The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1918-08-15
THE MOST FURIOUS
STORM OF SUMMER
Telephone and Lighting Wires Put Out
of ommission--Berlin School
house Struck.

Wind, rain and lightning centered their
wrathful forces in one of the most fu-
rious storms of the summer yesterday
afternoon, leaving in their wake broken
shade trees, shattered window glass and
here and there crumbled chimney.
Angry clouds in the west served notice
of the storms approach and as the sky
darkened traffic in the streets and pc
destrians gave heed to the warning, al
though the first lashing attack of the
wind and a sharp downpour of rain
caught many people in the act of scurry-
ing for shelter. A Judgment day dark
ness settled downWover the city. Incan-
descent lights died without a struggle
and the shadows deepened. Everywhere
work was suspended, especially in the
stonesheds, where the sudden curtail-
ment OF power spelled idleness for the
remainder of the afternoon.
Actually the storm did not live up to
its promise, for there were omens of up
lifted roofs, uprooted trees and flooded
streets in the overcast sky and the busi-
ness-like manner in which the wind went
about its work Roofs gave only Of
ed for the most part only limbs, and
while the streets were awash with rush
ing waters, flood conditions prevailed
only in Depot square and on lower North
Main street, where sections of the paved
highway and corner of Brook street
were lost to view for the second time
within week The wind laid barrage
of dust and then came the rain, with
sharp flashes Of lightning reinforcing the
attack.
Out in the country fields of corn were
badly rent by the wind. Here in the city
the shade trees bore the hrunt On near
ly every street maple or an elm gave
up strong limb or succumbed itself be-
fore the gale Down in the Depot square
a blacksmith shop lost its chimney. In
the same precinct something shattered
one of the plate glass windows in the
coal office of Calder & Richardson. Plate
glass in the door leading to police head
quarters on Prospect street was reduced
TO fragments. Everywhere window glass
ratified at the castings. In front of the
Bolster house on South Main street a
splendid maple gave up its proudest limb.
On Park and Ayerill streets the wind
took toll Of three trees and on Highland
avenue two trees were snapped in two.
Everywhere the trees were badly whipped
and to-day lawns covered with twigs
and foliage gave evidence of the winds
evil acts.
Although lightning played constantly
about the city while the storm was at
its height, the damage from that source
was trivial A bolt struck the new Ber-
lin schoolhouse on the Montpelier road,
scattering shingles and boring hole in
the roof which let quantities Of water
into the rooms below. The building did
not take fire and the damage was con-
fined to that done by the water
Power wires and telephone lines were
badly affected by the electrical pyrotech-
mics and both the Montpelier & Barre
Lighting & Power Co. and the New Eng
land Tel. & Tel. Co busted their linemen
for hours after the storm had gone its
way. The large generator at the ear
barns was put out Of commission and the
slow movements Of the street cars imme-
diately after the storm were due TO the
fact that the carbarn folks had to fall
back on smaller generator.