Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1917-08-17
LIGHTNING AND
STORM DAMAGE
Unusually Hard Visitation Here
and Across the Connecticut
Houses Struck, But Fire Not Started
and Nobody Hurt - Automobile In
Washout.

The two or more electrical storms
which visited Brattleboro Wednesday
afternoon and evening did more dam.
age to house property than has resulted
from all such storms previously in the
last two years. In spite of this fact
no one was injured seriously, no fires
were caused, and there was no serious
damage to roads or streets or crops in
the town of Brattleboro. Roads to vii.
mington and to Spofford lake were i'm
passable that night and next morning,
long detours being necessary for au.
tomobiles and teams.
The most serious damage here was to
the house owned by Baxter Reed on
Highland street and occupied by Bert
l.. Frost. During the first severe shower
lightning struck the chimney on the
house, SCATTERING it. The bolt entered
the cupola, stripping the lath and plas-
ter from the inside, smashing q window
and going out over an electric light
wire.
Mrs. Frost and her children were in
the kitchen at the time and when the
bricks began to rattle down they fled
to the home of a neighbor. None of
them was shocked, but all were badly
frightened.
The home of Mrs. +. A. Wells at 1O7
High street was struck about the same
time. The bolt ripped up a few clap
boards, drawing the nails clearly,
knocked picture from the wall in the
downstairs tenement and stripped off
some plasterng there. Mrs. Wells was
affected somewhat from the shock, but
not seriously.
That evening shortly after o'clock
while the families of Carl Schorling, ST..
and Carl Schorling, ir, were at the ia
| Bile, bolt struck so close that the fork
in the hand of one member of the family
was knocked from his grasp and Mrs.
Schorling, sr., became unconscious from
the effects of the fright. Members
said that a ball of fire appeared to en-
ter the door, but there is no trace on the
building of lightning having struck
In some sections the telephone service
was knocked galley west. Over 200 sub
scribers were barred from telephone
conversation for varying lengths of
time. Big fuses were burned out at some
lplaces, but the lines themselves were
not damaged and the repair crew of
Wire Chief Herbert Shaw were at work
as soon as possible and were at it all
might and yesterday.
The storm was more severe the other
side of the river than on this side.
Keene, n. H., reports that two inches
of rain fell and that the Keene electric
railway was unable to run cars during
the evening. The crop damage there was
considerable. Swanzey, n H.. report
ed genuine cloudburst and much dam
age.
The main road to Spofrord lake from
Brattleboro was put out of commission
Wednesday afternoon when a culvert
between the homes of S. L. Rice and
Perley Richardson was washed away.
Charles A. Harris, treasurer of the Brat
tleboro Savings bank, was driving his
car to the lake, when the ro.d at this
point gave way and the car went in. Mr..
Harris was not injured and the car not
very badly damaged, but it was impos
sible to get it out that night.
Such automobiles as made the trip
from the lake to Brattleboro next morn
ing come by way of the gulf" road.
which is somewhat washed on the numer
Gus hills but is passable.
A boy, whose name is said to be Bing
ham of Westmoreland, was on the lake
with other boys during the early part
of the afternoon storm and suffered
some from electrical shock. The party
in the boat went to the camp of the
Camp Fire Girls, the nearest point, and
from there the boy was taken to the
Emerson cottage for treatment He was
not seriously injured.
Road Commissioner A. A. Wallace said
that all of the streets in the village had
withstood the storm we'll and that no
material damage had been done. There
is bad place on the road to Putney and
la dctour was being made yesterday
near the Henry r. Brown farm. Mr..
wallace had a crew of men and teams at
work there and everything was ship
shape before dark.