Part 3 of 3 posts on the Great Cyclone of June, 1910, featuring news articles from local and area newspapers.
From the Harrisburg Daily Independent, June 20, 1910:
WIND GIVES MAN AND WIFE A RIDE
CHARLES STONEROAD IS CARRIED 500 FEET AND HIS WIFE 300
MANY BUILDINGS DEMOLISHED
Vicinity of Fisherville Devastated By Cyclone — Churches are Unsteepled, Houses Unroofed, Barns Totally Destroyed and Trees Uprooted — No Lives Lost
A funnel-shaped whitling cloud swooped over the mountain into Armstrong Valley near Lenkers Gap early Saturday afternoon. Thence it swept along in the vicinity of Fisherville, through the village of Enders and into Powls Valley, devastating the country along its course. Barns were demolished, houses unroofed, churches unsteepled, woods leveled; everything in the path of the cyclone was leveled to the ground or sucked up and whirled along to be dropped in splinters many feet from their former location.
The remarkable thing about the stirring afternoon was that no human lives were lost. Horses and cows were killed and buildings were wrecked over the heads of their occupants, but everybody escaped.
A narrow escape was at the home of Charles Stoneroad on George Keiter’s farm, near Fisherville. Mr. and Mrs. Stoneroad were sitting on their side porch. Their baby was inside, in its cradle, peacefully sleeping.
People Carried 500 Feet.
The suddenness of the storm left Stoneroad no time to think of his child. All at onece the elder Stoneroads found themselves traveling precipitously through space. When Stoneroad alighted on the ground once more he was five hundred feet from the house. He was badly bruised and contused, but he did not realize that until he had returned to the site of his home looking for the rest of his family. He found Mrs. Stoneroad three hundred feet from where she had been when the storm hit them, entangled in debris with her sister. Together the anxious parents started to search for their baby.
They found that the house had been sheared off at the ground level, leaving the ground floor almost intact. The cradle was lying upside down, and under the cradle was the baby.
Buildings Demolished.
Upon its appearance near Lenker’s Gap, the first thing the storm hit was the large barn of Charles Yeager, which was demolished. Next in its path, aside from the trees on this farm, everyone of which was uprooted, were the various buildings on the farm of George Keiter, occupied by Charles Stoneroad, aforementioned. The barn, dwelling, wagon shed, hog pen, in fact every building on the grounds, were wrecked and splintered into small fragments, and the contents of the buildings were scattered all over the farm.
On the next farm, also the property of Keiter, the cyclone uprooted all the trees and demolished the large barn and all the other outbuildings.
Here the storm changed its course and went over a hill to E. E. Fitting‘s farm; it tore up the treed, destroyed the big barn, blew in the windows of the house and tore off part of the house roof and the entire long porch.
Next in line was the farm owned by Isaac Henninger, occupied by P. P. Miller. Here it repeated its destructive work, and going eastward to the farm of Daniel Kocher it leveled the trees, unroofed buildings and tore off a large part of the barn. Newt was the Beard farm, occupied by Samuel L. Hoffman. Both gable ends of the large brick house were blown off, the entire roof weas lifted away, the large barn was wrecked, and all the other buildings except a new hog pen were demolished.
Then the storm went to Enders (Jacksonville). There it took away the large barn of Isaac A. Enders, killing several cows and badly damaging the other buildings and trees.
Church Wrecked.
The Lutheran church was wrecked next. The large steeple and entire front end of the building were badly damaged.
All through the little town small buildings, outkitchens, etc., were shattered. C. C. Enders‘ store building was wrecked, the big glass front being blown in and the roof taken off. The roof of the J. F. Helt estate building was lifted away. Next Isaac Anderson‘s barn was demolished, and the big barn on George Wilbert’s farm.
Then the storm went over the Ridge into Small’s Valley. Philip Deiter’s barn was torn away and other buildings damaged. Ira Hoover‘s barn and dwelling were demolished; Shoop’s barn also went.
Storm Loses Violence.
Powls Valley lay next in the course of the storm. Here Harvey Enders‘ farm was the first to suffer; here a very large barn and other valuable property was destroyed. Charles Rummel’s barn was wrecked also.
Soon after leaving this place the storm seems to have lost its violence, as further extensive damage is not reported.
The origin of the cyclone was near Killinger, where it merely broke away windows. In Millersburg it had increased in force, and unroofed a building and uprooted many trees, besides putting all wire services out of operation. Thence it leaped over Berry’s Mountain into Armstrong Valley, where its destructive courses began.
The storm thus swept four valleys — Lykens, Armstrong, Small and Powls.
Immediately after the wind storm there was hail. The hail storm was of short duration, however, but while it lasted it was terrific. At various places the stones ranged in size from that of cherry seeds to, it is said, the size of hens eggs.
The path of the storm was a desolate sight when it was all over. The entire damage had been wrought in from 15 to 20 minutes. Fragments of everything imaginable, from clothing to farming tools were scattered over the ground. Thousands visited the scenes of the disaster yesterday.
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Article from Newspapers.com.
Corrections and additional information should be added as comments to this post.