Historic Hood River
Rain and Hail
6-7-2012
Notes
This rain and hailstorm of June 7th, 1947 did more than flood Oak Street. The note on the back says it destroyed that year’s pear and cherry crops. Ray Webber is the photographer.
The History Museum of Hood River County
Bringing the Rich History of Hood River County to Life
l.e.
Oh my goodness!!!
The record rain for today, featured on the Hood River Weather site is 1.19 inches in 1947.
This looks like more than that. Maybe it all came in a short amount of time.
Connie
And congratulations to The History Museum on being awarded $6000 (matching grant) from the Oregon Heritage Commission to continue moving forward on this wonderful photo project. Yea!!
Charlott
Looks like it is washing right into Penney’s.
Interesting two groceries sitting side by side. Know one was Eby’s, can’t read the signs, so who is the other one.
See Johnson’s shoe store sign up the hill.
What is that that appears to be on the side of Butler Bank, then the Hood River County Court House?
That is what some would call a Gully Washer for certain.
Casey
I love the "Food Store" sign. You can’t say they weren’t clear.
Casey
Did anyone else notice that the American Legion’s sign showing the names of WWII service members is in the background? I had always thought this was taken down with the end of the war. Does anyone know how long it stayed up?
Arthur
The store signs are hard to read because the raindrops (or maybe hail?) are so big, but here’s what I can see:
Hood River Mkt/ Locker Boxes for rent/ Grocery/ Meats
and
Eby’s Food Store
The Butler Bank Building still has the list of contributors to the last war bond drive.
There are "One Hour Parking" and "No U Turn" signs along Oak.
Bill Seaton
That rain very well could have been a problem for J C Penneys that day because they had two metal doors in the sidewalk where they got their freight deliveries. They processed all their freight in their basement after it was slid down the concrete chute to them.
Arlen Sheldrake
And speaking of the Butler Bank building……did it become the county court house because the county got it during the depression for unpaid taxes or ?
Hopefully at some point we will see an up close view of the wall of bond buyers.
Bet that basement was a soggy mess Bill.
Charlott
Yes, I agree Penney’s basement would have taken a lot of water during that. I have been in that basement as I worked there during Christmas my last year in high school. It wouldn’t have been tight enough to keep water out.
I bought a war bond from the fighter Jack Dempsey when he came through Hood River on one of the many drives. My Dad said my little hand looked so tiny in that boxers big hand. Ofcourse, I don’t recall it personally, as I was much too young.
l.e.
Congratulations to the Museum on the grant.
That should keep all of you busy for a while and the rest of us can just sit back and enjoy 7:00 a.m. five days a week for a long time.
judy
As it was told to me, at one time there was a "quansit" hut in back of the Butler Bank, and it housed the County records until the courthouse was built. Hood River County still had some equipment in the basement of the old bank building. There used to be some old pictures, but probably long gone.
Bill P.
There were a number of high school students gathered at Howell’s Centre west of Johnson Shoe Store when we heard the thunder and the storm approaching down Oak St. We looked outside and saw this "wall of water" moving eastward. By the time it reached 4th and Oak we could see the stores all along the northside were getting badly flooded. We all left Howell’s and prceeded to each store to render help. Most of the stores had frieght recieving sidewalk openings which were allowing water to flood their basements. We did what we could to save as much as possible. By the time the water got to 2nd & Oak, most it was heading north to the Railroad Station, which go hammered.
The next your are going to Portland and get caught in one of these hailstorms be sure to pull way off the freeway. They only last 3 or 4 minutes.
Pretty scarey, Bill P.
Dave
Wasn’t Ray Webber a local commercial photographer? I remember him taking family portraits back in the 50’s. In fact I have one of his portraits of me at 18 months old, taken in 1955, hanging on the wall behind me as I type this.
Holly Sawyer
Bill P., yes Ray Webber was a local photographer. He mostly did family and individual portraits in the 50s and 60s. He also did all the School photos and Yearbooks. He was my grandfather. 🙂
Sue Stebner
What happened to the photos and negatives from Ray’s studio? Looking for pics and negs from my parents’ wedding.