The Waterbury Democrat., 1940-03-05
Crews Are
 Repairing All Havoc
(Continued From Page D

| (Continued cidents, but no serious clashes were reported by police.
 Buses were running behind shced- ule on most lines last night and to- day, Scores of extra busses were placed in service to handle the many extra patrons.
 Damage in western Connecticut was believed to be second only to that of the hurricane of September 1888. In outlying sections huge trees crashing to earth under the weight of the ice, and even in the city a number of service lines from poles to homes were snapped of. Parks Not Badly Hurt
 supt. of Parks James J. Curtin said this afternoon that he did not believe damage to the city's park system would be severe. There were instances of trees and limbs falling, he said, but parkways were being kept clear. Department workmen re- moved several trees and branches which fell across wires and on streets.
 E. Leslie Beebe, manager of the Waterbury district office of the Southern New England Telephone O., said that 70 of the 160 phones out of service in this area were in the city. About 50 were in Water town and the rest were scattered through other communities. Toll lines between here and Danbury and other western Connecticut points were down, but calls were being re- routed and normal service was being provided. MT. Beebe said that addi- tional complaints of service breaks were being receive as the day pro- gressed, most of them caused by ice snapping of wires leading to dwell- ings.
 Business Section Hit
 Much of the business section of Waterbury was without electric serv- ice for between two and half and three hours yesterday, while some districts were without service for as long as 12 hours. The American Brass Go. closed Its plants yesterday afternoon. A number of other fac- tories, as well as many stores and offices closed early in the afternoon.
 Power in the downtown district failed at 11:30 a. m. yesterday and service was not restored until after 3 o'clock. Though The Democrats mechanical equipment could not be used during the power break, the paper was of the presses only an hour and half late.
 School sessions were held in pub lie schools yesterday afternoon de- spite the SC were storm, but attend ance was far below normal. Pupils in several schools were dismissed when heating systems failed. No Heat in Buildings Many homes and public buildings were without heat, the electric serv- ice interruption halting motors which feed fuel to oil furnaces. Traffic lights about the city were out of operation and in Exchange Place the police used the old manual signal.
 The lack of elecrtic power affected virtually every normal activity. Not only were lights missing, and many heating systems made imperative, but such equipment as electric stoves, radios, coasters, beer pumps, gasoline pumps and clocks were out of serv- ice. Gasoline for a time could be se- cured only at stations having the old-fashioned pumps.
 Walking conditions were as lad as driving conditions, if not worse. Pe- destrians found great difficulty in getting about, and police headquar- ters was flooded with complaints about slippery sidewalks.
 There were also many complaints about motoring conditions on even the main streets. East Main street, from Crosby high school to Hamilton avenue, was 8 series of rutS and bumps. Ruts on other thoroughfares also served to delay traffic. Surrounding towns reported heavy storm damage. Factories in Nauga- tuck were forced to shut down, and industry in Seymour and other towns had major trouble. Communities in the Litchfield area were without ser- vice at different times. Schools were closed Tn many towns yester- day, and some of today's sessions were cancelled.
 Conn. It. & Pow. Co. Working O. L. Campbell, president of the | Connecticut Light & Power Co.,, stated the company line. service and trouble crews were working feverish- ly to restore service to the stricken areas surrounding the Waterbury Naugatuck, Seymour. Norwalk Greenwich and New Milford sec- tons.
 Outside line crews have been brought in from Pennsylvania and Massachusetts many Of them being rushed to the Norwalk. Greenwich area. which has been devastated by the Ice storm. Whole sections sur rounding Norwalk and Greenwich have no lines operating at all. the transmission. distribution and even service wires, having been broken of by their heavy ice coating, ags aTavated by the s0lldly frozen branches Of trees which oveEhang the wires themselves,
 MT. Campbell stated thot the most serious difficulty was caused by tle iee.laden tree branches, Wbeh dropped and fell over the wires. breaking them and disFupting ber'