A Fierce Gale Leaves Walla Walla Battered
A localized cyclone tears roofs from buildings and levels trees, leaving debris strewn across city streets.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Unroofed buildings, uprooted and twisted trees, and broken down fences in Walla Walla and the rural districts were the result of a fierce gale which swept over the valley early last evening. The roof was torn from the Kauffman Meat Company’s slaughterhouse east of the city and the foreman's house was partially wrecked. Mr. Kauffman estimates his damage at $200. The Yenny warehouse on Baker Street was badly twisted, and telegraph poles and trees were knocked down in that vicinity. The presidential arch on Main Street went by the boards at 7 o'clock; its destruction was watched by a hundred people on the streets. At the corner of Pleasant and Howard Streets, several huge balm trees were leveled, interrupting travel until workmen cleared them the following morning. George LaDue, residing on Fern Avenue, had a narrow escape from a falling tree.
“The presidential arch in Main street went by the boards at 7 o'clock. Its destruction was watched by a hundred people on the streets.”
Extreme weather events have always challenged Walla Walla’s infrastructure. While the presidential arch is a relic of a vanished local celebration, the vulnerability of the city's power lines and trees during high winds remains a recurring civic concern.
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