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Winneshiek County IAGenWeb 1918 Calmar Tornado this site was last updated on Sunday, 28 March 2021 |
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Calmar Hit by Terrific Tornado Two People Killed; Life of One Doubtful: Others More or Less Injured City Plunged in Darkness: Property Damage Immense North Side of Town a Hard Looking Sight Fire Alarm Adds Fear to the Unnerved Loaded Stock Cars Driven by Storm Crash into Approaching Train |
Our beautiful town was visited Thursday evening at about five o’clock by a terrible wind and rain storm, causing two deaths, injuring several other people, and leaving wreckage of buildings, and trees strewn over the whole town. Those who lost their lives are Peter Anderson, living near the round house. The house was torn to pieces and the wreckage of it was blocking the street. Mrs. Anderson was so badly hurt that she possibly will die, and their daughter, Mrs. Berguson is badly hurt, also granddaughter Mabel Bergeron. Mrs. Peter Sandager living on a farm just east of town was killed when the barn in which she was in was blown down. The residence portion on the North side suffered the most. There is scarcely a place of residence on that side that did not sustain more or less damage. North Street was blocked from one end to the other with wreckage of buildings, lumber, and a tangle of telephone and electric poles and wire. The town was left in total darkness last night. It is utterly impossible to enumerate each and describe in detail the losses created, only some of the worst we have noted. The railroad company sustained the heaviest single loss. The round house is a total wreck with four engines buried in the wreckage. Three cars loaded, with hogs were rolled from the yards here onto the main track and out into the country two miles where they collided with a freight train coming into town causing a smash up, the engineer and fireman saving their lives by jumping. The bunk cars occupied by some of the railroad workers in the coal shoots and round house were wrecked and several occupants sustained injuries. fire started from the wreckage of these cars and the fire department had serious trouble and much hard work in getting the fire apparatus to the scene, it being almost impossible to find an open street through which they could hope to reach the scene. It was at first feared the fire was at the Standard and Hawkeye Oil stations or that it might be carried to this section by the terrific gale The Miller Wagon factory is out of commission The big brick smoke stack tell on the roof crushing in a large portion of the roof and portion of the second floor with some machinery crashed to the first floor. How some employees escaped injury or death is a mystery. Several car loads of their lumber was scattered all over town. Several of their warehouses were badly damaged. The big lumber shed of Tenold & Nystrom was unroofed The wind tore off the cornice and the brick front of one upper story of the H. J. Giesen Co. store was torn out with it. A number of store windows were blown or crushed in. The whole big glass front of the Hotel Calmar was shattered. All three churches sustained damage The Lutheran church had the high spire completely torn out leaving a big hole. The south end of the Methodist church was moved on the foundation a foot. The Catholic Church only had some windows blown in. Many barns, garages and other outbuildings all over town were wrecked or damaged. Some of Peter Meyer’s flats were damaged considerably, The Harms flat was unroofed and blown against the Gene Broihier house causing much damage to, the house, almost demolishing it. Lumber belonging to the Calmar .Mfg. Co., wan scattered all over. The Weselmann slaughter buildings are a total wreck. Joe Becvar was caught in it and bruised and cut on the head. The iron roof blew off the city water tower and was carried over two blocks and crashed through the roof of the O P. Ode residence and rests in the attic. The brick veneered residences of J. D. Becker and A. P. Olson and their outbuildings suffered much. Carl Meyer lost wood shed, garage, kitchen and ice house, his two automobiles being buried in the wreckage. The Red Cross Surgical Dressing House was unroofed and also Mrs. Olson’s house next to it. The Carrie Flaskerud house had the entire roof carried away. The Randy Kittlesby house was unroofed on the north side. The Paul Wangsness home had the roof stove in by some heavy timber striking it. The big front porch on Louis Dessel’s fine new house was torn away. The Roof of Mrs. Goite’s house and Mrs. Hruska’s house were badly broken up. The barn and garage of Ross Luzum were demolished his car turned upside down and buried under the debris. His house sustained considerable damage, the kitchen being torn away. The Hawkeye Oil Co. building, a brick structure was totally wrecked. Mr. Williamson, Carl Buck. Gene Broihier and son came out of the wreckage safe, all four being in the building when it collapsed The Bushman, Jerhardt, Winger , Frank Kafka, and both Hazelton homes were damaged more or less. J. C. Kubesh's barn was demolished and his house badly damaged. George Hanber’s big barn was unroofed. Miss Flaskerud’s house near the Bjerke place was moved about 15 feet from the foundation. Ludwig Wangsness lost his barn and garage and his car was damaged. The following had barns and sheds totally demolished: Peter Schissel, Adolph Gunderson, Mrs. Haukedahl, Theo. Olson, John Sanders, Wm. Broghamer, Jim Swehla, Mr. Goetkin, the Tuma estate, John Schneberger, H. Haugen, Jos. Kapinos, John Hosper, Mrs. Skor, Rev. Cremer, Ole Nerison, Philip Gerleman. Chas. Johnson lost barn and house damaged. The outbuildings on Mrs. Kolaas’ place were wrecked and dwelling house damaged. The large barn of Hans Everson was moved a considerable distance and now rests bottom side up but still holding together. The high school boys did their stunt in clearing streets of the wreckage. Besides all this there are many, many instances of lesser damage, Very few places in town that have not some damage, trees, windows chimneys and interior damage etc. We hear also: of considerable damage in the country, and there is no doubt much more to hear from. On the Erick Twedt farm, barns and outbuildings were wrecked. The barns on the Julius Sandager, R. P. Sandager, John Stenseth, Anton Frana, Theo. Samuelson, Joe Beer, H. E. Wangsness, Andrew Knudtson, Jim Sobolik, Albert Shindelar, James Slebiska and Joseph Hosting. Ole Kiel's silo was damaged, and damage to some of the Hoff buildings and all the outbuildings on the L. Gross farm wrecked are reported The wires are down and not much can be learned from the county, but a general report is considerable damage is done. It really makes one sick to think and write about it. We have often heard of bad storms but this comes pretty near home. Report is that Protivin was also hard hit. Many visitors from surrounding towns have been here to see what destruction the storm left in its wake. Source: Calmar Courier, May 10th, 1918 Page 4 Columns 1 & 2 |
| 1918 Calmar Tornado Photos provided by Hank Zaletel |
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More Notes about the Storm Third Victim Added to Death List at Calmar |
The storm that struck this part of the country last week Thursday afternoon, was more destructive and far reaching than we had any idea of when last issue of the Courier went to press. Mrs. Peter Anderson, who was in the wrecked house where her husband was instantly killed, never regained consciousness, and died from her injuries, Monday evening. Among the farmers in the vicinity of Calmar not mentioned in last issue who were heavy losers in the storm are A. A. Klein, barn and a number of fruit trees; on the Markeson farm now owned by J. V. Sobolik, barn torn down and other damage; on the Hruskia farm, all gone but the house; Frank Beneberger, barn gone, considerable damage on the John Zeman farm; on the Chas. Jirak farm practically everything wrecked also considerable damage on the Fosse, Porlaug and Girinde places; considerable damage is reported on the Fred Hageman Jr. farm. The storm afflicted district extends along a length of about 100 miles and a width of about a half mile to a mile. It started about 12 miles southwest of Nashua, just missed that town, passed the south edge of New Hampton, struck Little Turkey and Calmar, and then several miles northeast, when its terrible destructiveness was finally spent. We had a talk with a cyclone insurance agent who had been over the territory of the storm and he said that the storm in the vicinity of Nashua and New Hampton was more destructive, everything in its path was torn to pieces, no buildings left standing, fence posts torn out of the ground and all carried away, everything scattered and twisted in all sorts of ways. While he said here, the indications that a straight wind did the damage, the general direction of lumber piles, debris, and trees carried being practically one way, and houses in the path being left standing. In the vicinity of Nashua and this way from there he counted eleven farms that had everything swept away clean, some new sets of buildings. Among the suffers in Chickasaw county are The Disposal plant at New Hampton, the roof a total wreck, the Frankenhaus farm, which is known as the Bigelow farms totally destroyed. the Jones farm, near Little Turkey; Victor Kriz, Jas. Busta; F. C. Novotny, Connery, P.H. Doyle; Mrs. McKane farm occupied by Mr. Russell old Leonard farm; Mrs. Whalen Peter Heath. F. M. McGinn, on the H Kout farm, M Connell, old ____ farm where several head of livestock was killed. The L. Lukes farm, where Mr. Lukes was cut in the head, also Mrs. Lukes and daughter Emma were injured; many other farms were more or less damaged. The toll of deaths by the storm in Chickasaw county are. Mrs. Thomas Dowd, Albert Smith. Theodore Kreiger. Jr., of New Hampton, and Mrs. A. Carpenter and Roy Husband of Nashua. A number of Luther College boys about 75 of them and some of the Decorah firemen did good work by coming over here and assisting the town people and the farmers to get things cleared away. They deserve a vote of thanks. The sound of the hammer, is heard in every direction, making repairs, many workmen being brought in from, other towns. People came from all over the country for many miles, even from neighboring states, to view the ravages of the storm. Never in the history of the county were so many people in any place in the county as were at Calmar Sunday. Many place the estimate at 30,000 visitors on that day. The street traffic on main streets here was much like State Street or Michigan Boulevard in Chicago. One continual stream of cars up one side of street and down the other side. It required quite a number of traffic police to take care of the traffic and we have not heard of a bad mishap in all that crowd of cars and people here on that day One man reported nearly 5000 cars he had counted going by, and said he did not get near all. Each car would average 5 passengers besides those who came on trains. While the insurance companies have a heavy loss, they are writing much additional and new insurance. We are very much disappointed in failure to get cuts for this issue of views of the wrecks of the storm. We sent a number of photos to an engraving company in St. Paul to have halftones made but something has gone amiss and we have not heard from them, so we will have to get along without them. Source: Calmar Courier, May 17th, 1918 Page 4 Columns 1 & 2 |
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