The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1919-08-25
STORM DAMAGE in
W|NDHAN COUNTY
Lightning, Rain, Hail and
Wind Cause Loss in
Many Places
PUTNEY FARMER
LOSES FIVE COWS
Buildings in Whitingham and East Do
yer Burned-Corn Leveled on Tar
box Farm on Dunmerston Road
I Tobacco Damaged in Hinsdale.

Il Tobacco Damaged in HinsdaIe.
Lightning, thunder, rain and hail ap
peared on the weather stage Yesterday
for a production which covered a period
OF several hours beginning early in the
afternoon, and the cloud curtain did not
rise to disclose the sun until the middle
OF the forenoon today, after As of an
inch OF rain had fallen here During the
first few hours of the storm buildings
were burned, cattle were killed, tele-
phones were put out of commission and
tobacco fields suffered heavily !,
The damage IN Brattleboro was small,
and reports to Road Commissioner A. A.
Wallace show that the roads were not
badly washed
AT George II. Johnsons farm mile
and half from Putney village on the
| Westminster road five COWS and two
hens were killed Lightning struck
tree and followed along wire fence,
splntering every post on that side of
the pasture. The cows. each of which
was valued at from $l25 to $50. stood
near the gateway waiting to go to the
barn. They were insured through George
VI. Clay's agency here, and Mr.. CLAY said
today that in his p years of insurance
| experience he had had no loss to cattle
| from lightping to equal that sustained
| by Mr.. Johnson.
| At the office of the New England Tele-
| phone Telegraph Co. today it was
stated that about 100 subscribers were
affected by trouble on the various lines,
but that nearly all of these would he in
use again by tomorrow night. Fuses
We're blown out in several houses in
| West Brattleboro But little inconven-
lence was caused to patrons of the Twin
State Gas & Electric Co, few fuses be
ing blown out
AT Spciford lake the cottage of George
III. Clapp of Brattleboro was struck. but
not much damage was done. The light
ming entered one of the sleeping rooms.
| Travelled around one iron bedstead, went
through the partition to another iron
bed, then down the stairs. into the kitch-
en-, through the sink and out the water
| pipe. Where the bolt entered a two-by-
flour timber was splintered and in one of
the upstairs rooms the straw mating
and paper underneath were torn. Sew
eral persons were in the cottage at the
|
Hail near Townshend tore leaves from
trees until the roads were literally car
peted. Hailstones as large as walnuts
were picked up on Dummerston hill, but
no serious damage was reported from
that section. =
In East Dover about o'clock lightning
struck Joseph Goodells barn, which was
filled with hay, and the barn, hay, a
fpQl III nf Enrs n
stroyed. -Four horses and three pigs were
saved
Two fields of tobacco in Hinsdale. on
the Brattleboro road, were damaged to
some extent by hail, it was said at the
office of the Connecticut River Tobacco
Co, but the probable amount of monetary
loss was not stated. The loss by hail in
fhis section is not comparable to that
sustained farther down the Connecticut
valley
Corn was blown over at the farm of H.
Nj. & b. w. Tarbox on the Dummerston
road, but early this afternoon it was
said that the corn apparently was
strightening up.
The destruction of the Wheeler farm
buildings in Nottingham is reported as
follows by the Nottingham correspond
ent of The Reformer:
Cone of the worst SUGGESTIONS of thun-
der showers passed over this town Sun
day afternoon that ever was witnessed
by the oldest nhabitants. The first
shower came about l30 and was fol,
lowed by others in increasing severity
until about . p. m. During one of the
later showers lightning struck H. A.
Wheeler's barn in the village and set it
on fire. Help from the village was soon
summoned by the fire alarm on the tele-
phone, but the flames quickly spread to
the two and -ahalf story house which
was attached to the barn and in spite
of the pouring rain both were completely
: consumed Nearly all the household
| goods were removed also the bathroom
fittings were taken out, so nearly every
| thing except the kitchen stove and a
large pig in the barn were saved.
''Mr Wheelef's home was one of the
finest places in the village, and the de
! struction of these buildings is great
loss to the appearance of the village and
falls heavily on Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler
. themselves. Mr.. and Mrs Wheeler and
daughter, Christine, were home at the
: time, entertaining friends from Hol
yoke, and some of the party were on tho
I piazza when the bolt came but no one
received any shock and did not realize
that the buildings had been struck unit
smoke was seen pouring from the farther
: end of the barn roof Their goods were
5 carried across the road and put int,
r the houses of Mr.. and Mrs Wheeler.
son, Gerald Wheeler, and w d. Faulk