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Individuals desiring to use this material in their own research may do so. =========================================================================== Formatted by USGenNet Data Repository Chief Archivist, Linda Talbott All of the above information must remain when copied or downloaded. =========================================================================== The Ludington Daily News Tuesday, November 12, 1940 Mason County's Rural Area Battered by Storm Mason county's rural residents, beseiged along with the rest of the region by the worst wind storm in years, sat tight Monday afternoon and evening as severe gusts of snow-laden wind shrieked across the fields and hills from the southwest and blew away buildings, signs, windows, vehicles and roofs. Damage, although far from all reported, was estimated in the thousands of dollars as whole buildings collapsed under the pressure of the wind and hundreds of win- dows, after holding valiantly against the elements, cracked under the strain and showered rooms with glass and letting the wind into living rooms throughout the county. Huge trees, landmarks of years' standing, weaved and groaned under the strain and finally gave way before the relentless force from the southwest. Even one motor boat hull, its prow smashed hopelessly, had made its appearance on US-10 as the first of venturesome motor- ists made their way down the litter-spread highway. A motor truck, with a load of hay, had found the wind too much for it Monday evening while traveling along the highway near Scottville. A gust of wind struck the load and the truck ended, half turned-over, in the ditch on the north side of the high- way. Huge billboards throughout the county were the first to succumb as the intense wind struck their flat surfaces, turning them into kindling wood and spreading the wreckage far across highways and across fields. Power and telephone lines, although sur- viving the first few gusts of wind, soon came tumbling to the ground as huge poles snapped like tooth-picks, plunging the eastern part of the county into total darkness for several hours. As the storm continued the area of darkness spread until virtually the entire county was blacked out during the night. An entire cottage at Buttersville was reported to have been torn from its foundation and smashed into kindling- wood, along with its furnishings. Accord- ing to reports the building was unoccupied, its owners having closed it for the winter. In addition, countless mail boxes, wind- mills, gates, snow fences and small articles around Mason county farms gave way before the wind, being either wrecked or blown away by the gale. Although no serious injuries were reported from the area outside of Luding- ton, those who ventured forth during the night found their paths frought with danger as limbs and power lines came tumbling down. Hot wires were plenty in rural sections and also in Scottville the arc of current indicated trouble areas not yet reached by linemen who were battling throughout the entire night in the fight on downed lines. With communication lines virtually paralyzed today, it was next to impos- sible to determine the full extent of damage to the county. It was known, however, that the storm would be the most costly in many years and might be the most costly in the history of the region. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Ludington Daily News Tuesday, November 12, 1940 HURRICANE WREAKS HEAVY DAMAGE HERE High Winds Hit Region in Afternoon, Then Return Later in Day for All-Night Blow. Damage running into many thousands of dollars resulted when Ludington and all of Mason county was hit late Monday after- noon by what is believed to be the most severe storm in the history of this region. It was impossible this morning to compre- hend the amount of damage caused by the high winds of hurricane proportions which struck this region suddenly from the south- west about 2:30 p.m. Monday, then lapsed briefly only to return with a greater velocity than before at 5 p.m. Accompanied by a driving rain which later changed to snow, the wind, accord- ing to local marine officials, reached a peak velocity of about 75 miles an hour, one of the highest if not the highest in local marine history. No part of the county escaped but Lud- ington, being located on Lake Michigan off which the gale swept in full force, suffered most. Between 5 p.m. Monday and until the middle of this morning the wind blew with unceasing fury. It subsided somewhat toward noon today but was still strong enough to keep the damage toll mounting higher and higher. It is difficult to begin to describe the ferocity of the storm. Telephone poles and power lines were down by the hundred in all parts of the county, several local firms had gaping holes where once were roofs, brick walls top- pled in several places causing at least one serious injury, small buildings were overturned, trees uprooted, dozens of store windows smashed, marine activities were held up, and business virtually placed at a standstill. In fact very few places, either busi- ness or residence, escaped with no damage. Many sections of the county were without lights all night and others, because of electrically operated stokers, were without heat early this morning. Ludington early this morning, especial- ly the downtown district, presented the appearance of a deserted city. Many resi- dents and virtually all stores had barri- caded windows while hurry-up patch jobs were in evidence where windows had broken before such precautions were taken. A frame warehouse in the rear of the Plumb and Nelson wholesale office was one of the earliest structures to col- lapse. Used for storage purposes, all that remains today of the structure is a tangled mass of debris. Also among the earliest buildings to suffer was one owned by CHARLES PETERSON and used for boat storage purposes by the Gustafson Boat Building Co. Located on the waterfront where winds struck the hardest, the brick walls of the building collapsed and the roof fell on several boats inside. The craft were not believed much damaged but that portion of the build- ing is a total loss. A framework used in constructing boats was blown against the state highway maintenance garage, knock- ing out several windows but otherwise creating no damage. Pere Marquette railroad buildings and property were damaged heavily. A roof over the loading platform at the Pere Marquette freight shed was completely demolished. The wind reached such a velocity that parts of the roof were blown directly across the path of the road leading to the carferry office. The loading platform itself suffered minor damage. Platform Downed. The freight shed, although buffeted directly by the terrific gale, was re- ported undamaged. The nearby north car- ferry slip, however, had the passenger landing platform blown away. It is be- lieved to be the only one of three slips damaged. The Pere Marquette railroad powerhouse, located opposite the freight shed, where is housed the central heating plant for Pere Marquette marine offices and the freightshed, was considerably damaged, the south portion of the roof being de- stroyed. Buildings and a roofed dock owned by L. G. JEBAVY and located near the Wash- ington avenue bridge were considerably damaged. Roof on one large building was torn off and the dock roof was twisted far out of shape. Further dam- age resulted when a large metal smoke stack toppled over onto a smaller near- by building and damaged its roof. The wind apparently reached near cy- clonic proportions in that neighborhood for the Gas Corp. of Michigan plant suf- fered comprehensive damage. J. L. BOONE, manager, reported that the roof on the retort room was practically demolished as was the roof on the water gas build- ing. "In addition to this, the roof on the coke shed building is about gone," he declared. "We had some brickword (sic) damage, too," he added. Plant Damaged Another local plant to have roof and brickwork damage was the Bates-Ludinton Co. near the waterfront. Here the wind tore off a large portion of the south roof and deposited it on the opposite side of the building. A small section of the south wall was also blown out. Dahringer's tavern on South Madison street had a portion of its roof blown away and deposited on the sidewalk. Moty*a's gas and service station, West Ludington avenue, had its exterior lighting system toppled over, as well as several signs. The west stands at Oriole field were also reported slightly damaged. The wind apparently tore loose several of the board seats and scattered them about. Buck's storage house on North Gaylord avenue, owned by KEITH MEYERS, had sect- ions of its sheet metal siding ripped off but damage was not extensive. Schools Open Ludington schools, with two exceptions, were not damaged. At Longfellow school, the ventilating chimney fell through the roof and into the sixth grade room. The room was so damaged it will have to be closed for some time. The roof was damaged at St. Simon's school. Public schools were open all day today, Superintendent H. H. HAWLEY reported. "We were forced, however, to close Foster school this afternoon because no electric power there made it impossible to run the furnace stoker," he explained. A four foot section of bricks fell off the Kroger store, 126 West Ludington ave- nue, during the night, it was reported. CLARENCE HAVILAND, son of LLOYD HAVILAND, 315 North Harrison street, was surprised at midnight when the wind shattered the window and splattered glass all over his bed. Ludington's street crew, directed by RASMUS JENSEN, street commissioner, was busy today clearing streets of uprooted trees, broken branches and other debris. It was also reported, although no of- ficial confirmation could be gained, that a cottage at Buttersville had been blown from its foundation and that another cot- tage at Hamlin had been likewise consider- ably damaged. Cottages Damaged W. S. VIVIAN, secretary-manager of Epworth Heights resort, reported that about 100 cottages there had minor damage of some sort. "Roofs, windows, shutters and porches suffered most," he said. Window damage to merchants, gas sta- tions and other business establishments, was extensive. ED JANKOWSKI'S service station at 301 East Ludington avenue, had three large plate glass windows smashed and JENSEN'S service on South James had two blown in as did the Struck garage at 210 West Ludington avenue and JIM McDONALD'S bakery on East Dowland street. Other places having damaged front windows included: Olsen's Home Service studio, West Ludington avenue. Holmes Camera Shoppe, West Ludington avenue. Mark Clothing Co., South James street. Lageson's tavern, East Dowland street. Former Daron and Conklin market on South James street. P. C. Hansen furniture, South James street. Ashbacker's Toggery, men's clothing, West Ludington avenue, cracked window. Ludington Plumbing Co., West Luding- ton avenue, upper section of window. Tiedeman building on South Robert street, front windows blown in in addition to heavy roof damage. Section of roof blown off narrowly missed land- ing on the nearby Manie Bros. garage. City hall, large window in the engineer's office, fixed once and blew in again, scattering maps and other papers about the room. Carroll building and Wolfe Plumbing building on South Washington avenue in Fourth ward, glass damage. In addition, windows by the hundreds were reported broken in private resi- dences. Considerably damage of a minor nature was reported at many homes in the city. Lights Are Out A major portion of Ludington was well as other parts of the county were with- out electric lights most of the night and some were still without service this morning. Ludington factories were practically 100 percent closed this morning but the Watch Case and others were to re-open this afternoon. The power failure, in addition to booming the candle and kerosene sales in Ludington during the night, also made the heating situation a problem in residences and other places with electrically operated stokers. Dozens were without heat early this morning. The drop in temperature was pictor- ially illustrated by the fountain in the city park. The water froze as it spouted and this morning was literally a jumbled mass of ice. The clock in front of Schohl's jewelry ticked bravely for a while and then stopped at 6:15 p.m. Monday in the face of the gale. Signs Wrecked Numerous store signs were torn off including one at Schrink's on South James street. Many stores reported damaged awnings, some being torn to shreds. The rear of a car owned by ROGER EWING of Ludington was damaged when a portion of a West Ludington avenue roof came hurling down. No one was in the car. Street lights by the dozen were re- ported broken, both the boulevard and overhanging type. On Ludington avenue and James street the crash of glass to the sidewalk was frequent. Billboards and smaller signs were down in all sections. Biggest bill- board to topple was the one across the street from Kesicki's service station on West Ludington avenue. Others were located near the carferry slips and along the highways. Trees large and small were uprooted all through the city, no sectioni es- caping. This morning Ludington streets were literally a maze of broken branches plus other debris. =========================================================================== ** For more details on the 1940 Armistice Day storm copy/paste the following url into your browser: http://us-data.org/mi/glm/storm/1940/index.html