The Elroy Leader, dated Thursday, July 4, 1907

 TORNADO SWEEPS CLOSE TO ELROY

Strikes Juneau County at the Tunnel Siding on the Omaha Road From Eastern part
of Clifton Township in Monroe County and Follows Over the Tunnel Ridge
Into Town of Plymouth, Within a Few Miles of Elroy.

 LAYS BARE EVERYTHING IN ITS PATH.

 Lives Lost—Many Houses and Barns Demolished—Stock Loss Heavy—Injury
to Crops and Timber Great.

                 If Elroy was ever thankful to the Supreme Being it was after seeing the dreadful work of a tornado which swept down toward it from the north within only a few miles Wednesday evening soon after six o’clock, causing complete destruction to everything in its path and then suddenly seeming to raise and shift to a south easterly direction.

                The course of the storm is figured as starting between Neillsville and Merrillan Jct. Where the first havoc was wrought and three lives lost, coming this way Millston and Warrens was hit, where four were killed and many buildings wrecked at the latter place.  The next spot swept along the Omaha road was Stowell where it crossed the tracks to Oakdale on the Milwaukee road in Monroe county, thence south striking the eastern part of Clifton township and east into Juneau county at the Tunnel siding on the Omaha road, town of Fountain and over the tunnel ridge into the town of Plymouth.  The tornado crossed the Omaha road on its course four times, its path was snake fashion and a noticeable thing about it was the way it kept away from the larger places and the thickly settled settlements where the loss of life could not help but be greater.  The great banks of heavy dark clouds seemed to dazzle a person, traveling slowly ahead but in the center whirling with incredible velocity in every direction.

                To give a true report of the damage is impossibility tho the loss is complete in the path of the tornado and life was only saved by the cellar except in a few cases.  At Oakdale the entire little village is gone with the exception of the depot and the dead are two or three.  At the Tunnel, Andrew Anderson’s fine brick house and everything he had was swept away and for a time it was feared he was dead but with his family saved themselves by getting into the cellar.  The telegraph office and property of Ole Bolgord (Balgord), a watchman for the Omaha railroad is also gone and he having failed to reach the cellar is badly hurt and was brought to the Elroy Hospital for care.  Ole Brown is another who lost his property and may yet lose his life being badly hurt.  He was picked up for near dead and taken to the Jacob Quamme where at last accounts was alive.

                At Ole Wetley’s the place this way where any great damage was done, Mrs. Wetley was killed before she could get to the cellar where her husband and daughter Miss Anna, who was home on a visit and expecting to return to St. Paul after the Fourth were saved unhurt.  She was picked up 8 or 10 rods west of where the house stood and from which direction the tornado seemed to come upon them.  The house, barns, orchard and in fact every thing the poor man had was laid bare, except the saving of his horse which was done by a freak of the storm.  The animal was tied in its place in the barn which was taken clean off of it leaving only the manger and stall petition and was not hurt.  No piece of the rest of the barn or house can be found other than in kindling wood.  About 25 rods west of the house stood a fine grove of second growth timber which is literally stripped of bark and leaves and twisted into every imaginable shape.

                The next place west toward the Tunnel is that of Torge Severson where, while no human lives were lost the loss to property, stock and crops, of which upwards of 70 acres were destroyed is probably as great as any place in this vicinity.  When the Leader man was on the place soon after 8:00 o’clock the next morning the dead carcasses of stock could be seen in every direction on the fields where they were thrown from the barn yard by the tornado and killed.  His stock loss is 13 or 14 head of cattle and calves, 5 pigs and 3 horses.  The best team was in the basement of the barn and were saved without a scratch and the barn cleaned from the foundation.  Some young stock in the pasture out of the storms path is also saved.  Like the horses Mr. and Mrs. Severson were saved with his father and her mother.  Mrs. Holland of La Crosse who was visiting there at the time, in the cellar under the house.  They were eating supper and hearing a roaring noise Mr. Severson went out doors to see everything flying west of them when all at once the cloud seemed to stop and then turn and start directly for the house at this time he rushed in and ordered the others to the cellar where they just got when the house went over them with a pocket book containing something like $300.00 and the contents.  Of the machinery on this place all that is left is an old truck which for some reason was saved.

                About a fourth of a mile north is the next place that of Mrs. Gulick Thompson who died this Thursday noon a victim of the tornado.  Her barns and grainery were taken clean, the east wing of the house in which she and her daughter were in at the time was carried away with them.  The daughter while she is hurt some seems to be getting along nicely.  The roof was also taken off the main part but otherwise it and the west wing were not damaged.

Other places damaged in this vicinity reported to us but which we were not able to look over personally are: Martin Larson, known as the old Kittleson place, barn unroof; Ole Ritland, tobacco shed and barn gone; Albert Pfaff, barn gone; Jacob Quamme, tobacco she; Mark Johnson, everything gone, father, Ole Johnson hurt; Severt Olson, barn gone; Tom Halverson, barn gone; Mr. Martin (Emil), on the old Dan Conway place, barn and machine shed and 6 or 7 head of cattle.  The West Norwegian Lutheran church near Quamme’s place is reported damage.

 This same tornado seemed to circle around us to between La Valle and Reedsburg where it did damaged to a number farms and swept the fair grounds of the buildings at Reedsburg.

The destruction this storm has wrought is undescribable to anyone that has not seen it and a complete list of the casualties will not be obtainable for some time yet.  Many farmers who were well-to-do before their property was swept away will have to begin all over again not having a coat to put on in many instances.  The Leader man has heard many cyclone stories which were treated rather lightly but after seeing some of the work of Wednesday night can believe almost any story told.

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