Copies from Newspaper: Bolt Kills Three Persons in Storm -
Engaged Couple Struck While Standing Under Tree - Other Victim
in Poultry Yard Lightning bolts took the lives of three
Washingtonians yesterday during the severe storm in the late
afternoon. The victims were Lorene Shepherd of 24 Seaton Place,
F. J. (sic) Hausmann of 321 K street northeast and Henry M.
Bowman, civilian employe of the Soldiers' Home, residing at that
institution. Soon To Be Married - Miss Shepherd and Hausmann,
both of whom were employes of the Shipping Board, and on their
way home from work when the storm caught them on the Ellipse,
just south of the White House grounds, were engaged to be
married in the near future. According to witnesses, the coupl,e
were standing under a tree, when a bolt struck the upper branches
and ran down the tree trunk. Both were thrown to the ground, Miss
Shepherd dying instantly and Hasumann receiving a shock which
caused his death at the Emergency Hospital shortly after his
arrival there. An automobilist passing, seeing the couple
on the ground and Miss Shepherd's clothing ablaze, took both to
the hospital.
...Miss Shepherd was about nineteen years of age. She resided at
the Seaton place home with her mother, Mrs. I. E. Shepherd; two
sisters, Gladys and Hilda, and a small brother
Orville....Hausmann also was a native Washingtonian. He was a
member of Battery H of the 29th Division serving overseas with
that unit. He was twenty-six years old and was well known in
amateur base ball circles. Surviving him are hismother and
father, Mr. and Mrs. William Hausmann; four sisters, Mrs. Charles
Goldsmith, Mrs. George Harding, Mrs. Claude Offutt and Miss Mabel
Hausmann, and a brother, W. F. Hausmann. ....
SECOND NEWSPAPER ARTICLE EXCERPTS: 26 years old - Miss Shepherd
and Hausmann, ...were struck while seeking protection from the
rain under a tree on the north side of the Ellipse, directly in
the rear of the White House. The bolt shot down the tree and
knocked both to the ground. Miss Shepherd was killed instantly,
and Hausmann died 45 minutes later at the Emergency
Hospital....Miss Shepherd was dead when nearby pedestrians
reached her. Flames quickly enveloped Hausmann who was knocked
unconscious. Hurried work on the part of....saved Hausmann from
the flames, which were soon extinguished. The girl and Hausmann
were placed in passing automobiles and rushed to the Emergency
Hospital, where physicians pronounced Miss Shepherd dead.
Hausmann died at 6 o'clock from the shock. Hospital physicians
said both bodies were badly burned, but death in both instances
resulted from the shock by lightning...both employed at the
Shipping Board, Nineteenth and B streets, as file clerk and audit
clerk, respectively. They had kept company for the past six
months, relatives say, and usually walked from their offices
each night to the car lines at 15th St. and NY Ave. passing the
spot where they met death yesterday. Last night they had stopped
to watch a ball game on the Ellipse. When the storm came they
took shelter under the tree. ...Both..are natives of Washington
and attended the public schools here. Hausmann served with
Battery C, 29th Div. during the war and saw service overseas.