Free trader-journal and Ottawa fair dealer. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1920-1927, 1920-04-05
STORM is ACCOMPANIED
BY SIX INCHES OF
SNOW FALL
TRAFFIC TIED Up
ikESTlMABLE DAMAGE SUFFER-
Ed BY TREES IN EARLY BUD
DlNC-SPECiAL CHURCH SER
VICES FOR EASTER HEARD BY
SMALL AUDIENCES.

a gale, which swept over northern
Illinois at the rate of tOrty-two mile
an hour, brought with il six inches
of snowfall to cover the warm green
earth on Easter day. Not since l&7S
when another Easter was similarly
treated, has Ottawa experienced a
blizzard such as that OF Yesterday
Beginning with rain Saturday even
ing, the storm turned into a blizzard
by O'Clock. From that time until |
last night the city was in the thrOes
of one Of the worst storms OF its his
tory, the mercury falling to lG above
zero at the coolest period.
As a result of the climatical freak
trees and shrubbcry which had been
enticed into early budding by the
warm days OF early spring. have suf-
fered inestimable damage. Amateur
gardeners. anxious for the first crop
Of radishes, onions, lettuce and other
hardy vegetables, today are repent
ing their haste in getting SO early a
start, while evidencing jealousy of
their more procrastinating neighbors.
who, in turn, are laughing up their
own sleeves at EN-.
Heroic hOusehOdprS threatened
with grass barage jumped from their
lawn mowers to attack on the snow
shovel front Far into the night and
early this morning the assault was on
and by noon passages were cleaned
over the greater part of the city so
that spluttering, internally revolving
pedestrians could get to and from
their work.
Kills Easter Style Revue.
Easter parades were knocked into
a cooked hat Instead of what was
planned for a swell revue Of 1920 mil
linery and mOdish creations woman
kind contented herself with digging
up some of the "old winter stuff" and
wearing them to church. While ser
vices We're conducted as scheduled in
various denOminationa institutions OF
the city, with only small cOngrega-
tons hearing the special programs,
there was a marked shifting from re.
ligiouS duties to the more comfort
able choice OF remaining indoors dur
ing the day. Some of the churches
postponed their Easter programs and
nave made arrangements TO rppoat
them for the benefit of the public at
a later date.
Train Service Impaired
Street car and railway train ser
vice suffered havoc during the bliz.
zard. lnterurban traffic, while main
tanned thruout the day. was operated
upon any old schedule in an almost
vain effort to keep the lines open till
the storm passed. The Streator di.
vision was practically thrown out of
commission, one car getting moored
somewhere between Ottawa and
Streator" where it became stalled the
greater part of the day, not being re-
leased until the crew dug a passage
way out of the snow-drifted fill. This
morning cars were operated over the
Streator Ottawa division, where the
tornado of March 2S combined with
Yesterdays blizzard to practically put
the line out Of commission. For a
week cars have been operating over
that section of the c. O. & p. under !
power furnished by the local company
at Streator. On Sunday. March Is the ,
high tension wires were given rough |
treatment by the heavy winds, the |
trouble being enhanced by one of the |
towers across Bulls island unoblig. |
ingly topping over into the river
Hits Hany States.
The records show that the storm |
sirucE across the celtral MissisSippi |
valley and then plowed its way east |
sara taxing in the central and east .
ern SKATES. The upper Mississippi sec .
non was not touched, yet in Illinois |
snow ',il,4S far south as Springfield. |
Bey1h the state capital the records .
d'scia4e q leavy rainfall.
Dec ,tur Fruit Suffers
Decatur, L.. April with a TEN.
pefature OF 0 degrees above zero. a .
new low recor for April, fruit men
near here say they believe most of the !
crop has been killed.
Snow In Hannibal,
Hannibal Mo-, April 5-Snowfall of
eleven inches, the heaviest ever re.
corded here In April, continuing over
~ hunrs Saturday and Sunday was