The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1902-03-07
ICE STORM
AFTERMATH
Bright Letter TO Mrs. McCurdy
From Dover Ridge Farm.

FROM UOVeT Mu2c Tdflil.
Florida Newspaper Contrasts Sum
mer Weather in Alligator State
With Frigid North Considers
Persons in the Sunny South Fort
unate in Escaping the Recent Spell
Of Weather Mrs. Hollis Description
| True to Nature.
From recent number OF the Tam
pa, Florida, Observer, wA quote o
graphic account of the great ice storm
in this section as truthfully and in
terestingly pictured BY Mrs. Holt, in
| a letter to Mrs. Richard A. McCurdy,
who with Mr.. McCnrdy has been in
Tampa for sometime.
Richard A. McCnrdy, president
lof the New York Mutual Life Insur-
anoe Company, ia at Tamna Bay, Fla. /,
accompanied BY Mrs. McCurdy. Their
summer home is at Morris Plains, N.
j., and q letter received last week by
Mrs. McCurdy from her housekeeper
there, gives those fortunate people
who have been in Florida for the
past few days something TO be thank
| full for.
Following is the description given
by the housskeeper Of the pleasures
- ii.e =. ceisoy A"so1 - '''is
period OF the year
Morris Plains, N. r., Feb. "a, 1909.
Dear Mrs McUurdy--I presume you
have read all about our terrible storm
Of ice which no pen or tongue can
describe. No one ever saw anything
like it in this part of the country be-
fore. On Friday evening the electric
light went out and that is the last we
saw Of it until tonight. We had only
few fiickering gas jets and candles
to burn. Luckily I had pound of
candles in the house and a supply of
large oldfashioned candlesticks, with
extinguishers on, SO with many words
of warning, I put them around in the
rooms, sent one to the stable, with
our house lantern, and we managed to
eat, do the night work and go to bed.
That was all, as wanted to run no
risks with candles.
The storm ragged all day Saturday
and far into the night. The great
weight of thick ice and snow carried
down wires, trees, every frail thing
and much that was not frail.
Our greatest worry was about the
greenhouses. We waited almost
breathlessly to hear the entire roofs
OF glass fall under the great weight
of solid ice, but fortunately the storm
ceased Just when it seemed as though
nothing could hold another ounce Of
ice and on Sunday the sun came out
and partly melted the heavy coating,
but not before great deal of damage
was done to wires, trees and foliage
all over the track of the storm. It was
impossible to go over. the pump road,
even crawling on ohe's knees, for
fallen branches and trees we're
bent to the ground. across the road on
both sides, laden with ice an inch
thick all around the slender stems of
the smallest twig branches which
looked like hairs in the thick crystal
casing. The entire road was impass-
able The main avenue being wider
was not quite so bad.
The farm road, after some cleaning,
we could use by passing around by
the stable, as the short cut down
through the cedars was completely
filled with fallen branches and bent
trees. Everything else except the
havoc to the trees and foliage was all
right.
Our live stock was all housed safely,
with plenty to eat.
A lot Of feed of different kinds
which I had ordered from New York
for the COWS and chickens had arrived
only the day before. All departments
were we'll stocked with coal, even the
railroad cottages so that, If we had
been frozen in for week we should
not have suffered. On Sunday put
on my leggings and high rubber
boots, with short skirts, and went out
as far as l could walk to see what
damage had been done. could not
GO far in any direction. When re-
turned my short skirts were SO wet
up to the knee that had to take them
off and wiring them out, Now, the
roads are much worse the water knee
deep and tonight it is pouring down
rain ON top Of all that ice and snow.
Wheels cannot run and the water is
over the bottoms of the sleighs, All
those lovely maple trees in Speed
we'll avenue are broken and twisted
out of all shape. All over it is just
the same and the park in Morristown
looks as If an army had bombarded it
in the night. 1t is piled with the
broken branches Of those beautiful
naples. 1t is said that the famous elm
T4..I1 y