The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-06-07

are stripped of their bark and where
it held it is scared brown by some
cyclonic agency.
Where cornfields showed green
Tuesday there are great fiat areas OF
baked mud without vestige OF Vege-
tation today. The central body OF the
storm swept over wheat field be-
tween the hill and the town and to-
day the path is marked by yellow
streak thru the green wheat. At the
ron of the hill east of Elmont, over
which the storm disappeared, there is
a hedge fence, too tough even for
tornado to uproot. But it lay almost
fat is stripped of every leaf, of most
of it's bark and is apparently burned
brown. AS a fence it will always be
The people of Elmont had less
warning of the nature of the storm
than those living farther south for the
reason that the Kaw valley across
which it came is shut off by high
timbered hills. The first warning they
had was when the tortuous cloud
whipped around a hill half mile
south and bore down upon them. The
narrow valley thru which the Rock
Island railway runs south of Elmont
was plenty wide enough for the storm
half a mile south of town, but when
the valley suddenly widened east and
west the storm spread out with 1t,
dealing destruction on every side.
c. Z. Layman, Rock Island station
agent at Elmont, saw the storm COM
ing when it headed for the town thru
the narrow ravine. He was in the de-
pot alone.
TT was hailing from the east. he
said, land 1 was watching that storm
Suddenly the wind struck the building
from the west and north. l looked
out and saw the terrific cloud coming
up the track from the south. In
stantly everything turned black 1t
3 7 1nf Gon my
then everything went up and 1 went
with it. l don't know how high the
station went but when it came down
| was standing on what had been the
east wall with my foot thru window.
The rest of the building was all
around me Just as you see it now
Mr. Layman lives in Topeka at 12S
Topeka avenue and returned home
Tuesday night. He did not know it.
but other people told him his face
was as black as hat. He said the
air was filed with dust.
All Elmont people went to cellars
and caves and that is what saved
their lives, for their homes and stores
were demolished all around them. The
storm completely wrecked the rail
way station, the J. w. King store and
residence, the postoffice, the house and
barn of George Tincher, the home OF
Frank Thompson, the home of Roy
I
I Rev. Mr.. Mccullough, the residence
I of Joe LEROY and the Methodist
church-all in the town proper.
The buildings still standing, althC
| badly damaged. are the homes OF
Bruce Wilderson, William Bartram
Jesse Evans and Charles Warner
/ They are not habitable as they stand
! The first building struck by the
storm as it entered the valley was
the Wendell school house, a quarter
of a mile east of the railway track ant
| perhaps half a mile south of the
town. 1t was the school house at
tended by the Elmont children. The
registration board, composed of Johr
Hitler, John Curry and George Tin
cher, was at work in the building
when the storm struck. There were
six other people in IL e building at the
time and altho it is one of the mos
complete wrecks in the path of the