Connecticut western news., 1916-04-06
THE SUMMERLESS YEAR
In 1876 Winter Lasted all the Year
 Through.


 The phenomenal weather which has prevailed so far this year has led many "observers" to dig up comparisons with unusual conditions experienced in other years and, according to the | Ansonia Sentinel, one w. $. Brown, of Derby, who has been in the habit of keeping close tabs ou the weather and weather statistics, met with unexpected success when he unearthed the follow ing clipping from an old, old paper, containing the story of James Win chester, of Vermont on a snow storm that came just 100 years ago next June IT. The clipping is the property of Alton ID. Nankervis, of IS Elm Street. Ansonia 1t was given him by his grandmother who found it among some of his grandfather's keepsakes. The account is ancient history long covered in oblivion and now, when brought te light, it affords very interesting read ing. It follows as it was clipped fuoEa the New York Sun:
 "I haven't heard much else but talk about the weather since I came to New York" said Nonagenaran James Winchester, or Vermont, who is visit ing his daughter in this city. "and yon have had pretty snug winter for here. I suppose, but I remember the year that was winter from one end of it un- til the other, and when the weather was so severe in June that terrible snow storm prevailed on the l7th of that month, and people were frozen te death in the month of roses. I don't think there are many people who have as vivid recollection of the year with out a summer as I have, for various reasons, one being that there are flow surviving who were as old as I was in that year and another is because 8 near relative of mine was frozen to death ia Vermont on June IF of that year, which was the year ISlG.
 "I was 14 years old then, and living in Vermont where have always lived, and where the memorable season was at its very worst, us in the other New England states in June snow fell but inches deep, and in New York, Penn- sylvania and New Jersey it was ne- where deeper than 8 inches. In Yer mont it was 10 inches on the level. mean the great snow of June IT. Snow
  and ice froze every day in the month. In fact, there were snow and ice in every month of 1916.
 "That snow storm of June IT was one of the severest ever saw, even iz the depth of winter in that locality of severe snows. An uncle of mine had some sheep in a back pasture lot, Te get to that lot he had to go through IA piece of woods for nearly mile. The weather had been very cold all through June. The big storm of the 17th be- gan along about noon, and my uncle started after dinner to go to the sheep lpasture to fix up a shelter of some kind for the sheep. No one had any idea, cold and eccentric as the season had been up to that time, that we could have fall of snow that would amount to anything at that time of year. was at my uncle's when he left homo te go to the sheep lot, and as he went out of the door he said to his wife in a jocular way:
 If I'm not back in an hour. call the neighbors and start them after me. June is bad month to get buried in snow. especially when it gets to ba sc near the month of July"
 Nothing more was thought of tho matter. The snow increased in fury and by night it had drifted so that the roads were almost impossible, but even then. and when it grew dark, none of us felt uneasy about uncle. The weather had become bitter cold. When night set in in earnest, and there was no sign of uncle's return, his wife sent me and my cousin, who was two years younger than me, to alarm the neigh. bors and tell them that We believed uncle had been lost in the snow and had perished.
 We had hard time getting to tue nearest neighbours, less than mile away, and there gave the alarm, but could go no further. The neighbors summoned others and in spite of tue severity of the night they searched the woods until morning, but no sign of the missing man could be found. The search was taken up by others the foi- lowing day and all the next night without any trace of him being dis covered, except that he reached the pasture and built a shelter of bouRhs in one corner of the lot, under which the sheep were huddled. On the foro- noon of the third day the searchers found my uncle buried in the snow s mile from the pasture, in almost an opposite direction from home. He was frozen stiff.
 "He had evidently become be- wildered in the blinding storm and had wandered about until he succumbed to fatigue and cold. It seems a most im- probable thing that u person ever fen e victim to a snowstorm in the middle of June in this latitude. but have thiE sorrowful knowledge of one instance at least, where such u thing was only t,a l true.
 "The wiDd during June, July ant August of 1916 was continuously from the north and it blew fiercely and cold Farmers wore heavy overcoats and