St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1915-03-03
DELUCE AT CENTER
CONTINUED from page u


law, Mrs George Goodenough, were
taken aboard. Mrs. GoOdenough
walked on chairs to get to the boat.
Mr.. and Mrs. Eugene Joyce were
also rowed to safety from their
home, as were Mrs. Addie Page and
Mrs. Sarah Wilson, the latter being
taken from a chamber window at
midnight. Lewis Mooney, being
stranded at the Lee house and desiF-
Gus of going home, called for assis-
lance. At this time the current
around the house was so strong that
/ it was impossible to launch a boat
and a rope was thrown him. This
he tied about his waist and Arthur
Olcott hauled him to safety. In
the south part of the village Mr.
and Mrs. Dennis B. Twombly and
four children were taken out in
boats.
Eight Feet of Water in the Street
Those north of the old hotel were
not so fortunate. With the warte
eight feet deep in the street and
running full current, the inmates of
the Carr, Bacon, Bonette, Howard
and Stone houses were forced to re-
main in their homes until the water
subsidized Friday morning.
At Delos Bacon's the water COW
cred the cook stove and Mr.. Bacon
answered the telephone standing in
the water waist deep until the line
went out of order. In his barn a
cow and a heifer were drowned but
two other COWS and the horse sur
vived. An amusing incident was
that two pigs which were earlier in
the day brought from the basement
and put into the barn, were found
the next morning occupying an old
surrey, one in each seat, and one of
them fast asleep. Two boys, Dean
Hall and Frank Gallagher, had a mar
row escape at Mr.. Bacon's. Being
caught by the rush of water, the boys
climbed tree and later managed to
wade to the barn in water up to their
arm pits. There Hall was made
comfortable with hay and blankets
and then Gallagher attempted to
reach the house on the ice cakes. He
slipped into the water but after a
hard swim reached the kitchen door
where he was pulled through to
safety. He also stayed until morn
ing.
At Asa Howard's there was two
feet of water on the ground floor and
in Mr.. Stones the river made free
to plOw through the lower floor
Great Pack of Ice.
Pihng ice cakes higher than a
mans head in the yards and high
ways and the swamp above the old
hotel, the river then submerged the
| hotel building, Lees, Wilson's, Good
enough's and JOyce's, before return
ing to it's proper channel between the
Joyce house and the electric station.
The buildings along the river bank
then had to take their share. Not
one of them from Mrs. Addie Pages
to Frank Wheeler's at the iron bridge
but was damaged to some extent.
| Perhaps the worst damaged were
! Walter Wheeler's and Joseph Mich
OILS, where huge ice cakes tore off
Out-buildings, wood sheds and piaz-
Zas.
At a point opposite the Methodist
church the river was again forced
from it's channel by jam at the iron
bridge. The Nichols and Bennett
places on the west side of the street
and Ira Benefits, George Wheeler's
and other houses on the east side
were submerged and the water
forced up the ravine as far as Den
mis- Twombly's. The road for sew
eral hundred feet below the station
on both sides of the river were eff
I0CCINSIy DIOCh6Q ny ICE.
Estimate of the Loss.
The amount of damage at the Cen
er is difficult to estimate, but it will
probably reach $4,000, as but few
escaped some loss. Besides those
mentioned, George Woodman,
Charles Eastman and Warren Good
enough each lost a COW. The town
estimate their loss at $12, 900, in
Guiding the bridge.
A sudden drop in the temperature
about 9 o'clock Thursday night put
a slight check on the rivers antics,
but it was not until the next morn
ing that anything could be done to-
ward Strengthening things out and
then very little. The village was
practically cut off from all sides. Ice
covered every approach and the on
ly way to get in was to walk the
track from st. JOhnsbury. By noon
Friday, however, a makeshift board
walk was laid across the field of ice
to the hills on the east and Mr.. and
Mrs. Bacon assisted across to neigh
bors. Teams, by a wide detour over
the hills from the Knowlton place,
could get into the village, but could
get no further.
Reopening the Roads.
The village presented an active
scene Friday. About a hundred Ia
borers were put to work cleaning the
ice off about a thousand feet of track
above the station and they were as
sisted by derrick to lift off the larg
er chunks. Road Commissioner
Douglas also had a gang of about
so cleaning the highway. Telephone,
telegraph and electric linemen were
busy sorting their wires out of the
net work that was strewn about and
there was a general hustle, made
more animated by the constant
stream of sightseers, who walked in
from all directions.
At o'clock the first train was al
| lowed to proceed slowly over the
track and the next day Mr.. Douglas
announced that a road over the hill
| by Frank Brewers to connect with
the Lyndon road at the Ayers place
was ready for use.
He also had hewn a way through