Tornado at Charles City

BOECK SEYMOUR BALDWIN FRIEBERG HAUSBERG HECHT SNYDER LACOUR DANFORTH KROUSE WRIGHT

Posted By: Marilyn O'Connor (email)
Date: 12/28/2007 at 14:55:38

Osage News June 11, 1908.

TORNADO AT CHARLES CITY

Many Buildings Blown Down and one Person Killed.

A little before 5 o’clock Sunday afternoon, a destructive tornado visited Charles City, passing a point about half a mile south of Main street and then took a northeasterly direction and plowed a path about four to ten rods wide a distance of more than a mile through the town, piling up buildings and creating great havoc in its path.

As near as can be learned the cyclone formed over on Flood Creek just below the Reynolds place, and passed over the Hobart Danforth place where Mr. Krouse lives.

The home of J. Z. Wright, about a quarter of a mile south of the west side school building, was entirely demolished and piled in a heap. Mrs. Wright and her son Ralph were in the house at the time, and were under the debris when the storm was over. Mrs. Wright and Ralph were standing near the door in the sitting room.

Mrs. Wright had just closed the door leading to the outside when the crash came and she is unable to tell just what happened. When the storm had passed she and Ralph were under a heap of broken and twisted boards that was a few minutes before one of the finest homes on the West side. A large evergreen tree that was standing on the east side of the house was twisted off about four feet from the roots and whirled around the house and laid at the northwest corner. The barn was demolished and the household goods were scattered and broken up and the picture presented here is one of desolation.

Dr. Hirsch of the college observed the cloud as the storm crossed the river. In appearance it was very light, and looked more like a steaming tea kettle with debris flying. As it struck the river the water rose in a sheet.

The students observed the cloud from the cupola of Heart’s Desire dormitory. They observed a funnel shaped cloud raising and lowering about five miles southwest of town and apparently approaching them in a beeline.

When it reached the edge of town they ran down and notified some of the neighbors.

The Herb Gregory house was lifted off its foundation, strewing furniture, clothing and other contents of the house several rods away. Just as the storm struck the house, Mrs. Gregory was standing in the doorway and she was thrown back among some of the timbers. A number of bricks from the chimney fell on the little girl.

Mr. Gregory was injured the worst as a piece of glass was run almost through one of his wrists. In addition to the above a large number of houses were unroofed and barns blown down, in all about 20 buildings that were more or less destroyed.

So far as is known there was but one fatal accident, that of Chris Boeck, 83 years old. He was seated near the brick chimney of his cosy home near the river bank when the crash came. He sustained a compound fracture of the right leg below the knee, and the left leg was broken at knee joint. He received abdominal injuries.

He lived about five minutes after Dr. Seymour reached him, and was conscious. He said one of the bricks from the chimney had struck him on the head. There were several large gashes on his head. He was carried to a neighbor’s home where he died.

A tornado is a progressive, limited local, violent whirlwind, characterized by a funnel like cloud which hangs suspended from an intensely black mass of storm clouds; the apex of the funnel cloud sweeps over the earth’s surface, sometimes receding from it, to come down again to the ground farther on in the course of the cloud as it moves forward.

Tornadoes are caused by local differences of temperature. The air having become abnormally heated over a central area, thus results a difference in pressure between the air of the inner region and that surrounding it; from this there arises a flow of air spirals inwards toward the center, and as it approaches, the velocity of the wind increases. The principal condition of the formation of a tornado is the local unstable condition of the air, due to the abnormal heating of a mass of air either at the earth’s surface or at some locality above it. These conditions obtained in this vicinity of yesterday.

The morning opened cloudy and very sultry and continued so up to 5 p.m. The barometer was abnormally low, but the oscillations were very slight except at 5:05 p.m. when a fall of .04 inch occurred. The wind’s velocity at this hour was only eleven miles per hour, while only a mile distant it must have been over 100, within the small distance covered by the tornado.

The rainfall was heavy, but for a few moments only; this in a great measure accounts for its short duration, as the difference in temperature within and without the central upward current of the tornado, which is necessary for its continuance, could not persist long enough for its full development, if it were not for the freeing of latent heat through condensation. - Charles City Press.-

Although dozens of homes and scores of barns and outbuildings were wrecked and demolished by the tornado which swept down upon Charles City late Sunday and hundreds of people were in danger of their lives, but one was killed.

As men and women viewed the debris that lay in the path of the storm, they expected fully to find scores of dead amid the ruins, but they found only one-aged Chris Boeck, who was hit by a falling brick as he sat in his little home by the river bank all alone. Last night it was reported that three children of the Freiberg family had been killed also, but today this proved not to be true. They were missing all night, but today they were located,safe and sound. Many were injured by falling bricks and flying pieces of wood, some seriously, but none of the injured is expected to die, Charles City today took steps to provide temporary relief for the storm sufferers.

Mayor Baldwin raised $1,000 in a very short time, and more money is expected tomorrow. William Hausberg,Joe Hecht and L. N. Snyder were named as a committee to disburse the funds. The loss due to the storms will reach nearly $150,000. Some homes were entirely demolished and blown away, as in the case of the Lacour home just outside the city. Many other homes were badly damaged.

The property loss is variously estimated at $100,000.00 to $150,000.00, and very little tornado insurance was carried.

The damage to orchards and shade trees was great, the trees being twisted off or pulled up by the roots. This loss will be felt for many years to come.

Many people sought safety in their cellars and to that no doubt owe their lives. Those outside watched the storm in its course. One describes it as having the appearance of a series of explosions, as the force of the storm would strike a building it would be lifted into the air and the timbers and material flying in all directions.

A fascinating sight certainly, but one that none of us wish to see.

The citizens of Charles City have raised a fund and a committee appointed to disburse to those most needy.