The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1919-03-28
FRESHET
NOW UNDER WAY
Island Park Wholly Under
Water and River Is Still
Rising
REALTY CO. BOOM IN
WEST RIVER BREAKS
Nearly Two and Half Inches of Rain
Falls Here, and in North Part of
State Heavy Snow Holds UP Street
!, Railroads.
Railroads.

State Heavy Snow Holds UP Street |
| Railroads.
Quick changes in the weather brought |
about the annual spring freshet today |
with almost unprecedented swiftness, |
but fortunately there are some favor
able attendant circumstances so that
the damage thus far has been small. |
The most fortunate circumstance was
the absence of ice in the rivers and
brooks, the warm weather of the past
few weeks having eliminated the ice
menace.
| AT 6 O'Clock last evening, following
a cloudy day, a sprinkle foreshadowed
rain, which began falling during the
supper hour. The rain increased in in
tensity, and a hard rainfall continued
all night and with somewhat reduced
volume through the forcuoon
| Up TO noon the standard recording
instrument at Ferris r. Vaughan S house
on High street showed 2.43 inches of
rainfall, which Is a very large volume
for so short time.
The streams tributary TO the rivers
quickly responded to the downpour the
rainfall being augmented by melting
snow in the woods, and then the rivers
began rising, so that at daybreak the
island on which the Island Park pavil-
len opposite this village is located was
entirely submerged.
:. Since then the river has continued
TO rise, and at noon at the Connecticut
River Power Co.'S plant at Vernon the
) depth of water going over the dam was
tnlne feet. which was q rise of two feet
since last evening A rise of two feet
there, however, means much more than
that farther north where the river is
, narrower
About the middle of the forenoon the
Temperature began to drop, under a
: stiff northwest wind, and the rain
5 changed to hail and snow, which prac-
! ticallv stopped at noon. The temper
ature at noon was % degrees above ze-
!, no, which was drop of II degrees
since S o clock this morning.
Soon after 9 O'Clock the American
: Realty Co. s boom at the mouth OF
West river parted and released large
t quantity of short pulp wood logs which
had been forced over the main boom
a little further up the West river. MeT
from the company S rossing mill on tn,
L New Hampshire side of the river three
L or four miles below the village were
u watching the boom at the time it broke
y These logs, aggregating thousands Of
D cordss came dcwn the Connecticut il
g a bunch and stragglers escaping from
the main boom have been coming since
A quickly constructed boom opposite
the rossing mill has stopped them there
but with rising water and an increased
: pressure as the logs accumulate som
anxiety is felt lest this boom break al
so.
I'd Many other thousands of cords o
y pulp logs, which were cut during tn
st winter and piled on the banks of tn
le tributaries to West river and whe
as have been dumped into the river til
past few days, have been coming dow
West river in kig volume this forenoo
and many of them have been force
over the hoom on to the Retreat mes
dow, which is now sea. There was
III six-foot rise in West river at ,Jamaic
there this morning.
he The highways in Brattleboro hay
w been washed somewhat, but not so 5,
~ rioulsy, according to reports to Roa
er Commissioner A. A. Wallace this for,
noon.
On the Hinsdale side of the river, how
- ever, the new highway between hel
q. land the new Boston & Maine railroa
~ bridge has been badly damaged in two
r. three places. A number of Brattlebol
in Epeople, including Fred L. Minis, WI
III drives the Dexter bread automobi
eu truck, and Richard c. Averill. who hi
. business interests in Hinsdale, we
ny unable to get through this forenoon {
1 - account of washouts They encounter,
a washout a quarter of a mile beyoI
ile the Schorling place. near the Noy
a. White cottage. about three quarters
nv the road there having been washed ava
os including a culvert A landslide at tn
u, la' place left a hole estimated to be 30 fe
oe long and 20 feet deep, and the road h
nus been closed. Another culvert near {
'eu Schorling place was damaged.
That the storm embraced a wide ter
tory is indicated by telegram fro
H., lNeifert. an observer in Hartford, Con
,ral to the Brattleboro postoffice this fol
on noon, which reads: Heavy rains oy
ing upper Connecticut valley indicate fresh
on conditions in your locality several day
the A foot or more or snow Tell III Mol
Wild lpelier and six or eight inches OF snow
hat lin st. Abans, and street car service
ing both places has been held up. Stei
railroad service in the north part of