A Ruinous Gale Sweeps the Valley
A severe windstorm lays waste to orchards and hay crops in Finley, leaving farmers to survey the wreckage.
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.
Saturday’s storm cost this county thousands and thousands of dollars. Without counting Horse Heaven, where untold acres of wheat were blown out, it is safe to say that hardly a farmer in the valley escaped damage entirely. In the midst of the most profitable cherry season for years, the fruit is about half blown off the trees, and much of what is left is so badly bruised as to make it unmarketable. Pears, apples and peaches cover the ground. Farmers caught late in the haying had their hay blown clear away. With buildings unroofed, windows blown in, silos and hay stacks blown down and gardens whipped to pieces, Sunday’s sun rose on a dreary prospect.
“With buildings unroofed, windows blown in, silos and hay stacks blown down and gardens whipped to pieces, Sunday’s sun rose on a dreary prospect.”
Extreme weather events like the 1916 gale remain a constant, high-stakes threat to the agricultural economy of the Tri-Cities. Today, farmers rely on advanced meteorological data, but the feeling of vulnerability to the 'weather man' persists as climate instability grows.
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