A severe electrical storm and a downpour of rain of near cloudburst proportions fell early Wednesday evening of last week, centering near the Comanche-Clark county line west of Protection and extending to near the Sitka hill in Clark county. A rainfall of from 10 1/2 to 16 inches was reported.Water rushed off fields eastward and washed out the railroad track bed near the county line and damaged a Santa Fe railway bridge so that the westbound passenger train could go no farther than Protection on Friday. Highway traffic was also stopped by silt and mud on the blacktop so deep cars and trucks could not travel in places. And the high water in spots stopped even big semi trailers.
One new car driven by a Carter Oil Co. salesman was swept off Highway 160 and completely destroyed.
The Stacy Wilson farm house in Clark county was surrounded by water and it swirled 15 inches deep through their house. Baled alfalfa from the Kenneth Huck and other farms were strewn along the highway when the water receded and much other hay was washed away.
The heaviest loss, perhaps, occurred at the Joe Schumacher farm south of Protection. Flood water up to four feet in depth swept across his farmstead on its way to the Cimmaron River and inundated the engines of two cars, three trucks and three tractors. If you want to see what a car and a truck look like after going through a flood, see them at the Coldwater Motor Co., where they are being taken apart and cleaned thoroughly. However the vehicle flood damage was covered by insurance.
Lightning struck power lines in Coldwater burning out a transformer and high voltage lines underground at the light plant. An emergency call was placed to bring in crews to rush the repairs. Power was restored to the city in about four hours by crews working most of the night.
But several inches of silt covers Joe's fields and his alfalfa crop has been heavily damaged.
In Protection three inches of rain fell and in Coldwater only 1.62 inches was recorded by Vernon Pepperd, U. S. Weather observer. He reports that during May the total precipitation has been 14.75 inches - five inches more than for all of 1956.
Believe it or not, farmers in the New Eden community who have hard land state that their fields are still too wet to plant spring crops. But the warm sunny weather this week is drying the soil and many are planting spring crops from early morning until dark. And how the grass, gardens and flowers are growing.
County Agent Kenneth Jameson states that some of the wheat, even what was planted after the first of the year, is thus for showing up very favorably, believe it or not.
Thanks to Shirley Brier for finding, transcribing and contributing the above news article to this web site!
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