Storm Breaks 50-Foot Maple in Half

And a 40-foot maple uprooted.

The overnight wind and rain storm broke one tree in Westborough in half and uprooted another one, Department of Public Works Assistant Manager Richard Voutas said today. A 50-foot maple on Spring Road broke in half, falling into the wires, around 1 a.m., he said. The electric company responded to the scene to assist. At about 1:30 a.m., a 40-foot maple on Ruggles Pond Road uprooted, Voutas said. Six areas of Westborough had issues with branches, he said. The National Weather Service had the area under a wind advisory from 4 p.m. Tuesday to 6 this morning.

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Social Media Saturday

Facebook Fans Discuss Storm Aftermath

They also praise the act of a local music store.

Social Media Saturday is a weekly feature where we highlight your questions and thoughts shared on Facebook and other media throughout the past week. We'll also point you to some new and interesting pages you may not have known about before. Highlights of the Week We have 662 followers on Facebook this week and 243 Twitter followers. There was lots of discussion on our Facebook page after last weekend's snow storm, with readers updating which streets were still without power as well as sharing what the first thing they did was once they got their power back. One reader did laundry; another made coffee. What did you do? Several readers liked the article Westborough Music Store Donates Sax to School about David French Music. The Otis …

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IMAGE GALLERY: The Storm Has Ended, Add Your Photos!

Downed power lines and tree limbs remain a problem throughout town.

UPDATE: We're just starting to get some photos of "Westborough after the storm." Please add yours to the collection!   Sunday, Oct. 30, 5 a.m. - The storm has ended. Just before 4 a.m., the National Weather Service in Taunton cancelled the Winter Storm Warning, reporting that about a foot of snow fell in the area. What remains are downed power lines, bent and snapped trees and a substantial chunk of town without electricity. “Electric is mostly out on the west side of town,” said Westborough Police Department Sgt. Steven Reale. “There are parts of the east side that never lost power.” Reale said the biggest problems for emergency officials are the many downed trees and power lines. Throughout the night, police, fire and DPW employees …

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Then and Now

VIDEO: 1953 Tornado Rips Through Town, Killing 6

News of the tornadoes ravaging parts of the United States this week is a reminder of the twister that tore through town nearly 60 years ago.

After writing the column on The Great Hurricane of 1938 two weeks ago,  I was reminded of the 1953 tornado which killed six people in Westborough and caused nearly $25,000,000 in damage (in 2011 dollars) to our town. According to the Worcester Telegram, the tornado began in Petersham at the Quabbin Reservoir and travelled in a near-straight line across Worcester County to Southborough – a distance of about 46 miles. The Weather Doctor Almanac explains that it took the tornado 86 minutes to travel across the county, during which time it killed a total of 94 people, injured 1,288, and left nearly 10,000 people homeless. The cost to the county was about $430 million (in 2011 dollars). Some reports of the tornado claim that the width of the …

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Then and Now

The Great Hurricane of 1938

The powerful storm damaged two church steeples in Westborough.

As I was going through my pictures this week, I came across this photo of the First Baptist Church on West Main Street, and was reminded of the 1938 hurricane which became known as “The Great Hurricane of 1938." Not only did it destroy the church steeple, but it caused other damage throughout the town. There was damage to the Congregational church steeple and the Westborough fire tower. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), the hurricane began near Africa during the second week of September in 1938, travelled across the Atlantic Ocean and up the east coast, made land fall in Long Island, New York, on Sept. 21. It terminated in southern Canada a day later.  The hurricane moved at a brisk 60 to 70 mph, …

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Sam Kurtz

8:49 pm on Monday, April 4, 2011

Thank you, Mary! I'll keep my eyes open for a photo of Trank & Sons Shoe Store. If I find one, I'll let you know.   more ›

Storm Closings and Cancellations for Tues., Jan 18

Town closed offices at 3:00 p.m.

Post closings and cancellations in the "comments" section below or email to Editor MaryJo Kurtz at maryjo.kurtz@patch.com. The Little Gym of Westboro closed at 4:00 p.m. All classes scheduled for 4:30 p.m. and later are cancelled. Contact the gym to reschedule your child's Big Show. Westborough Public Library closed at 3:00 p.m. Town of Westborough offices closed at 3:00 p.m. Westboro Tennis and Swim Club cancelled afternoon junior programs. Westborough TV closing at noon today. Westborough Recreation Department has cancelled all activities, classes and practices today. Westborough Public Schools sure picked a good day to close. The school district had a scheduled day off today. Good Shepherd Lutheran Church is closed today. There is no …

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Then and Now

Then and Now: The Ice Storm of 1922

Join Sam Kurtz every Thursday for his "Then and Now" column.

This week's Then and Now column was chosen with the snow in mind! The older photo is West Main Street during the ice storm of 1922. The photographer was looking from the present day Forbes Building towards the present day high school. On the right side of the photo you can see the Westborough Public Library and Congregational Church. In the distance on the left you can see the steeple of St. Luke's Church.  There were two other notable snow storms in the country in 1922. One was in Washington, DC, and the other in Wisconsin. The Washington storm was known as the Knickerbocker Storm. According to weatherbook.com, the storm began on Jan. 28, 1922, and ended the following day. The city received 28 inches of snow which caused the roof of the …

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