Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1895-02-01
BAD WEATHER "REMINISCENCES.

BAD WEATHER "REMINISCENCES.
How short is human memory! Only tn
other day we heard venerable Observan
citizen remark that the weather this Janu
airy was the worst he had ever seen. If h
had only gone back four years he woult
have recalled much worse spell-the win
ter of 1S9O-91 was one calculated to i'm
press itself permanently upon every on
and yet it has been forgotten. On Decem
Der 10th of that winter snow fell to tn
depth of Is inches and completely suspend
ed traffic for while. Country roads were
impossible, for days scarcely person from
the county was seen on the streets OF
Staunton. This ruined the Christmas
trade, and merchants who had laid in theil
stock of holiday goods had to carry then
over to the next season. One Of our Their
leading merchants invested heavily in these
goods, expecting large sales, and when
he assigned shortly afterwards, gave
that as his principal reason for SO doing.
Following close upon this snow storm
came another on Christmas day, Of II
inches, making 80 inches as measured on a
dead level. Roofs of houses. sheds, and in
some instances dwellings were crushed I'M
der the heavy weight OF snow. At Basic
City, one Of the largest factory buildings of
the town was demolished. Then snow af-
ter snow fell till grand total Of "A inches,
for the whole winter had been attain
ed. The ground was not seen from De-
cember to late in February, and sleighing
was INDUCED in throughout this section to
surprising extent. Nearly everything
was on runners. Buggies and wagons
were stripped Of their wheels, and every
conceivable continuance. both comic and
otherwise, was placed on runners. and the
jingle Of sleigh bells was incessant. 1t was
this winter and the constant delays Of the
county mail service that recalled the
famous report sent to the department at
Washington, by our venerable citizen, the
late Archibald Trotter, who had the con-
VI CCV AOl uA1V VVCllduu L1dl1 0Cl tlCC l1Ou1
Staunton, West of Cheat Mountain, to the
effect 'sthat If the gable end of HI blew
out it couldn't melt the snow and ice suffi-
Gent to get the mails over the noun
tains Oh time"
Then, there was the winter of 1928.
This season was remarkable, not so much
for It's snowfall as for the severity of it's
weather. A cold wave from the North
west swept down upon the Eastern States
on the 18th of December, and from that
date till January 9th, there was no thaw.
The thermometer ranged around zero and
below that figure for week after week, and
it was pronounced the severest continuous
spell within the observation of the U. S.
Weather Bureau. In Staunton some of
the city water mains were frozen, and
bursted where they were buried three feet
under ground, and in the mountain dis
tricts Of Augusta county, some of the
small streams were frozen solid, Ice,
clear and foot thick was harvested every
where. Down East the freeze was as re-.
markable as here. We remember we'll the
Carnival of Ice" the people of Petersburg
held. The Appomattox river was frozen
there for miles, and at night the banks
were Illuminated and the citizens crowded
on the river en-masse. Restaurants and a
bar-room were established by enterprising
dealers on the ice in mid stream, and as
there was question of jurisdiction, they
were not disturbed by either county OF
authorities.
At Washington the harbor was closed to
for weeks, and even Chesa,
peake Bay,-that tempestuous body of wa
ter was frozen for miles out from shore.
A most remarkable incident of the severe
weather came from Tangiers Island. The
island is situated miles out in the Bay and
completely cut off from the rest Of the
world. Its Inhabitants who were depend
ent upon fisheries were soon reduced to
At this point the floating ice
became solid and they hitched up their
sleds and came to shore over the ice for
provisions. These relief parties with their
teams made trips to the main land when
ever it became necessary to do so, and only
ceased when the great thaw began.
Yet we hear on every side that the pres
ent spell of bad weather is unprecedented!
Up to this date Only 81 inches has fallen
this season, and the worst is probably over.
However, we may look at it, snow is good
for the crops, and good for the soil too,
we have heard. But if good for nothing
else, it holds in check an early Spring, and
that is desirable. Last year we had an UNI
usually early Spring and with it was swept
nearly every vestige Of fruit and early veg
etables. The apple crop was a dead fail
ure, and that alone is a big item to Au-
gusta county. Its apple crop for 1898 was
equal in money to big wheat yield-even
better, for the prices obtained were good,
and represented in most cases a net profit
to the farmer. That year of 1898, was the
year when men made little fortunes out of
apples. Buyers from abroad were thick,
and home buyers were not scarce. One
buyer in Staunton bought home out Of his
profits on the barrels of apples he bought
in Augusta and shipped. and the apples of
that year lifted many a debt on farms in
the comfy.
IN. C. A. Statistics for 1894.
The report Of the Secretary of the Y. M.
G. A. of this city shows that, at the close
of the year there were 331 members, that As
active members served on committees, and
that the building was kept open every day
in the year.
INTELLECTUAL DEPARTMENT.
Five branches are taught.
No. Students ....... ......... %