Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1908-12-03
CYCLONE BLOWS DOWN
TREES AND HOUSES

During the Electrical Storm
| Which Passed Over This Sec
tion of the State Wednesday,
Nov. rs, Many Trees We're
Upro0ted and Houses Com
pIetely Demolished.
During the electric and thunder
storm which ragged IL, his section Of
the state Wednesday Nov. % after
sun-down, clclOue struck the earth
! in the town Of Grant, Portage Co.,
! about tw0 miles southwest of Wm.
| Gaulke'S farm which is about eight
miles east of the city of Grand Rapids,
at o'clock o. N The cyclone travel
ling Il noTthea>terly direction, levelliDg
and uprocting pine-treeS. moving a
| path about fifteen rods wide and eX-
! tending to Stevens Point and beyond.
Charles Laufet's house which is
| located in the town Of Grant.
| Portage County, and ABOUT one
mile northeast If VIM. Gaulke'S place
was com pletely demolished and dis
tributed in the line Of the storm >for
about eighty rods. The upright part
of The house was p * 30 with a lean
! tn of v /. .iI,,
squareiy hewu logs Il u inches, and
Sheeted on the outside. The house
rested upon a stone foundation and
these were crumbled down. When
the cyclone struck the house it was
occupied by Mr.. and Mrs Chas.
! Laufer, Sr and their daughter Miss
Eliza Laufer. The two elder people
! were STATED in rocking chairs, reading,
while the daughter was lying on sofa
| The first knowledge of danger came to
them when the windows were broken
clone. This was the last the surviv-
! ing mem berS remembered until the
| cyclone had passed. After the cyclone,
the daughter heard Ler mother call
! ing TO her husband aud daughter, and
in this manner they found each other,
| out could get no response from the
| father, who, il was afterward learned,
was dead. Together, the mother and
| daughter went TO the nearest neign-
! Dor, G0ttiieb Hainke, mile diStaut,
where they received shelter aud medi-
/ Cal attention. Miss Elizabeth Hainke
! notified MIR. VIM. Gaulke, who drove
| to keIlner and Leiephoned DR.. Hougen,
who responded promptly and FASTENED
! 10 the sceHe of disaster. He found
bOIh Of The ladies BADLY Scared and
| bruised, but no bUueS broken, aud
/ both will recover The father was
found face downward, with severe
! Scalp wound at he back of the head
caused bJ the falling Of a Il Il stick
! vi lumber which was resting across
the back Of his head. He was in
SJduJly killed. The house and all its
coutento were completely destroyed,
|
tributed tor so rods No piece OF
furniture bat what was broken into
minute Fragments and its certainly
miracle that Mrs. Laufer aud her
daughter escaped With their lives.
Charles Laufer, Sr., deceased, was
an old resident Of that town and was
| fAfn l. L i ia;
and member Of the G. A. R. Post ia
| Grand Rapids. lie was native of
Saarbrechen, Germany. He was
married in Milwaukee, AZ years ago TO
Miss katherine OeStrt icher, who sur
wives bIm. A 81 three children, TWO
boys, George aud Charles, and one
daughter Miss Eliza. The funeral
took place Monday and the remains
were brought to this city for burial.
The surviving members of the family
have the sympathy of their friends
and acquaintanceS in this section of
the state.
While cyclone was raging on the
east side Of the Wisconsin river val
ley in the town Of Grant, Portage
county, at the same time : o'clock
m., Wednesday evening, Nov. 25, there
was also another branch of the same
storm cyclone raging through the
towns of Seneca. Sigel and Rudolph
| levelling houses, barns and outbuild-
ings even as far north as Junction
City, doing great damage all along its
| course. Three men are repori ed
dangerously hurt. one in the town of
Sigel, one in the town of Rudolph
and the third in Junction City. Steve
Green's house, barn and outbuildings
were all destroyed. The loss of
property, cattle, farm machinery, etc,
will run up into the thousands of dol
lars.
The school house and only church in
| Meehan were demolished by the
cyclone which passed through that
village Wednesday evening at about
seven O'Clock. No other great DAM
age was done to property until it
reached Stevens Point.
Many Rudolph Families Among Sufferers.
La the town of Rudolph one of the
sufferers, Martin Joosten and family
who resides about one-half mile north
of Rudolph station on the G. NJ. & St.
Paul railroad, in Wood county, had
his house, barns, sheds and granery
leveled with the ground causing loss
of $1,000 by the cyclone. His barn
rested upon stone foundation
and bas ment in which he
stabbed his cows and horses. One
COW was killed outright and one had