The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1912-07-08
Wind, Rain and Electrical Dis
turbance Centered Over City
ABB0TT'S STORE DAMAGED
Other Buildings Partially Unroofed--
Trees Snapped Off Like Reeds, Wires
Tangled, and Streets Became
Torrents Saturday Evening.

A wind and rain storm that for TWEEN
ty minute! assumed the proportions of
a tornado visited Barre and immediate
vicinity Saturday afternoon at $50
o'clock, and before its fury had abated
damaged property TO the estimated ex-
tent of $4,000 was left in its wake.
The storm was accompanied by electrical
disturbances and one of the bolts of
lightning struck the building occupied by
A. i. Abbott Co. as a dry goods store,
punctured hole in the. brick veneer
wall at the rear, and enabled the wind
to get such tremendous hold under
meath that fully three fourths of the
roof was torn from the structure and
deposited in the street Damage at THAI
store is variously estimated at $4,000
and 10000. Scores of trees in different
quarters of the city were broken by the
wind and lightning; the main part of the
house on Highland avenue, occupied by
Rev. w. j. NJ. Besttie, was unroofed;
a portion of the d. NJ. Niles Coal Co.'S
| shed off Smith street was uncovered, and
roofs on other buildings in the city were
started by the powerful wind.
| Lines OF the Vermont Telephone &
Telegraph company were temporarily
/ disa bled; the lighting system of the Con-
! solidsted Lighting Co. was seriously
crippled for several hours; and the wires
of the municipal fire alarm system were
out of commission for some time. Al
though the rainstorm manifested itself
over a considerable area, the high wind
and lightning seem to have spent their
fury largely on Barre and immediate
vicinity. In the town of Berlin, two
cows belonging to r. +. Churchill, val |
ued at SIS and $50, were killed by light |
ming bolts, heifer calf belonging to Carl
H. Reed was killed, and heavy damage to
shade and apple trees in that vicinity is
reported. While the rain fell in torrents
at Montpelier, it was accompanied by
little wind. In Brookfeld the rainfall
was light, and other towns report rain
storms, with only mild electrical dis |
turbances
Outside of the losses sustained by A. !
r. Abbott & Co. the d. NJ Miles Coal Co. |
and the Episcopal rectory on Highland |
avenue, the damage locally is confined |
to broken trees, ruined gardens, and dis !
stoneshed belonging to Mrs. Agnes Will Il
liams on Granite street, a tall chimney |
was blown over by the wind and por |
tions of ehimneys elsewhere were also |
dismantled by the wind. Crossed wires
wrought havoc with the fire alarm sys-
TEN, and il was not until last night that /
Chief Gladding and his men had things /
in working order again In the inter
Ill
station / rang intermittently as the
electricians released crossed wires and
adjusted the system. Laborers from the
street department were put at work
soon after the violence of the storm had
subsided, and by 10 O'Clock many OF
the streets hitherto rendered impossible
by broken trees and washouts were
opened for traffic.
Employees of the Consolidated Light
ing Co. were remedying the trouble early
and later in the evening lights were
turned on in the stores, offices and dwell
ings. Several hours elapsed before the
street lights could be turned on. Soon
after the roof of the Daylight store was
thrown into the street, policemen roped
off a part of Main street and workmen
started clearing the debris. Intense eS-
citement reigned for several moments
after the storm had passed, and IT was
only after the exact extent of the dam
age done was learned that order was
restored.
The storm responsible for the large
loss of property came at the close of one
of the hottest days of the summer.
All afternoon, it was evident that a
thunder shower was brewing, but no one
expected the small-sized oataclysm that
later vented its fury in this quarter.
When it finally came it caught pedes-
trians, teamsters and motorists by sur
prise At times objects on one side /,
of the street viewed from the other were
well-n nigh invisible so violent was the I.
wind and so heavy the rain. Several :
sharp peals of thunder and many light
ming flashes were followed by more rain,
and before long Main street from the !
park to Depot square was a roaring
torrent into which flowed streams of
water from tributary streets. As the :
storm seemed to lash itself to greater
efforts at destruction. the waters be-
came more swollen. and many easements !,
suffered through heavy indrafts from
The stream.
After the wind had died down. the Il
Ieluge continued lot several minutes.
Persons along Main street who forded J
he water TO learn the extent of the
iamage. saw for the first time the roof
# the Daylight store lying in the street !.
ust as it had been ruthlessly torn from
Is place =
The Damage at Abbott's Store.
The bolt which struck the Daylight
tore building was followed at once by
furious gust of wind, which made off A
With the roof. The unexpected caprice
# the storm caused CONSERVATION among
he men clerks and saleswomen inside,
md it was fully three minutes beore q
hey realized what had happened The o
proprietor, A. P. Abbott, was absent at h
he time, but the clerks on learning the n
ondition of affairs, fell to salvaging as T
much of the stock as possible. With the o
oof gone, the water had but to Il
orce its way through the plaster of W
he second story ceiling, and Immediate v
V after the lightning bolt torrents OF H
rater began pouring down onto the up.
er floor Ready hands moved much OF
he stock out of the danger zone, and in