Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1911-06-29
Heavy Electrical Storm.
Marry People Stunned, Trees
and Buildings Struck.

SOPAO hOSse~.~~~1
and Buildings Struck.
Damage Heavy In County.
Friday evening of last week this vicin-
ity was again visited by a severe cleo.
trical storm, the lightning and thunder
being about the heaviest ever heard.
Very little damage was done here, there
being but little rain and no wind. South
Of town rain fell in torrents and wind
blew with terrific force.
At Catoctin Furnace lightning struck
the ice house on the property OF Mr..
Frank Fraley SCATTERING it badly and
setting it on fire. The blaze was dis
covered and extinguished before much
damage was done.
On the WINDY Hill" farm east half a
mile from Catoctin, lightning struck the
southeast corner of the barn. Mr. Henry
Fraley with five of his sons and Thomas
Donnelly had just gotten in the barn
with number of horses when the light
ming struck the building above the horse
stable door. All were stunned and sew
eral of the horses fell on their knees.
Very little damage was done the build
ing. The wind at this place was very
severe, trees being broken and hundreds
of panels of fence blown down. The
storm travelled south through the Isan-
ogle, Wiles and Ramsburg farms to
Lewistown doing much damage as it
went.
The lightning was very severe at High
Run gap in the mountain about a. mile
from Thurmont. At the reservoir on
this stream a rumber of men in charge
of Supt. Jas. T. Waesche were at work
making improvements to the Water
Company's dams. On account of the
dense growth of timber they could not
see the extent of the clouds. Rain began
falling and suddenly there was binding
flash of liz htning and terrific report.
Mr.. Waes,he says the ground around
hem was covered with sparks and that
there were hundreds of little explosions
about as loud as that produced by toy
pistol cap. Every one of the men were
stunned A cross-cut saw was knocked
from the hands of one of the men and
thrown some distance away. Mr.. Waesche
says he is positive four bolts of lightning
fell in rapid succession. John Tom Davis
was one who passed through this exper-
fence and on Saturday evening still felt
the effects of the shock.
In the vicinity of Blue Mountain school
house lightning was severe, number OF
persons receiving slight shocks.
At Creagerstown the steeple on the
new Lutheran church was struck and
damaged. 1t was reported that the
steeple was knocked from the church
but this report was not correct.
About a mile from Creagerstown and
on the farm known to many as the Geo.
Shaw" place, occupied by Mr.. Allen
Yingling, lightning struck a tree to which
was attached wire clothes line, the
other end being fastened to the summer
kitchen. The current followed the wire
to the building, knocked the plates from
the cookstove and burned Mrs. Yingling
and shocked several children who were
nearby her.
The Frederick Daily Neaos of Satur-
day last says:
Following a day of oppressive heat,
Frederick and the county were visited
by a severe thunder storm about o'clock
in the afternoon. All day long the mer-
curry continued to rise and at the time
that the storm broke, the heat was very
oppressive.
Accompanying the storm was consid-
cradle lightning which did some damage
in the county. At the Lutheran church,
Jefferson, the steeple, which is about 80
feet high, was struck by lightning and
one side of it was torn out. The ball of
fire ran down the steeple on to the metal
roof of the church and then to the ground.
A blaze was started in the top of the
steeple but it was extinguished by a
bucket brigade.
The barn of Mrs. John S. Lakin, near
Jefferson, was struck on the cupola and
damaged somewhat. 1t did not take fire.
A COW belonging to Clarence Hemp, of
that neighborhood, was killed during the
storm. The old residents of that section
say that it was the worst electrical storm
that they have experienced for number
of years.
The lightning struck the end of the
residence of Harry Dieter in Frederick,
running across the spouting and knock
ing it from the building. Mr. Dieter
was standing on his rear porch at the
time and was partly stunned.
Reports from Hagerstown indicate
that the storm was very bad at that
place and portions of Washington county.
We clip the following:
Hagerstown, June A series of ter
rife storms swept Washington county
from o'clock last evening until 10 o'clock
last night. Lightning, wind and rain
played havoc through broad belt from
northwest to southwest through fertile
section.
At Halfway the storm wrecked the
barn of Peter Horst and 400 feet of the
Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Com
pany's line. Poles were blown down and
large trees uprooted. To the east of the
village and below this city the barns of
William Murdoch and BENJAMIN Ren,ch