TimesLeader.com

Lightning hits monument

Estimated damage to the Revolutionary War memorial in Wyoming is $10,000.

JEN MARCKINI jmarckini@timesleader.com

WYOMING – A national historic Revolutionary War monument was damaged Saturday morning when lightning struck the concrete pillar that bears hundreds of names of those slain in the Wyoming Massacre of 1778.

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Wyoming Mayor Robert Boyer points out the crack from a lightning strike from Saturday morning’s storm.

AIMEE DILGER/THE TIMES LEADER

Burn marks can be seen on top of the monument on which the strike blew out a chunk of stone and cracked a plate of about 57 survivors’ names engraved in the Revolutionary War memorial, which suffered about $10,000 in damage, according to Marcella Starr, vice president of the Wyoming Monument Association.

“We think that it struck at the top,” said Wyoming Mayor Robert Boyer as he pointed to a white line near a small black door of where the electrical current came down. “When it hit the door, it blew that door open … then it came down and cracked the plate with all the names.”

A nearby flag pole at the Battle of Wyoming site was also struck by lightning. The electrical strike went through a white ball that sits on top of the pole and traveled to the bottom, coming out in two separate holes.

The 8-by-12 flag was wet, according to Boyer, but not destroyed.

Lightning struck not twice, but three times in the borough.

A tree in front of a yellow house just down the road from the monument on Wyoming Avenue was struck by a bolt of lightning during the powerful morning storm. Burns from the strike marked the grass where the tree was struck.

Poles and wires were ripped down from the tree. The town was without power for nearly 10 hours, the mayor said.

A transformer blew out, which set utility wires on fire near the tree, he said. When they fell, it burned a hole right into the ground.

“I didn’t know it was possible for lightning to hit in three different areas, or if it hit and ricocheted,” Boyer said.

Wyoming’s monument was built about 131 years ago as a tribute to those who lost their lives in the battle fought on July 3, 1778, according to Starr, of the Wyoming Monument Association.

Starr said the monument had never been struck by lightning before.

It would be costly repairing the monument, Starr said. Repairs on historic landmarks must be made in line with a National Landmark designation.

Structural engineers will examine the interior and exterior of the monument next week to finalize the cost of damage, according to Starr.

“You don’t just patch that with concrete,” Boyer said. “It’s a federally recognized historical site. The repairs have to be done to historical specifications.”

An emergency repair fund will be set up with the monument association on Monday, Boyer said. The monument isn’t insured, and the association does not have enough money to repair the damage.

How to help

Anyone who wants to contribute to repair the Wyoming Monument should contact the mayor’s office at the borough building at 613-1401.

“You don’t just patch that with concrete. It’s a federally recognized historical site. The repairs have to be done to historical specifications.”

Jen Marckini, a Times Leader staff writer, can be reached at 829-7210.