One hundred years ago – January 1918
THE ICE KING’S DOMAIN
All records are broken in this area by cold weather this past week. The weather reached down to 58 degrees below zero. Other places claim to have beaten us, but what are a few degrees among friends?
Relief is promised soon here in the Ice King’s domain. We have been compelled to endure and still suffer in the worst spell of weather ever known in this area of the Adirondacks where heretofore 35 or 40 below once during a winter has been considered rather phenomenal.
This morning, Jan. 3, 1918, the thermometer at T.J. Smith & Son’s grist mill (River Street) registered 40 below and everybody is rejoicing because the weather is getting warmer. Sunday morning (Dec. 30, 1917) was the coldest of the period and 58 below zero was registered by F. Dudley Pulver’s spirit thermometer at his home on Hudson Street. This is the lowest authentic record in this locality.
Sixty-nine below zero was said to have been registered at Thurman Station, but L.T. Spencer, D&H agent at that place, states that this was a canard (false rumor), as his thermometer actually recorded only 49 degrees as this was the best it could do as it had no greater capacity. Lake Pleasant recorded 60 degrees below zero.
The cold is widespread, covering nearly the whole country, and great suffering is reported at many points, principally in New York City and some other large cities, where shortage of coal has caused much misery. Warrensburgh has been very fortunate in this respect thanks to the foresight and enterprise of the local dealers A.C. Emerson & Company, who take care of their customers in a most satisfactory manner.
Plumbers have been the busiest men in the community, being kept on the go continually thawing out frozen water pipes in many homes. One firm alone reported 40 calls on Sunday morning. The government weather bureau promised relief on New Year’s Day, but it didn’t come.
(Update: During a September heat wave in southern California in 1917, a temperature of 134 degrees above zero was reported.
A break in the cold wave came on Saturday, Jan. 5, 1918 when the mercury slowly managed to rise and managed to climb during the early morning hours to 10 degrees above zero and on Monday a light snow storm prevailed.)
FLYING FISTICUFFS
For assaulting George Harrington recently at the Meadowbrook (now Nettle Meadow) Stock Farm in Thurman, Cyrus D. Baker was arrested by State Trooper E.C. Ryan and Saturday he was tried before Justice Willard D. Baker and convicted of the charge. He was sentenced to 30 days imprisonment in the county jail but upon signing a pledge to keep the peace, his sentence was suspended.
Harrington received a black eye and other minor injuries in the fray.
UP, UP AND AWAY
A spirited team of young horses owned and driven by Elmore Tucker, of Thurman, were frightened on Saturday, Dec. 29, 1917 by boys and ran away. going four miles at top speed before they were stopped by Hubert Ingraham, a 12 year old boy.
Mr. Tucker was thrown from the sleigh soon after the horses started but escaped injury. (Update: I will hazard a guess that those “boys” took a trip to the wood shed that night.)
YOUNG BOY DIES
Dewey Tucker, 18, died Dec. 12, 1917 after a long illness at the home of his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Delbert Tucker, in Stony Creek.
Besides his parents he is survived by three brothers and a sister, Gilford, Courtney, Robert and Miss Lela Tucker, all of Stony Creek.
The funeral will be held at the Methodist Church in Athol with the Rev. George Silvernail officiating. Burial will be in the Warrensburgh Cemetery.
KICKING UP THEIR HEELS
A good sized crowd ushered in the new 1918 year in grand style at an old-fashioned square dance in Fairyland Theatre, Monday night, Dec. 31, 1917. Excellent music was furnished by Leslie Lloyd and Frank Farrar.
Manager Jerald LaRocque announced that on Friday, Jan. 4, 1918 another dance will be held.
(Update: The new Fairyland Theatre building was built in 1916 directly across the street from the historic old Crandall house, which is next door north of the current Warrensburg Museum of Local History. The building is now gone, and the land is currently a parking lot for the adjacent Hudson Headwaters Health Network. I guess this is what is called “progress.”)
WINTER DRAGS ON
Friday, Jan. 11, 1918, was the warmest day in Warrensburgh in several weeks, the thermometer registering 32 degrees above zero nearly all day. Saturday morning we had 12 inches of new damp snow and Sunday morning the temperature dropped and it was 10 below zero with a strong west wind.
(Update: As Shakespeare lamented, “Thus bad begins and worse remains behind.” This 1918 weather sounds so very much like a current dismal January, 2018 weather report.)
SWEET AND SOUR NOTES
Frear’s store, in Troy, is selling men’s coats made of dog fur, perfect for this frigid winter weather, valued at $25 and on sale for only $16.50.
Readers are welcome to contact Adirondack Journal/Sun correspondent Jean Hadden at jhadden1@nycap.rr.com or 623-2210.
