Weather rambling — Keep out the flannels
It was the weather, not fashion, that inspired this wardrobe advice in The Morning Star of Glens Falls on May 8, 1883.
“People should not be in too great of a hurry to lay aside their flannels and wraps.”
Up-county, farmers had been watching the sky for a sign.
“There is plenty of snow in the woods yet and the mountains,” the Weavertown correspondent reported on May 3. “There is time enough for a flood yet, and we have not seen a rainbow this spring.”
A year later, the weather was more typical.
“The mosquitos are beginning to present their bills,” the Horicon correspondent reported on May 22, 1884. “The recent warm weather and frequent showers have caused Mother Earth to put on a mantle of beautiful green.”
On May 24, The Morning Star reported: “Old Sol’s rays warmed humanity into a perspiration yesterday, causing a demand for dusters and summer outfits generally.”
A destructive storm came a few days later.
“A heavy thunder storm visited this place Friday night,” the Fort Ann correspondent reported in The Morning Star on May 29. “The rain fell in torrents, fairly deluging the earth. Fields of corn and potatoes were submerged, doing slight damage by washing them out in places. The creek raised to full banks in a very short time. It was the harshest shower since the freshet of 1868.”
Some communities had frost.
“A correspondent at French Mountain reports a slight frost at that place Wednesday night. Vegetation was damaged somewhat,” The Morning Star reported on May 30.
Late April showers in 1885 were snow showers.
“Snow to the depth of two inches fell last night,” the Johnsburg correspondent reported in The Morning Star on May 4, 1885.
The weather continued to be cold.
“The cold wave predicted by the weather bureau reached Glens Falls Saturday night, and cast-off winter overcoats, previously worth less than twenty-five cents on the dollar, suddenly went above par,” The Morning Star reported on May 11. “Lovers were disconsolate and sought the genial warmth of the parlor, leaving the front gate to its own resources.”
The cold spell did not linger long.
Glens Falls residents celebrated when the temperature reached 78 degrees at 6 p.m. May 15.
“The ice-cream season is upon us,” The Morning Star proclaimed the next morning.
“Old Sol’s rays have imparted a salutary warmth to Nature and she is all radiant with smiles,” The Morning Star reported on May 18. “The sweet-singing birds, as well as mankind, hail the change with delight.”
The editors were still in a whimsical mood as the calendar turned from May to June.
“Jupiter Pluvius was lavish in his favors Saturday night and yesterday, and Nature laughed in her rejuvenating bath, Vegetation assumed its greenest garb, and springs, rivulets and rivers rejoiced in the fulness of their hearts,” The Morning Star reported on June 1. “To many Glens Falls families, the rain means a continuance of creature comforts, for it prolongs the running of the mills and increases the shipments of lumber by canal, two our our material sources of prosperity.”
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