Radio Broadcast (May-Oct 1922)

392 Radio Broadcast THE RADIO STATION AT TELA, HONDURAS United Fruit Company stations, are part of this company's radio system. The partial destruction by hurricanes of the Swan Island station and the total destruction of the Cape San Antonio station was enough to discourage the average company from attempting to build against them, but these difficulties were finally overcome and the Company now has stations which it believes are hurricane proof iTi every sense of the word. The report of the final destruction of the Cape San Antonio station by the 1915 hurricane is illustrative of the type of men employed by the United Fruit Company at its stations, and of the force of these storms. The following are extracts from the report made by John A. (Jack) Cole, one of the old-time radio operators who was at that time in charge of the Cape San Antonio station. About 3:00 P. M. on September 13th, I took a barometer reading and noted that it was unusually low, about 29.60. At 4:00 P. M. I was in communication with Swan Island and ascertained that his barometer was also low, and suggested to him that we get special weather observations off to the Weather Bureau at once. 1 immediately sent these messages to the Weather Bureau via New Orleans, repeating them again on the night schedule. Everything was made in readiness to withstand a storm and 1 also made up monthly reports together with the Weather Bureau report in order to have them ready if anything happened. These were fortunately saved and were later forwarded from Havana. On the morning of the 14th the barometer was still dropping and 1 got in touch with the ships who gave me their reports and observer messages. The barometer was falling and the wind increasing and a few minutes after communicating with Swan Island, the wind increased in velocity and blew down a portion of the aerial. In the meantime, repairs having been made, storm warnings had been sent to all ships and were being repeated at intervals. About 9:00 A. M. the entire aerial was blown away and from that time on the wind blew stronger and stronger and about 11:00 A. M. was blowing with hurricane force. The Cuban Government wind gauge had by this time been blown away, but 1 judged the velocity of the wind was not less than 100 miles an hour and the barometer still falling. Our kitchen was the first to go, then the gas plant, warehouse and roof of water storage plant were blown down, and some of the iron roofing carried for miles into the woods. Next the tower, which had been guyed with four 1" steel cables, broke in two about half way up, breaking the guys which blew straight out with the force of the wind. The roof of the operating house was next blown off and the windows and doors blown in. Myself, the cook and engineer were inside at the time and we then took shelter in the engine house. The operating house, although of steel construction on concrete foundation, was moved about 8 feet off of its foundation. The roof and floor of the veranda were wrenched from the house, but the house itself stood, although badly damaged. The engine house, where we went for shelter, stood only about twenty minutes after we got there. This being the last house, we started for the woods. The radio log entry of Mr. Cole at this juncture tells perhaps more vividly than anything else could what happened. "Part of antenna blown away," reads one entry; "made repairs". A little later another entry reads: "Antenna gone." "Storehouse gone." "Operating house gone." Then a fourth entry records a similar catastrophe to the engine house. The final climactic summary reads: "Everything gone, we are going to the woods." Then he buried the station records and the radio log. and, with R. C. Attaway, the engineer, started for the woods about 400 yards distant. Continuing, Mr. Cole says: We got a little protection behind some large