“A storm, remarkable
for its vivid lightning and crashing thunder, came up in the southwest last
night and broke with violence about 11 p.m.”
Hamilton Herald. July 5, 1915.
Thunder storms were not unusual in the
Hamilton of 1915, particularly during the summer months. The storm which hit
the city on July 4, 1915 was unusual, however, in its intensity:
“Apart from some minor trouble and interruptions
in the service of the Bell Telephone company, the Hydro-Electric and the
Dominion Power and Transmission company, the only local damage of note was the
shattering of the flagpole on the court house.”
Hamilton Herald. July 5, 1915.
The Wentworth County Court House,
facing on Main street, between Hughson and John streets, was indeed a large
building but there were other buildings in the immediate vicinity, in the
summer of 1915, which were larger, at least in terms of height Those buildings
would have seemed to have been more likely targets for a lightning strike.
However, the flagpole was indeed
struck at 11 p.m., a time when the court house was unoccupied, except for the
couple who actually lived in the immense building:
“ (The Court House) was struck by a
bolt and three persons had a narrow escape. George and Mrs. Andrews, who occupy
apartments in the basement of the court house, were sitting in their living
room when the flagpole was struck.
“A conductor pipe which runs directly
from the roof of the building to the living room conveyed the lightning to
where they were. Other iron pipes, including a radiator, served to intensify
the danger, and both Mr. and Mrs. Andrews were terrified when they saw the
lightning dart through the room and burst into flames underneath a sewing
machine. A minute before, Mrs. Andrews had been stooping directly over this
machine, but, fortunately, neither she nor her husband was injured.”1
The other
individual almost seriously injured by the lightning strike was a Hamilton
policeman :
“The third person to narrowly escape
injury was Constable James Reynolds, who was patrolling his beat on John
street, opposite the court house. He saw the pole struck, and stated today that
the shock was so fierce it almost threw him off his feet. As it was, he was
dazed for a few seconds.”1
Officials
with the Bell Telephone noted that service had been interrupted for a time by
the storm, but that interruption was the result of their decision as a
precaution. While officials with the Hydro-Electric department claimed that
there was no damage to their equipment whatsoever, officials with the Dominion
Power and Transmission company said that a number of fuses at private
residences were burned out, although it was claimed that such was a common
occurrence during thunder and lightning incidents.
The storm also brought with it a very
heavy rainfall. Farmers surrounding the city were contacted by a reporter with
the Herald newspaper. Some minor damage was admitted, but more importantly to
the famers, they were very glad to receive the rainfall.
Within the city, the heavy rainfall
was received with less pleasure:
“ The terrific downpour last night did
damage through flooding of cellars along King and James streets in the business
sections. Some places are still ankle deep in water with city workmen swabbing
them out.”1
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