Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1907-07-26
BRATTLEBORO LOCAL NEWS
POWERS OF THE AIR
A Series of Severe and Destruc-
tive Electrical Storms
Worst Thunderstorm Of the Season In
Brattleboro Wednesday Nght-Thls
Whole New England Section Storm
Swept Last Saturday Night

Whole New England Section Storm
Swept Last Saturday Night
1t is a long time since Brattleboro has
seen such an electrical display as ac-
compunied the heavy shower which pre-
vailed over the village just before mid
night Wednesday night The entire
northwest was lighted up with almost in
cessant flashes of vivid lightning and
the sharp, nearby defamation and roll of
the thunder was almost continuous. The
lightning struck in several places in the
village and did some damage. Rain fell
steadily for nearly two hours with an
occasional dOwnpour following an cleo
trical display and crash. The hill roads
were washed badly and the volume Of
MILESTONE brook was doubled in the
morning. The shower seems to have been
central over Brattleboro, the reports from
the surrounding towns showing no dam
age
Two young boys in the home of NJ. j.,
Doyle, 100 Elliot street, had narrow
escape from injury by a bolt of lightning
which struck the house. The lightning
struck in the gable end of the house near
the ridgepole, went through the bedroom
in which the boys were sleeping, then
uassed downward through a closet and
out of the rear of the house. The boys,
Patrick Doyle and Francis Landerfest,
were sleeping in a bed on the third floor
of the house, the head of the bed being
against the gable end which was struck.
The lightning tore off several clapbOards
on the gable, tore out a section of the
wall directly behind the head of the bed
and then appeared to pass across the
bed to the footboard, splinterng it and
dropping the boys to the floor. Both boys
felt the shock as a pricklng sensation in
their legs and were badly scared but both
appeared as well as usual in the morn
ing. When the lightning passed down
through the closet it tore off the plaster
ing and demolished the contents. The
contents of a bureau were set on fire but
the flames were eXtinguished easily 1t was
the same kind of an escape that three
children of Mr.. and Mrs G. w. Pierce had
in the Retreat farmhouse in a thunder
shower one night 10 or y years ago, when
lightning ripped off the wall at the head
of their bed and filled the room and the
baby's crib with debris.
Lightning struck the house of II. II
Winchester on Maple street, tearing
the ceiling almost completely off the Kit
chen. The house was not set on fire and
aside from the rough handling of things
in the kitchen not much damage was
done. This is the second time this sea-
son that Mr. Winchester's buildings have
been struck The other time a bolt OF
lightning struck locust tree and went
to the ground through a blacksmith shop
doing much damage to the tools and the
building.
Some damage was done to trees. \
big buttonwood behind the BrattleborC
house was struck and some limbs tori
off. two trees near Laurel street were
struck and splintered and several tree:
near West Brattleboro were damaged. \
coil in one dynamo at the power station o
the Twin State Gas and Electric Co. a
West Dummerston was burned out anC
the street lights went out. \ prompt eX
change to the engines at the Arch stree
power house was made and the light
were out only Is minutes. The lightning
did much damage to the electric lighting
system in Hinsdale and workmen wer
busy all day yesterday making repairs
The telephone system suffered but little
only about % lines being put out of ser
vice.