The Penn's Grove record., 1906-06-15

CLOUDBURSTS CAUSE RUIN
Damage Mills, Homes and Crops
in Conemaugh Valley.
Killed in Vain Effort to Save Her
Baby HurIs Child From Track
--Crushed by Engine.

Johnstown, Pa. = Thunder showers.
electric storms and heavy downpours
of rain that had prevailed throughout
Western Pennsylvania during the en-
tire week eliminated in cloudbursts in
Cambria, Westmoreland, Somerset and
Butler counties that caused the rivers
and creeks to overflow, flooding the
streets in many communities and dis
seminating a general flood scare. Ear!y
reports indicated that the damage
would be great. Probably $4,000 Will
cover all losses sustained i'll the sec
tons affected.
The greatest damage was in Hoov-
ersville, Somerset County, eighteen
miles from this city. Here a veritable
cloudburst caused Stony Creek to rise
sever feet i'll an hour and Il half. The
waters reached the first floor of many
dwellings, and all the factories i'll the
low lying section of the town were
obliged to suspend operations. Cellars
were flooded and a number of streets
were under water for a time, but III
casualties are known to have resulted.
The HooversvilIe schoolhouse was
washed away from its foundation.
Island Park, Il summer resort. was
destroyed by the waters, but as the
flood came at an hour when there were
no pleasure seekers, the loss is confined
to the property of the park manage
ment. The entire loss in this section is
estimated at $4,000.
The Conemaugh River, made famous
in the history of the Johnstown flood
Of 1889, swollen by the %outpouring
from the Stony Creek section, began to
rise rapidly and caused somewhat of IL
scare in this city. The streets along
the river bank were soon inundated
and mills and factories were obliged to
suspend.
Heroine of an i~nstant's tragedy, Mrs.
Annie Roblitzki made a marvellous ef-
fort to save her child from death. but
although she prevented the infant from
being crushed under an engine that
ground her to pieces, the little Il was
killed by the force with which she
flung it from her, and its body a mo-
ment after was engulfed in t1ood-swol-
len Stony Greek.
The woman was close to the middle
of the famous stone bridge over that
stream, watching wreckage from Il
food that did much damage in Hoov-
ersville. Butler, Latrobe, Baggaley and
other places, when a Pennsylvania fly
er Numbered over the structure. Illus
band and friends called to her to flee,
but the roar of the rushing waters evil
IDENTIFY drowned their voices as we'll as
the noise Of the approaching train, and
the vibration of the track must have
been her first warning.
She faced the express only in time to
see she hadn't a chance to escape. One
cry broke from her. Then, raising her
baby, six months old, high above her
head, she hurled it from her. Her
scream was swallowed in a shrill blast
of the whistle as the engine cut her
down. Roblitzki tried to dash toward
the spot, where he, too, surely would
have met death, but friends restrained
him.
At Latrobe, Westmoreland County,
the streets We're flooded and merchants
were obliged to remove their stocks.
Baggaley, a mining village in a gully
near Nine-Mile Run, was for a time in
a perilous position. So rapidly did the
water rise that many people were tax
en- from their houses OH RATS.