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About The Plattsmouth journal. (Plattsmouth, Nebraska) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 1923)
VOL. NO. xttty CLOUDBURST TAKES HEAVY All of the McCarver Family Die in Flood That Swept House Away Many Thrilling Rescues Made by Citizens in Storm and Darkness. CITY IS SCENE Ai DESTRUCTION TODAY Work of Rescue Carried on in Darkness by Aid of Lanterns Telephone Girls Stick to Post Property Loss of Thousands of Dollars Due to Flood. .i . ,- . l Death and destruction followed a cloudburst at 6 o'clock yes terday afternoon a few miles south of Louisville and as the result of the storm Louisville today is a city of mourning for the damage that followed in the wake of the flood that swept through that city a few moments after the cloudburst occurred. Eleven known dead are reported and a number of Mexicans residing on the bottoms near the Platte are also reported as missing, but it will be some time before a check can be made to ascertain just the exact status of the residents of that part of the town, owing to the fact that many do not speak English and it difficult to find wheth er or not there are members of the colonv missing. The Btorm, gathering all after noon, broke in its full fury late in the day and soon the flood waters filled Mill creek to the dimensions of a river and the water sweeping from the confines of the creek flowed into the city of Louisville leaving a terrible damage in its wake. The flood swept between the city hall and opera house building and the Drake hotel to the depth of from six to eight feet and in a few momenta the flood had reached every building in the town and filled the cellars and low er floors of all the buildings. Side walks were torn up by the flood and tossed along on the crest of the flood and lodged so that the water instead of being able to flow back toward the river was swept on to the bottoms west of Louisville and in its pathway left only wreckoge and death. The residences that were located in the vicinity of Mill creek were all under water and many thrilling re3- cues were mad-3 m tne miast 01 tne;nf damage from the waters that dark and terror of the flood ana storm as the electirc current was cut off when the lines were swept away in the early part of the flood and it was with difficulty that the rescues were made by the men of the com munity. The residence of the McCarver family near the creek was swept from its foundation and borne on the crest of the angry flood waters toward the Platte river and the members of the family who had gathered there to attend "the funeral of the mother, Mrs. John McCarver. who was burn ed to death thera Thursday, are all reported as being drowned. The bodies recovered from the wreckage and the flood are Robert McCarver, Mrs. Alfred Laird and son, Herbert, of Valley; Mrs. J. W. Morgan. Paul and Pauline Brunkow, while the members of the family missing are Will McCarver and wife, the latter mother of the two Brunkow children, Willie Laird, a small boy of the Mor gan family, aged 5 years, and a sis ter of the late Mrs. McCarver, who arrived yesterday from Illinois to at tend the funeral services. In the vicinity of the creek, by the aid of lanterns and directed by the cries of those caujht in their homes by the flood, the rescuers la bored la getting out many who in a few moments more would have been -drowned. At the home of George ; Schoeman and wife the rescue party had great difficulty in getting the oc cupants of the house out to safety and Mr. Schoeman was rescued only by having a rope placed around his reck and shoulders and being drawn to the arms of the men of the party Nebraska State Histori cal Society TOLL OF LIFE OF DEATH who were out aiding in the rescue work. The home of Mrs. C. G. Clifford was also badly damaged by the flood and the occupants of the house brought to safety with the greatest of difficulty as was also the case at the home of Mrs. Margaret Ossenkop, who, with her daughter, Mable, was brought out of the house with the water almost over her head and car ried to a place of safety. Mrs. Emmanline Hammant was rescued from her home near the creek after a battle with the waters for some time before the drenched and almost exhausted rescuers could reach her and remove her to a place out of the path of the flood. The property damage will mount into the thousands of dollars as there is not a place in the main section of the town that was not flooded and ptocks of tronds in the first floors jcf the buildings suffered a great deal : flnwprf from hnth the hark and front of the stores. In the Drake hotel the ' water on the first floor rose to the depth of three and four feet and the residents In the hotel sought refuge in the seqond story of the building. The large concrete bridges over Mill creek are twisted and torn as though by an earthquake and south of Louisville all of the bridges lead ing to the city are destroyed in the flood that followed the cloudburst and it Is necessary to make the way into the city on foot in order to reach the scene of the destruction, wrought by the storm. In the town and nearby localities outbuildings, sheds, stock and autos were swept away by the flood and the loss will be hard to estimate at this time until the full reports are in from all sections of the vicinity of Louisville. The telephone girls at the Louis ville exchange did wonderful work in the midst of the storm as they stood by their posts while the flood waters were sweeping around them and Mrs. L. J. Mayfield standing, in the tele phone booth in four feet of water, sent out the messages to the outside papers and communities of the de struction that had befallen their city. All aid possible should be given to the suffering city and its people and it will require some time before the damage that has been done to the ousiness nouses ana residences can be repaired and the city back in its former normal life. The storm was the most destruc tive that has visited Cass county in years, and in the loss of life exceeds the tornado of 1913 that swept thru LIST OF KNOWN DEAD Robert McCarver Alfred Laird and sons, Her bert and Willie, Valley. Mrs. J. W. Morgan Paul and Pauline Bronkow. Will McCarver and Wife. Morgan, 5-yr. old boy. Mrs. M. J. Smith, an aunt of the McCarver boys. the southern pottion of the county. The details of the destruction are hard to obtain as the wire service to Louisville has been crippled in the tearing down of poles and lines and the residents of the city burden ed by the all night battle with the storm are exhausted and worn. One of the heroic workers in the flood was Mart Williams, formerly of this city, who rescued two children from the McCarver house and urged the other members of the family there to attempt to get to safety at that time but before he could return from carrying the two children to safety on his shoulders, the house was 6wept from its foundation and away in the flood. The store of W. F. Diers will be one of the heaviest losers in the flood : as inv np if iinnm nrar the first floor of the store wasftlons wlt.n Ine Turlington at ureap- swept by the waters and the base ment of the building which was fill ed with stocks of goods, is still full of water, reports here at noon stated. The office of the Louisville Courier also suffered heavily from the flood and the type cases are largely filled with mud and debris that was 'wash ed in by the flood waters. The Sioux City freight over the',. ,M , ...i, Burlington, which was being double- headed through reached that local- ny just at tne time tne storm oc- curred and was held there and aj number of cars derailed when the tracks were washed out and made further progress impossible. Approaches to the Platte river wagon bridge at Louisville as well as lue anssouri racuic Driage was aam- aged by the flood waters and ren dered impassable through washouts. Sheriff c D. Quinton and County ' Attorney A. G. Cole and County Com missioner George Farley started for the stricken city this morning and "i,cllru jumeu mere oy wm-;Frnm SSHenSP ? wrlS ?f Uw? aD.d I Fred H. Gorder of Weeping Water to moo. uver me aamage ana tne care or the unfortunates who were drowned in the storm waters. BUSHNELL STRUCK BY WIND STORM; DAMAGE HEAVY Twenty-Five Loaded Fruit Cars Blown From Union Pacific Tracks in the West From Friday's Daily A terrific windstorm, accompanied by heavy rainfall, struck Bushnell, Neb., and vicinity late yesterday af ternoon, blowing 25 loaded fruit cars off the Union Pacific tracks at Bush nell, uprooting trees and causing other damage, the extent of which has not been determined, according to telephone reports to The Omaha Bee last night. The storm struck suddenly and continued unabated for more than 20 minutes. Street signs were blown down, houses unroofed and debris scattered about, the report stated. PLATTSMOUTH, NEBRASKA, MONDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1923. C1 The storm at Lincoln and vicinity was quite extensive, reports from that city state, and among other places that were touched by the high water was Harelock. In the pumping station at that place the water, stood at a depth of five feet and in the Burlington shops there, it is reported four feet of water was standing all over the various departments with damage to the equipment that will probably run into thousands of dollars, altho it is impossible to estimate the amount at this time. CITY IS ISOLATED THE TERR1F! G StOSMS One Train from Omaha Today is the Only Communication from Here to the Korth and West. Pnllowinc thp clnndtmrsta in -ouis- J'ville and north through Sarpy county ana umana, tu:s city, was a place shut off from rail com municat ian with Mie west and north save in the connection made at Pacific Junction with Xo. 6 over the Burlington. The Burlington lines were paralyz ed by the washouts that occurred at Bellevue and also at Louisville and Cedar Creek so that their lines were completely ' closed 1.1 west-and' north. ' The Missouri Pacific had bad washouts on their lines , near the . Pappio creek that completely shut ofT all traffic with Omaha. Along the line of the Burlington west of the city there were large sec tions dug outalon g the tracks be tween Louisville and Cedar Creek and many of these were from six to fifteen feet deep and will require much , work to repair tnem. The sec tion men were out all night laboring to repair what they could of the trackage, but it was an almost hope less task in the face of the damage that hfld been done to the tracks. It is hoped to have the Burlington lines through to Omaha repaired by 'night so that the traffic can be re- sumed tomorrow as usual. The Missouri Pacific in order to reach Omaha, had to make connec- oiis, switcning tneir nortnoouna early morning train as well as the St. Louis baseball special there and sending them back over the Burling ton lines to this city and thence to Pacific Junction and the Bluffs trans fer. A large number of Plattsmouth I people who were in attendance at d here thi, mornin at n 0.c,ock on the Etub tfcat connected with the b- jate(i 6 at Pacific Junction. RAIN DISAPPOINTS COUNTY FAIR GOEP.S Delegation From This City Expect ing to Drive to Weeping Water Stopped by Heavy Ram. VriAav's Dailv After a week of reparation by the Plattsmouth business men and citi- zens to join in a general observance of Plattsmouth day at the Cass coun ty fair at Weeping Water, the plans of the day were dashed to pieces when this morning a very heavy rain storm made the traveling by auto im possible and compelled the boosters to remain at home in this city. This is a great disappointment to all those who had planned to attend the fair, but is one of the things that occur to upset the best arrang ed plans of men and which there is no way of preventing. The pledges of cars had been nu merous and a crowd from 200 to 250 was promised for the day but in the face of the continuing rain there was nothing left to do but to pass up the trip and remain at home. The dis appointment was keen both to the Plattsmout and Weeping Water peo ple as it had been arranged to have a real day of good fellowship and pleasure at the fair. GRANTED DIVORCE DECREE From Thursday's Daily In the case of Lena Dyke vs. Charles F. Dyke in the district court, Judge Begley has entered a decree granting the prayer of the petition er, Mrs. Dykes for an absolute divorce. 4 .r EXPERIENCE IN A REAL HAIL STORM George J. Monk and Members of C. Cook Family Have Car Riddled by Large Hail Stones. From Saturday's laily Returning last evening from the Cars county fair at Weeping Water, George J. Monk and Mr. and Mrs. C. K. Cook of this city had a most thrilling experience in the rain and hail storm that visited that section of Cass county. The party started for home about 5 o'clock and when about a mile and a half north of Weeping Water they had some car trouble which delayed them until the rain storm started and the driving rain came down in sheets, turning the lowlands into a sea of water and in the hollows at the foot of the hills there were streams from thirty to one hundred feet wide.. About 5:30 the hail commenced to fall and in a few moments the car was under a heavy bornbardn:ent. the hail stones falling the size of large hen eggs end of all shapes that could be imagined. The top of the car received twenty holes from the ef fects of the hail and in the hood of the car there were many dents made that still attest the force of the hail btorm. The wind shield was broken and the case of the motonneter brok en by the force of the hail in the few moments that the car struggled through the storm. The car was. finally driven to the John Jtauth home where the autoists souRhti .shelter. -and the Rauth family beiflg"aTrslST!'t; tllGJ STte'ttremset-resf at home for a short time until Mrs Rauta and one of the children re- turnea nome ana a rew moments lat- er Mr. Rauth arrived and proceeded to snow me visitors tne most royal i nospitamy ana Kept them at the home until this morning when Mr. i Monk and Mr. and Mrs. Cook return- . the worst storm in his memory. me eiienw: u udi m lhat the tlieck, signed by "Bobbie I track. Two day be long remembered and Mr. Cook. White." was worthless as far as rep- one baggage and 1 . , . -. . i a. L u ucru ''uCiiV U1 uils iuuu- resenting real money and that he had the rails, he a attt lhat the trew 1around.hel o'clock the lad was "located by the Hauth home were quite badly strip-! sheriff ped by the hail, but does not think T ' w f4, tht the crop of corn was badly dam-' aged, as it was well along toward! maturity. TORNADO AT COUNCIL Rl MCCQ Vl I Q CIlC ULUrrO fVlLLO MIL j Storm There last Night Kills Five and Injures Four Persons in Southern Part of City. From Saturday's Dailv Five persons were killed and four injured last night by a tornado in Council Bluffs which swept an area three blocks wide in the southern part of the Iowa city, wrecking many buildings. Flood water from Indian creek added to suffering, handicap ping rescuers. The list of known dead include the following: Fred Roupple, 35, stockman, Wells ville, Mo.; Mrs. Leta Kalftrup, 45, and three children, Georga, 7, Rich ard. 6, and Chester, 4. The injured are Lars Kalftrup, husband of the dead woman; Frank Dow, 35, leg broken and Henry Mc Devitt. both of Perry. Iowa; Ed Col lier, 53, and daughter. Goldie, 12. Killed in Home Mrs. Kalftrup and children- were killed in their home on Twentieth avenue just off Tostevin street. Kalf trup, who was in the house when the tornado struck, returned to his de molished heme immediately after his injuries had been attended at Jennie Edmundson Memorial hospital. -Roupple and O. E. Gosharn, also of Wellsville, Mo., were in the Wa bash eating house, in the Wabash railway yards when the wind crash ed two windows. Roupple rushed outside and was felled by debris hurl ed about and was killed instantly. Gosharn, remaining inside the cafe, was unhurt. The men were enroute to Omaha to buy sheep. Dow and McDevitt were injured when struck by missiles in the Mil waukee railroad shops, where they are employed. The injured were taken to Jennie Edmundson Memorial hos pital. Collier and his daughter" were pin ned under wreckage in a Wabash section house in which they lived. They were removed to the hospital in a serious condition. Collier's wife and their other children v ere slight ly hurt. They were tanen to the home of friends. High water which engulfed a wide a i. nn area in Council BlufTt; made it diffi cult for relief workers to reach the victims. The injured were brought to the Rock Island-Milwaukee pas senger station on a one-coach train. and from there taken to the hos pital. SAFE FROM THE EARTHQUAKE From Saturday's l'aily Rev. W. X. Ilalsey of Omaha, at one time principal of the 1'lattsmouth high school in the early nineties, has received word from his sister, Miss Lila Ilalsey, a missionary in Japan announcing her safety at the time of the great earthquake. The letter from Miss Ilalsey stated that she was on a train returning from Tokio at the time the earthquake occurred and by a few hours escaped the destruction of the city of Tokio. BOY WANDERER FROM ST. JOSEPH IN BAD Passes Worthless Check For $2 at Mauzy Drug Stoie and Gets In Hands of the Law. From Friday's Daily Yesterday afternoon the police force and Sheriff Quinton were given o. j. .j. mitu a. juutu f thirteen to fourteen years of age was reported aB having passed a check for $2 at the Mauzy Drug store and a search was made of the city in an effort to locate the boy with the re sult that he was found sometime lat er at the Missouri Pacific station by Sheriff C. D. Quinton. it seems that ihe b-iy had 'come into the store during, the time Mr Mauzy was out and had made a small I purchase and tendered a check for 2 drawn on the Farmers' State bank of this city -which wa3 cashed by.'ming all day yesterday. Mr3- jiauzy wno was in the store at I tne time and the boy departed she 1 decided to call and learn if the check made the boy about' teen years of age and had come here ! from St. Joseph, Missouri, in his wandering around looking for work or a place to live. He stated to the autorities that he had no parents or relatives living and was a homeless 'wanderer. The linv was takpn tn the county jail where he will be cared for until his case is disposed of. It is probable that owing to the without relatives or friends' that it may be deemed best to send him to the state reform school for boys 1 where he can be educated and cared for. I. A I JM2 r-. J! w n r r.K v " W EaJJCKSU IU. Chocks Arc Safer! Coins or greenbacks can be used by any one who gets possession of them. When you write a check, it's useless until the person to whom it is made out endorses it and thereby acknowledges its receint. Then too, around thi3 time oi the month, when you're paying bills, a checking account provides you with the means of making exact change. Protect yourself with a First National Bank Checking Account. The First national Bank THE BANK WHERE YOU FEEL. AT HOMS PLATTSMOUTH '"if La NO. 23 BURLINGTON HAS WRECK ON BILLINGS LINE LIST Or DEAD MAY REACH 100. ACCORDING TO REPORTS FROM CASPER, WYO. TRAIN PLUNGES INTO RIVER Caught in Coaches, Passengers Are Drowned in the River When Bridge Collapses. From Friday's Daily One of the worst wrecks on the Burlington lines in recent years oc curred about 10 o clock last night when cast bound passenger train So. SO on the Denver-Billings line trash ed through the bridge over the Big Muddy river at Lockett, Wyoming, eighteen miles east of Casper. At the last reports the dead on the train wa3 estimated at from 37 to 100 and the task of recovering the bodies j froai the coaches was being conriucl- e(1 jjy a rener force hurried by spe r-iai train rrom t astier. The story told by Dan McLain of Denver, a passenger on one of the sleeping cars, was that he was the sole Eurvivor of the coach In which he was riding and that at least 100 jkOtjs perished tn the surging flood waters of the river. As far as could be learned two day coaches, one sleeper, one baggage and one mall car crashed Into the river when the bridge was swept away by the force of the flood waters caused by the heavy rains in Wyo- The trainmen who notified the Casper dispatchers office of the wreck said that only two of the coaches, one sleeper, one express car left id. ere completely ub- merged, and one car was standing on end, McLain said, and he did not believe any of the trapped pas sengers escaped from the wreckage. McLain made his way to the Mid west camp in the Big Muddy oil fields and telephoned news of the ac cident to Douglas, eight miles away. Word received at the local telegraph office of the Burlington railroad from Superintendent Grissinger was to the effect the Big Muddy was a raging torrent and rescue work was out of the question. When told that a passenger esti mated the Ioes of life at 100 persons, the dispatcher said, "It would Je easy at that." He was unable to say how many people there were on the train, however. , nt SttDGcSiston - c "NEBRASKA