Windham County reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1901-1906, 1902-12-12
SEVERE COLD
ABOUT BRATTLEBORO.
TUESDAY THE BITTEREsT DECEMBER
DAY KNOWN IN YEARS.
Local Thermometers Registered from Is to 25
Degrees Below Zero Tuesday Morning,
While One in West Brattleboro is Credited
With Having Touched Point SO Degrees
Below-A Climax in the Fuel Situation.

Tuesday was the coldest December
day which Brattleboro has known in
years. With the mercury registering
as low as 30 degrees below zero in the
early morning and not reaching point
more than two or three degrees above
during the entire day the weather was
f literally Arctic in its severity and sur
passed all records for December bit
terness. Not drop Of water fell from
the caves of any building in town dur
ing the day, and TO the few who were
obliged to brave the elements, the
Main street store windows presented
the appearance of ground glass. Cold
and coal were the subjects on all minds
and the latter, by its absence, was up
permost.
Without doubt Monday night will be
remembered as one of the coldest ever
experienced in New England. The
temperature dropped nearly 40 degrees
in the 10 hours and when Tuesday
morning dawned the various thermom-
eters hereabouts registered almost un-
heard-of cold. Making allowance for
all prevarications which are apt to
occur on such occasions there is no
doubt that all December temperature
records were broken. At s o'clock
Tuesday morning a thermometer on
Main street registered l3 degrees be-
low and employees of the electric road
reported . and 30 degrees below at
different points in West Brattleboro.
Later in the day a story was circulated
TO the effect that the mercury dropped
to Sc below at the Perry farm on the
Marlboro road. and no one who had
been out doors felt like denying it.
As the day continued the tempera
ture rose gradually but even at noon
the weather was bitterly cold the
mercury never reaching higher than
five degrees above the cipher. In the
afternoon it began to drop again and
with the increasing wind many people
predicted a still colder night. Be
fore Wednesday morning however,
the weather abated considerably, al
though the dampness which came
with the rise in temperature made the
cold much more penetrating. Business
in Brattleboro was practically at a
standstill Tuesday and no one except
those who were obliged to appeared on
the streets. All trains were more or
less delayed on account of the weather,
and one veteran engineer made the
statement that he never had seen a
time when it was so difficult TO make
steam. Frozen fingers were experienced
by many, ond one of the American Ex
press company's employees sustained
pair of badly frost bitten ears by leav-
ing them uncovered from the express
office to the depot. Plumbers were busy
all day Tuesday thawiug out frozen
pipes and repairing those that burst.
The cold weather brought the local
fuel situation TO climax. Both local
coal dealers were busy all day Monday
delivering what coal they could to fam
lilies actually in need but on Tuesday
they were obliged to resort to extreme
measures. Barrows i Co. kept 10 teams
busy all Tuesday delivering the Penn
sylvania product in amounts ranging
from bushel to a half-ton and L. B.
Yauvey had almost as many delivery
teams at work Orders came in so fast
Tuesday morning that before noon
there were more orders than the entire
local supply of coal would fill. Regu-
lar customers were served first but
everyone was supplied as long as the
supply lasted. Chase street primary
school was closed Tuesday morning on
account of the cold weather, and all
he pupils in the High school building
we're sent home Wednesday morning.
Later in the day the signal for no
school was given.