The Odanah star. [volume] (Odanah, Ashland Co., Wis.) 1912-1916, 1913-07-11
TERRIFIC STORM
SWEEPS ILLINOIS
Three Persons Killed and Scores
Injured.
PROPERTY LOSS Is IMMENSE
Many Buildings Are Razed, Fields
Laid Waste and Many Fires Are
Reported Wisconsin Hit
by Gale.
PROPERTY LOSS IS IMMENSE

/ eru lllIuOlS, hiIllHS lille POAoOAAo, 49,
juring score Of others, tearing roofs
from buildings and blowing down
| barns.
Almost a dozen cities and towns
bear mute evidence of the visit OF the
storm. Among the cities and villages
to suffer are Rockford. Elgin. Syca-
more. Dekalb, Woodstock. Hartland.
Harvard, Pingree Grove, Dundee. Al
gopquin and Marengo.
There was little or no warning OF
the approach of the storm. The first
evidence that a storm was approach
ing came about four o'clock in the af-
ternoon, when dust cloud, whirling
spirally, approached the cities.
The Dead.
Frank OLeary. farmer; killed near
| Woodstock, Ill.
Arthur Peterson, eighteen years old;
struck by lightning in gravel pit two
miles south of Elgin.
Unidentified man, killed at Marengo.
A launch, flying signals Of distress.
was sighted by the life-saving station.
They reached the lake, but were un-
able to find any trace Of it.
Lightning struck in several places,
demolishing church steeples and flag
poles.
Life savers were kept on constant
duty assisting boats which had gone
out in the lake. Seven persons were
rescued by the life savers of Lake
Forest from a launch which was In
danger Of sinking off Highland Park.
Among other rescues made by the
life savers were: Walter e. Johnson's
air boat, towed ashore near Whiting,
Ind. the motor boat Norma and four
men; the launch Rhamba, from Lin
coin park, loaded with passengers,
broke rudder near the mouth Of the
river and drifted helplesly until
reached by life saving crews.
Two Killed Near Eigin.
For several hours Elgin was shut of
from all communication with the ex-
ception of Chicago and Crystal Lake.
In this region the storm centered. and
it was near that city where the three
fatalities occurred. Twenty barns
were blown down between Elgin, Pin
gree Grove and Gilbert. Arthur Peter
son was killed by bolt of lightning
while he was driving his team to shell
ter from the Van Wicker gravel pit.
The lightning struck the wagon. kill
ing him instantly, and also one of the
horses.
A few minutes later Frank O'Leary
was killed under similar circum-
stances. He was driving along a road
near Hartland, six miles west of Wood
stock, when lightning struck his wag-
on. The force Of the bolt killed
,O'Leary and one of the horses and
hurled the wagon down an embank-
ment.
Otto Hamlin and Charles Andrews
were probably fatally injured In the
collapse of a barn on Hamlin's farm.
In which they had sought refuge from
the storm.
Damage at Woodstock.
At Woodstock the storm did great
damage. For many hours there was
no communication between the strick-
en- city and the outside world. About
nine o'clock one telephone line was
opened. It was learned that trees.
awnings and signs had been blown
down, and several barns destroyed.
Employees of the Oliver Typewriter
company fed from the building when
the water tower at the plant was
blown down. IS
From Woodstock the storm circled
back. striking Elgin. Five thousand
trees were uprooted, and for several
hours all traffic along many streets
was at standstill. An electric light
tower, 100 feet tall, standing in the
campus of the Elgin academy, was
blown over The roof of the Stewart
Milling company was torn off and
many employees in the building had
narrow escapes from death and injury
In the falling timbers.
Trees Are Blown Down.
Hundreds of beautiful trees which
have been the pride of Rockford for so
years. and which earned 1t the title of
Forest City," were uprooted. AL
though three sections Of the storm,
coming from west, north and east, uni
ted in the northern section Of Rock
ford, no deaths or serious injury re
suited.
The steamer Illinois, which plies the
Rock river from the business center to
an amusement park on the North side,
had left the landing half an hour be-
fore the storm broke, and for hours
fears were felt for it's safety. Captain
Baker, commanding the boat, ran the
steamer to the bank when the storm
broke and landed the passengers. The
wind damaged the steamer slightly.
Burning barns around Rockford cast
red glow upon the sky for many
hours after the storm passed. Almost
every building in the city suffered
damage to some extent.
Farmers Lose Heavily.
Marengo, city about twenty miles
east OF Rockford, suffered heavily.