The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1919-12-18
RECORD COLD
WAVE STRIKES
NEW LOW MARK OF 27 BELOW ZERO
Miety Per Cent Of Homes Suffer Frozen
Water Pipes s-fuel Oil Rushed
Here BY Special Train

aee they will tea their grandchildren
Of the cold winter of 1919. when on the
nght of December II the government
of Leroy Childs registered
q below zero, and in the Upper Val
lev the mercury Of IT cording instru-
m mt of the weather bureau reached
its limit in the registration of low
It nperature. showing minimum of
30 below.
Not IN recorded history of the white
man has the Hood River valley ever
e Derienced so severe winter weather.
/ lowing the snow storm that began
tta latter part Of week before last and
" lch piled up total depth of 80
ii hes in the Lower Valley and -four
fe t in the Upper Valley before the
clouds had dispersed the east wind
c, 1tinued to blow with increased chill
" tn nights beautifully cold and clear,
a emperature Of 10 degrees below was
re lched Wednesday night and Thurs
d night. 24s. Saturday night the
showed a slight moder-
ation. Mr.. Childs' instrument showed
2 degrees below the zero mark.
I roughout the cold weather instru-
n nts of the lower levels of the city
r ristered about 10 degrees lower than
I at of MIR. Childs. who resides on AL
+ aeda Way in the Ira f Williams
| ngalow. At Odell. the temperature
v IS from two to three degrees higher.
rhe storm, of blizzard proportions.
Nas general over the Northwest. In
: ne eastern Oregon communities the
I nperature touched the low point of
80 degrees below. Portland expert.
. ced thre. degrees above zero, while
4 ross the Columbia at Vancouver the
/ ercury Dipped below the zero mark.
What effect will the unprecedented
I aeze have on next year S apple crop?
1Nds has worried all growers. While
Z pie orchards of other parts of the
c untry are frequently, some of them
h lnually subjected to Temperatures as
lOw, growers have feared the frost
might kill fruit spurs and result In
short crop next season. While no eX-
perts are able to give any conclusive
{ alta, 1t is not thought apple trees will
te affected. The cold wave has been
coming on gradually and it is said that
[ e sap has been practically entirely
WITHDRAWN from twigs and branches
In such state Of dormancy it is be
leved the freeze will have no effect
each trees, some of the old time resi-
cents are prone to believe. will suffer
/ ,om the freeze. But only neglgi-
bic quantity - chiefly a few trees
planted by growers for home use-of
peachs are grown here. The snow has
been a godsend for strawberry grow.
ers. With the earth bare the heavy
freeze would have been disastrous.
Under their blanket of snow the berry
plants will 90 untouched.
The heavy snow covering Of rose
gardens have saved them from almost
sure death. Rose growers say the ex
cessively low temperature would have
killed the roses but for the blanket of
snow. All branches of roses expend-
ing above the snow line, it is declared
by florists, will be killed.
The snow, too, has prevented
water famine With the earth bare
the municipal water system, it is
likely, would have been put completely
out of commission.
Since early last week the ferry sys
TENS have been blocked by ice in the
Columbia. For one to visit either of
the Washington towns, in plain sight
Of Hood River, a journey of l35 miles
by way Of Portland, or shorter dis
tance by way Of The Dalles, has been
necessary.
The Columbia has frozen over here
on former occasions. In 1915 pedes
trains walked across it. Twenty-Five
years ago. when Joe Aleck held con-
tract for carrying the mail from Hood
River to White Salmon, he crossed the
river one winter drawing his mail
sacks on a sled over the ice.
Growers and horticultural experts
who have clipped twigs, giving them
a minute examination, do not believe
the freeze has caused any damage to
fruit spurs. The tWigs are so dry, it
is said, that frost did not form and
thus cause a destruction of cells. Val
ley peaches, however, may have been
ruined.
Everyone, without any precedent to
work on, is unable to make any definite
conclusion as to the cold weather
Trees in orchards where heavy appli-
cations of nitrate have been made may
have suffered. as the sap had been
stimulated to action in the orchards
Growers are clipping fruit spurs and
potting them in warm temperatures.
In case Of damage it can quickly be as
certained by these experiments.
Hundreds Of families have lost their
supply of potates, vegetables and can
ned fruits. The frost has penetrated
easements, ordinarily secure. and much
canned fruit has been frozen, the cans
bursting. Hundreds of boxes of ap
p IS reserved for home use have been
II ozen.
The city is now beginning to turn its
| attention to prevention of floods when
thaw comes. Many flooded base
ments are in prospect. Citizens have
banked the snow high around their res
ldences as protection against the
| frost.
An inch and half ice crust was added
to the snow blanket Yesterday as re
suit of a constant sleet storm for the
previous l8 hours. slight rain miXeC
with the sleet froze on wires anC
trees. but in insufficient quantities Il
cause damage. The minimum temper
ature Tuesday night was l3 degrees
above.
Schools will resume work here today
Snow FurrieS