The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1902-05-02
Fxtraet from Letter Of 5. r. Howe.

Extract from Letter Of ). I. Howe.
Greenville, Texas, April 10, 1902
Somehow, or some Howe else, I'm
tempted this lovely Sabbath morning
to serve YOU up with one Of those irreg-
ular alterations which Unexpectedly
break the quiet repose OF your Hood
River life and break the monotony OF
exploiting the undreamed possibilities
Of the Clark's seeding alias the Hood
River strawberry. While there are
many hours | should delight in showing
the pencil il were man of leisure,
Weld to the impulse this morning and,
with many expected Interruptions, as at
present attend my now busiest period
of my life's history, shall proceed to
proceed as fancy or modifying influences
suggest or admit. The stub OF an o. V.
cheroot has just been cast aside and
while the diminishing aroma is blend
ing with the atmosphere and leaving
fairy foot prints on the shelving, boxes
and clothing it is to be hoped that enough
will be deposited on this paper as will
infuse into YOU such dreamy poetical
exhileration as will mark a bright spot
in your history towards which memory
will ever be found reverting with untold
delight.
1t is the opening season of the fly
here now. Mr.. Fly has come upon us
suddenly and without preliminary or
tiresome ceremony. With his usual git
up-and-git temper, familiarity and so
ciability he has announced his intention
of staying all summer and as late in the
winter as circumstances and business
will Justify.
incidentally | am reminded and en-
brace this opportunity to tell you that
time flies, too. The two flies are radi-
cally different, though they seem to jog
along quite harmoniously together.
Other things fly too, as were witnessed
the severe 30 minute storm here last
week. You might be disposed to laugh
at me if you had seen me holding on to
a peach tree with the driving wind, hail
and rain, disheveling my beautiful curls
and soaking me with filtered ice water.
| did not 90 out of the house merely
the sake of the bath and was not laugh
ing. mention these things so you may
not form wrong conclusions. 1t is true
| have no regular bath house, neither
have a storm house. Some members
OF young amateur cyclone COM
pany turned themselves loose about a
month ago in the south east part of the
city land undertook to paint the suburbs
according to the up-to-date ideas.
Leaving out scattering work ! mention
two cases as especially worthy of skill
full and potent operators. They whirled
school house one revolution, then
lifted it 50 or 60 feet, and, as suddenly,
let all hands loose when it dropped to
earth, each side falling outward to the
ground and ceiling and roof falling fiat
on the floor. The school children had
run to homes they could reach, and the
teacher had left about four minutes be-
fore the crash came Though flattened
mass of timbers, two-thirds of the win
dow glass were unbroken. Figure up
how many of the occupants would have
been alive il the crash had come while
they were all in school. A quarter mile
east Of the school house there was a
large oak tree with massive spreading
branches, within 25 feet of very frail
old shanty, with several rickety old sheds,
pens and coops and barrels close by
At the same moment the school house
dropped flattened mass some invisible
power, as though in wanton fiendish-
ness, grasped the large spreading arms
of this magnificent oak tree and twisted
them off at about an average of five feet
from the body and dropped part at the
foot of the tree while Others hung from the
stubs from whence they were broken.
| These latter we're cut off ahd two or
three cords of wood obtained. Looking
on this scene shortly after its occur
renee could not discover single loose
| Tapping board on shanty or outhouses
had been moved or the slightest disar-
rangement anywhere else among old
boards or boxes. An old rickety leaning
pipe projecting through the roof from
the cook stove stood quietly smoking its
pipe as though the deadest of dead calms
had eyer prevailed in its vicinity.
used to think I'd like to be a philoso.
pher but don't much banker after that
business now, want an easier job. Ii
cyclones will let me alone and give me
wide berth in their summer outings
| will not press an explanation OF their
phenominal freaks. The storm of last
week left many footprints in partially
or wholly wrecked buildings, but no loss
of life in this city 1t came with so
little warning (about o'clock p. M
that schools we're in full blast, and the
volume Of unadulterated, unaffected
unprecedented bawling and squalling
in infinite variety, according to reports,
was a sight to hear in connection with
the momentary production of "theateI
pandemonia. The large, handsome,
brick-veneered north school building,
just completed few weeks ago, was full
of children and as it creaked and shifted
large plate glass crashing on all sides,
and the brick veneer falling off, only
eye witnesses are able to reasonably
comprehend the confusion and terror
which reigned at the time.