The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1922-09-14
SUMMER STORM
SWEEPS SALEM
Fierce Electric Storm and
Heavy Rain Does Dam
age to Crops.
SILO IS STRIJCK

The town of Salem and a small ter
rltory west of it in the western part
OIL Kenosha county had one of the most
severe electric and rain storms in the
history of the county between 8 and 4
o'clock Thursday afternoon. A tor
rental rain-almest a cloudburst-ac-
companied by severe electrical storm,
continued for half an hour. A high
wind, which drove the rain ahead of it.
added to the fury of the summer storm
and did considerable damage to grow
ing crops in the town.
The path of the storm appeared to be
through the center of the town of Sa-
lem, but the heavy rain extended far
Their west. East of the Bristol town.
ship line, the STORM was not nearly so
severe. Hundreds of acres of ripening
corn in the town of Salem were caught
in the path of the storm and in places
the corn was laid as fiat as if it had
been passed over by a steam roller.
The rain came in the midst of one
of the hottest days ever known in Ke-
nosha county. Hailstones as large as
hickory nuts fell in the village of Sa-
lem during the storm and covered the
streets of the village like winter snow.
Big Silo Struck by Bolt.
A big silo on the farm of Alva Pad
dock, just east of the icehouse at Pad
docks Lake, was struck by lightning
during the storm and it burned fierce
ly until it was destroyed, entailing a
loss of several thousand dollars. The
Salem fire department rushed through
the rain to the Paddock farm and later
on the Kenosha department arrived and
the fire was prevented from spreading
to other large farm buildings in the
immediate neighborhood. The fire at
tracted wide attention in Kenosha, as
the first reports said that the Old
Settlers pavilion at the lake had been
destroyed. Both the Salem and Keno
sha fire fighters remained at the Pad
dock farm until nightfall, fighting the
spread of the flames
During the storm, an uncompleted
filling station at the corner Of the
Geneva road and the Salem road at
Brass Ball Corners collapsed under the
weight of water and some loss was re-
ported by A. G. Hartnell, who was con-
structing the station.
Drives Autos from the Road.
The rain came with such terrific
force that automobiles were driven
from the road and people travelling
along the Geneva road were forced TO
seek shelter from the storm in farm
yards. The high wind was declared to
have been very threatening 1t was
impossible to get any estimate of the
damage done to growing crops in the
storm belt, but farmers declared that
they believed that the damage to the
corn and some of the smaller crops
would be considerable. No buildings
were unroofed, by the storm, but in
several places big trees were blown
down. In many orchards the wind and
rain caused the fruit to literally rain
from the trees and the ground was COW
cred with the unripened fruit after the'
storm was over. A trip to the west
indicated that the severity of the storm
was felt in comparatively narrow belt
and little damage was reported to the
west of Silverlake or east Of Bristol.
Benson Home is Damaged.
The fire department from Kenosha
was called to the home of C. L. Benson
on the French drive, half mile north
of the Geneva road. The fire at the
house had been caused by some trouble
with the electric wires and iremen de-
clared that they thought it possible
that a vagrant bolt of lightning had
followed the wires into the house. At
the office of the fire chief the damage
to the Benson home was estimated at
about $500 and it was said to be cow
cred by insurance. It is not known
whether or not the loss on the Paddock
farm is covered by insurance as Mr..
Paddock and members Of his family are
visiting in Iowa and men in charge Of
the farm knew nothing of the insurance
carried on the buildings.
The extreme heat was felt all over
Kenosha county on Thursday. The
high school students were sent home
early and in many of the factories the
benches were deserted by the work
ers who found it impossible to work in
the intense heat.
The weatherman today suggested the
possibility of cooler weather Saturday
afternoon but it was said that the rec
ord breaking heat would continue until
that time with the possibility of its
being broken by thunder storms some
ti-rc 1ete todav.