Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1922-03-02
A GREAT Loss
SUFFERED FROM
SEVERE STORM
NORTHW WESTERN MICHIGAN CUT
FROM COMMUNICATION
WITH WORLD.
Damage Is Being
SIOlUly Repaired

Northern Michigan is beginning to
emerge from the worst storm that
ever hit that section of the state,
storm which has caused a loss to
Michigan that cannot be estimated,
and some of which cannot be replaced
for years, as thousands of trees in the
section north and west from this city,
were totally ruined, including fruit
trees, whose limbs were torn from
them or the trunks themselves broken
from the heavy coating of ice that
they received.
The damage in Alma luckily was
not heavy, the worst of the storm be-
ing north from this city. Many trees
in Alma were ruined, and some dam
age done in easements by water, but
it is very small in comparison to the
losses sustained in Muskegon, Mt
Pleasant, Clare, Cadillac, and many
other western and northern Michigan
communities. Muskegon has estimat-
ed her damage at $500,000
Scores of towns in that district
telegraph and telephone communica-
tion with the outside world for sever
al days, and in fact il was not until
Tuesday afternoon that the telephone
wires between Mt. Pleasant and Al
ma were again in order Telegraph
wires between the cities were still out
yesterday, and probably will be for
some days yet, as thirty telegraph
poles between Shepherd and Mt.
Pleasant were broken Off in the storm.
The damage to the Central Michi-
gan Light G. Power Company's lines
in Mt. Pleasant and Clare will run in
to the thousands of dolldrs. The
Union Telephone Company suffered a
great damage from ruined lines north
from this district.
Railroad traffic in that section of
the state was completely blocked for
some days. 1t was not until Monday
Of this week that the first train en-
tered or departed from Traverse City.
Not until the first Of the week was
service restored on the Ann Arbor
railroad north through the stricken
district.
Floods accompanied the storm in
many communities, even the main
streets of Mt. Pleasant being flooded
for time to depth of 10 to lS
inches.
Thousands of shade and fruit trees
have been ruined, their trunks brok-
en- Off, or the limbs torn from the
trunks as if wrenched loose by some
giant. The damage caused by the
storm in this respect will be an ire
parable loss to the entire state. The
condition Of the trees in Mt. Pleasant
furnishes good example of the con-
dtion throughout the district That
city has sent for number of tree
experts to go TO that city and devote
their skill to the saving of such trees
as are not beyond saving by careful
painstaking doctoring. Other cities
are also making heroic efforts to save
their trees.
The great damage to utility lines
is causing slow work in repair, as
thousands of telephone, telegraph, and
light poles were broken off, and COM
panies are experiencing great Difficult
ty in securing new poles quickly, so
great is the demand for them. There
is hardly company that suffered
from the storm that had poles enough
so that it could quickly replace its
lines.
While Gratiot county was hit by the
storm the damage in the county was
slight as compared with the devasta-
tion that has visited some other coun-
ties, and its people certainly have
something to be highly thankful for.