building is a frame structure'
Two stories high, with gable rool.
The lower floor is used by the pastor, Rev.
Henry Lindeman and his family, and one
room is reserved for q meeting hall. a
hover rises on the west or Hoback side OF
the building. terminating in . conlcal
tsteeple. Entrance to the building is through
this tower on the Butte street side. Inc
Inside OF the tower contains a spiral starr
vey to the church room on the second hoor.
Mr.. Lindeman, his wife. and their two
year old girl were in the building when inc
Eliehtninp struck. The minister received a
shock which for a while rendered his left
I'M powerless. He soon recove,ed. MRS.
| ,indeman was also severely shocked. The
4 child GOT part of the current in her LETT arm,
/ and though she was not seriously hurh there
/ was a Ions blue streak left down the arm.
4 man living in the neighborhood was
looking out Of his doorway at the time. anu
says the bolt which struck the = en1 trnnk mus ~
apex of the steeple. just below The piece 81
iron fancy work. Continuing down, 1t
must have forked off in several directions:
4 One portion kept on down the steeple ana
the tower beneath. Another portion
branohed toward the church ana an1sne1 RIO 10
shingles on tho steeple were torn oil from
one tide. az were tho boards from tue frame
! work of the tower. Every window glass IN
the tower was smashed and o9e
window sash was taken completely
| out. Boards and shingles were thrown
clear across Hoback street into
the vacant lot opposite. The
lightning which went toward the meeting
room was attracted by an iron weight IN tae
window sash. The cord holding the weight
was not burned, though the weight ltsei1
showed evidence of contact with tho nulo;
The sash, however. was torn wide open Gnu
| the boards on tina portion of the building
wrenched of. Another section had got on
to the wire Of the electric bell a. the door.
way leading into the tower. Ii burned out
tho wire and dug a hole into the plaster
where connection is made with the button
outside. 1t il thought that most OF tue
tower and that side Of the building ad1oln-
ing will nave to be entirely replaced, "a
those boards which were not
split. The interior Of the tower
Is a total wreck. Plaster is knocked of OF
cracked and loosened, and the woodwork
in many places is in spliuters. The plaster
on the wall aud part of the ceiling IN the
rear of the church room. where entrance II
had from the tower. is torn down IN large
patches and cracked in Others. In ehe
meeting room beneath, the plaster 10 also
ruined on the side nearest the tower. In q
closet under the winding stairway IN the
tower is a large Gil tank and some rags.
The lightning set fire to the rags. but the
flames we're put out before IL communi.
Gated to tho oil can. in which were about
two gallons of the fluid. Had the fire got
q good start the building would have been
destroyed. The damage VIII probably
amount to between 81, GOO and $1.6OO. There
the pastor thinks has a lightning clause