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| M.E. Neprud Warehouse |
The following was printed in the Westby Times May 7, 1930. In parentheses are today’s locations of places listed in 1930.
The city of Westby went through an experience last Thursday evening (May 1) at about 8:05 o’clock that will long be remembered and it is to be hoped that it will not be repeated at least for generations to come. This community has, indeed, been fortunate in the past to escape ravages of destructive storms, and the tornado that hit us last week only proves that we are not immune to the weather elements that leave only destruction in their path.
The heaviest loss, of course was suffered by Mr. And Mrs. James Funk, whose 12-year-old son, Arthur, lost his life in the storm while on his way home from play.
Thursday was sultry, marked by light showers with threatening electrical disturbances throughout the day. At supper time it was generally predicted that a good rain was in store. At 7:30, however, signs of a heavy storm began to loom up, but on one entertained fear that it would be one out of the ordinary.
At eight o’clock the lights were all off and the entire city was in darkness. Those who watched the skies state that two funnel-shaped clouds came, one from the northwest and the other from the southwest, both coming up at a terrific speed toward the city. The two clouds came together when over Westby, dipped down upon the business section on the west side of Main Street, coming low enough to take roofs and top parts of buildings, hurling bricks, lumber and whatever debris happened in its path, across the street through the windows and wall of the buildings on the opposite side of the street.
Had it not been for the fact that the city was in darkness and people were off the street, we believe that the storm’s toll of human life would have been far greater than it was. And had the storm come in the day time we shudder to think what the results might have been.
Aurthur Funk, was killed in front of the Borgen restaurant (Connelly Law Office front yard) by the top front of the restaurant building falling into the street and upon the boy.
The total damage done to building is conservatively estimated at about $20,000, the heaviest losers being the Oium Garage (203 A-Z Antiques), Neprud warehouse (vacant area east of First Street and Polly Rude Way), Holman Store (parking lot north of Subway), the Commercial Hotel (CBC Building), Borgen Restaurant, the Westby Telephone Company building (Borgen’s Dining Room). Anderson Furniture Store (Treasures on Main), the Villand building (Uff Da Mart), Hagen Store (Adam’s Eye Clinic), the Jernander Harness Shop (building east of VMH Pharmacy).
Aside from these damages numerous chimneys on residences were destroyed and the roof of Mrs. Hilda Bergum’s barn was torn off and placed in C.W. Jaeger’s back yard.
From here the storm seems to have cut across the street, landing on the southwest corner of the Jernander Harness Shop, where it took the brick off from a space about eight feet square. From here the storm must have taken a higher altitude, as several lower old buildings were intact , and it must have taken another dip by the time it reached the Commercial Hotel, as here it swept the roof and brick off two to three feet from the top.
The Thorson Building (parking lot north of Subway), was damaged considerably on the roof. The upper story is occupied by the Davidson Photograph Studio and Mr. Davidson sustained considerable damage to his paraphernalia, the skylight having been broken.
The Holmen store, however, suffered heavy damage, the south front window being smashed and the entire upper front being torn off and in a heap in the street.
A heavy downpour of rain set in following the tornado and it was with the greatest of difficulty that carpenters and workmen were able to make temporary reparations of the open fronts throughout the business section for the night.
By far the heaviest loser was Martin Oium, whose Ford garage building was so badly wrecked that for a time it seemed as if it were beyond reparation. The entire roof and the top half of the front wall were a heap of ruins, tons of brick, the ceiling and other material landing on top of cars stored on the ground floor. Victor Olson, bookkeeper, was standing in the front window of the show room when the crash came. Two brand new Fords must be given credit for saving his life. The cars held the terrific weight up, giving him space enough to crawl from under neath to safety. Norvin Dahl, mechanic, was in the adjoining room and when brick and debris came hurling through the front barely missing him, he crawled under a big truck. Mr. Oium was at the Kiwanis luncheon which was on at the time the storm came and played its havoc, the Kiwanians remaining in the hotel until after the storm had abated. The wrecking storm did not tarry long, however, —only about half a minute and it was all done.
Mrs. Palmer Jefson (Una), telephone operator, was hit on the leg by a brick that came through the window of Central, making a deep cut and which incapacitated her for a few days. Another brick barely missed hitting Mrs. George Byer as it came through the window past her head while she, too was, was at the switch
The roof on the Ender Hotel was badly damaged and nearly all the windows on the west side from the ground up were broken by the debris hurled through the air by the storm.
The old tobacco warehouse building owned by Mrs. M.E. Neprud and in which over 600 cases of leaf tobacco belonging to M.H. Bekkedal & Sons were stored was toppled over sideways toward the Milwaukee station, blockading the railroad track and part of the depot platform. A large crew of men was at work all day Friday clearing the wreckage and removing the tobacco. Three hundred cases of the tobacco were damaged, many being soaked by the rain and others having been broken in the destruction of the building. The tobacco was covered by insurance, but no tornado insurance was carried on the building, a total wreck, by Mrs. Neprud.
The Taylor Lumber Company did not escape the fury of the storm, either. Several window lights on the west side of the big lumber shed were broken and debris including heavy joists from the Commercial Hotel roof made its way through the wall of the shed. An opening about four feet square was made through the west wall.
The final capers of the storm before leaving our city appear to have been the taking down of the tobacco sheds on the Galstad and Martinson places, no damage having been done beyond their places that we have any knowledge of.
There were a few trees uprooted here and there around town, but we have attempted in the writeup to cover the major part of the damage wrought by the storm.
Heroic work is being done by carpenters and other workmen in getting the storm’s results righted and cleared up again and great progress is being made. The buildings are fast being repaired and everything will be back to normalcy before many days.
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