Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1916-08-24

| a catch basin there was for awhile near
the Augusta House a veritable lake of
! mud and water, making it impossible for
pedestrians to traverse that area. Market
square was another place where there was
flood, and Rines hill looked for awhile
like mountain torrent, the water be-
awhile stopping one of the trolley cars
until the stones could be removed.
Disaster to Communication
The storm seriously affected the
Augusta telephone exchange. Manager
Herbert stated Wednesday night the
stCrm to be the most disastrous in the
history of the local exchange. Out of
Is toll circuits cut Of the Augusta ex-
change only two were in working con-
dition up to a late hour Wednesday
night, one to Portland and one to
Gardiner. 1t las impossible to esti-
mate with am accuracy the number
of local lines affected by the storm.
Considerably ever 700 We're up on
trouble during the evening. lines
grounded by the storm. while without
doubt many more viii! show up today
and the total number of individual
stations put out Of service may not
be known for two days.
Crews we're brought to Augusta as
soon as possible after the shower and
work started in clearing the break
through the toll lines on Court street
" here large tree on the premises of
Daniel H. Lynch fell directly across
The street and carried 30 telephone
wires oh MI
ground in tanglel mess Cross arms
were pulled and splintered on each
side Of the brea,..
On the Bangor road near the farm
CT Mrs. B. M. Cross tree went
through the lire and carried every
Thing with it and at many other
places up. tina. road large limbs fell
across the lines, making almost
fopeless task of clearing the circuits
before another day.
All Of the Ga1 dinar Augusta lines on
s'le west side Of the river were put out
ty the falling Ct tree a. Loudon Hill.
At point little vest Of East Win.
tnrop it was reported by telephone
employees that building had been un-
rooted and the wreckage landed
astride the Augusta Winthrop toll line.
a Telephone Co. auto truck arriving
from Lewiston at o'clock reported
passing many trees between Winthrop
and Augusta tom out by the roots and
laid fiat. Limbs Of all sizes were in
and rear the re adway
The large tree at Hon. Elmer E.
NeWberts residence on State street
which was blown down carried with
1t the State street telephone cable and
messenger wir, putting out of service
co lines in a moment
Hardly a rural line was working
Wednesday night. Those stations in
tie business district of the city where
The service is from underground cable
construction were the least affected.
although it is quite probable that
even some of these lines will he
found to have been affected today.
While owing to the lack of toll cir
cults little information could be oh
tanned Wednesday night concerning the
effect Of the storm in other places it
is thought that 1t conferred over this
city.
The past six weeks or more, until the
beginning of the recent dry weather,
has been the most troublesome to the
telephone service Of any period for
many years. The nearly continuous hot,
damp weather has been the cause of
excessive moisture gathering on the
wiring in cellars and much corrosion
In the carbons of the high current pro.
tective devices.
This storm" said Manager Herbert,
lis almost the last straw. It will proh
ably be several days before all the ef-
fects Of it are cleared We ran in a
temporary line for the central fire sta
ton right after the storm and fixed
UP few Of the more urgent cases
Wednesday night. The toll lines will
undoubtedly be cleared away early
Thursday morning and a good part Of
the subscribers stations in working
order by Thursday night"
Among the narrow escapes from seri-
Gus damage in the storm of Wednes-
day afternoon was the house of J. S.
Mckinney at North street, where
the wind tore a big maple in two and
dropped half Of it within a few feet
of the house. Fremont J. c. Titles
residence on Winthrop street also close
ly escaped demolition in this way, a
maple tree fully three feet thick at
the base crashing down within a few
inches Of the building, and the neigh
hors believed that the house was also
struck by lightning, as one chimney
was shorn completely away and big
dent was made in the roof, which could
be explained in any other way, al
though no fire was discovered by in
vestigators Up the street a little way,
at SIS Winthrop, big maple crashed
onto the edge of the roof and caVed it
in, the blow was a slancing one or the
house would have been split in two,
as it was the damage was considerable.
The wires were down in dozens of
places, and on Bridge street the gale
played some old pranks. A lady in the
Bridge block who had a big washing
on her lines on the back veranda found
to her dismay that the clothes, lines
and all. were festooned in the tops of
some big willow trees about so feet
from the ground. and she is still won
dering how to recover them.
The fine little truck gardens in that part
NJ "a ri nd ~;a