Wilmette recovers from tornado shock; Magnificent trees and beautiful hall in tornado path

Wilmette recovers from tornado shock; Reconstruction work in full progress; Business houses re-opened; Homes are temporarily repaired; Telegrams flood city; Scores of messages received fom anxious relatives in all parts of country; workers praised; Magnificent trees and beautiful hall in tornado path [headings] Like a war-ridden village of Belgium after the crushing heel of the invader had been lifted, tornado-swept Wilmette is preparing to resume its normal place in township activities. A great part of the debris in the path of the tornado has already been cleared away and active steps taken for the alleviation of suffering of persons made homeless by the "death wind" which swept bullet-like through the heart of the village, smashing homes, snapping great trees like sticks and partially destroying public buildings and business places in the center of the village. Workmen are busy [heading] Since Sunday afternoon every available carpenter, laborer and tradesman has worked day and night in the reconstruction work, with the result that most of the business houses are once more resuming their trade and citizens are again moving into their wrecked homes. The throngs of curiosity-seekers have disappeared almost entirely and the troops of Companies K and I of the Illinois National Guard, who did excellent work in the storm-swept area, have been replaced by volunteer police while most of the citizens are going about their business as they did preceding the tornado. Although no definite estimate of the damage will be available for some time, those who have made a thorough canvass of the devastated area believe the damage to residential and business districts will not exceed $200,000. The Village hall, which was directly in the path of the tornado, suffered a heavy loss when the entire roof was ripped from the building and hurled four blocks to Ashland avenue and 7th street. The damage is estimated at about $15,000. Churches hit hard [heading] The roof of the Central hotel building has been temporarily repaired as has that of the Village hall. Among the churches the Episcopal and Lutheran edifices suffered most seriously, the former losing the entire upper part of the structure as the roof was smashed into chips. Both the militia, the police and workers who aided in maintaining quiet and order after the tornado had swept through, and who took charge of the reconstruction work, came in for considerable praise from Edward Zipf, Village president. The prompt and efficient work of the corps of workers assigned to the various tasks of clearning away the wreckage and temporarily repairing business districts and homesteads was also highly commended. Praise for contractor [heading] Central avenue business men joined this week in praising the heroic work of James Crabb, carpenter contractor, who appeared in the business section within an hour following the disaster prepared to board up window spaces and make temporary repairs requisite to saving the valuable stocks in the store buildings. Crabb furnished lumber, marshalled together his own workmen and asked only that the lumber be returned to his yards after permanent repairs had been completed. Crabb asked no remuneration for his services. One of the heroes of the disaster was Earl E. Orner, station master and village clerk, who probably saved the lives of scores of passengers on a north-bound flyer by running down the tracks in the teeth of the gale to flag the train before it crashed into the fallen trees and wreckage on the tracks. Orner and station assistants worked in the storm clearing wreckage off the right of way. Chief of Police E. G. Sieber and his men were also praised for their promptness in saving George Mix, gateman, from being burned alive in the wreckage of his shanty, after the tornado had whirled the shanty and gateman 50 feet across the tracks, pinning Mix under ruins of the cabin. Residents of the village have been flooded all week with telegrams and telephone calls form all parts of the country from anxious friends and relatives.