Glynna E. Morse
Seventy Years Ago
Missouri’s Hottest
Temperature Recorded
After the Windsor Historical Society was formed in 1998, different Historical Society writers wrote a weekly “Reviewing the Past” Column” for the WINDSOR REVIEW until the newspaper closed on July 5, 2024. Beginning this week, the “Reviewing the Past” column will be printed in the CLINTON DAILY DEMOCRAT.
Seventy years ago on July 14, 1954, the hottest temperature recorded in Missouri was 118 degrees recorded in the towns of Warsaw and Union, Missouri. Windsor and towns in the four-county area endured a brutal three-week period of extremely high temperatures in July, 1954.
Logan Sutherland, the local U.S. Weather Bureau observer in Windsor, stated that June had been a dryer and hotter month than usual. Also, the precipitation for the first six months was 8.90 inches below normal, adding to the potential for drought conditions.
Hot temperatures began July 2 through 7 with temperatures ranging between 100 and 104 for the first week. Margaret Mahnken reported in the July 8 WINDSOR REVIEW that the Ionia farmers “had extreme hot weather the past two weeks. It has been fine for small grain harvest but not so good for grass and cornfields. If the heat and dry weather last much longer, stockmen will be out of water for their livestock as ponds are now very low.”
July 14 was the day of record high temperatures for Windsor at 115 degrees and Warsaw reaching the record 118 degrees. Windsor reported extrememly high temperatures for July 11 through July 15: 106, 113, 115, & 110 degrees. After a respite of only 93 degrees on July 16, high temperatures continued July 17 through 20: 109, 111, 107, & 104 degrees.
The high temperatures were especially hard on Henry County poultry owners of laying and broiler flocks with losses in the hundreds. Hatcheries lost thousands of newly hatched chicks because of the heat. In 1954 not many poultry owners had large industrial fans to cool poultry housing structures. Some poultry raisers sprayed water on the sweltering poultry, and this writer remembers caring for her mother’s laying hens by spreading wet burlap sacks for the chickens to sit on the ground beneath shade trees, and still some chickens died from the heat.
The July heat, blistering winds, and grasshoppers depleted the corn crop as it reached the tasseling or ear producing stage. Some farmers cut the green corn stalks for silage to try to salvage at least part of the crop. Pastures had dried up, and farmers were selling cattle because they feared they would not have sufficient hay for winter.
Many truckers were hauling water from the Windsor water system to farms as ponds had dried up. By July 22, 1954, to maintain adequate water pressure level, Windsor prohibited water haulers from drawing from the city water supply at night. Daytime use was permitted.
Only a small percentage of home owners had air conditioners in 1954, but the high July temperatures led to a demand for electric fans and room air conditioners. The WINDSOR REVIEW editor commented, “All dealers have reported a brisk business in the window-type units.” Room air conditions were advertised from $200 to $400 in local newspapers, the equivalent of $2,280 to $4,560 in today’s dollars.
Cooler temperatures in the 90s prevailed July 20 through 28, with the area receiving 2.42 inches of rain on July 25, followed by another 1.76 inches on August 2-3. THE CLINTON EYE reported on August 12, “Good rains and cooler weather are reviving pastures… Ponds are filling up and late gardens revived.” Although a couple of 100-degree days occurred on July 29 & 30, the worst of the drought was over, but many people would long remember the extremely hot days of 1954.
The Windsor Historical Society Monthly Luncheon & Program will be held Sat., Aug. 10, at the Windsor United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall, 216 S. Main, Windsor. A carry-in luncheon will begin at 12:15 P.M. (Fried chicken will be provided; bring covered dish(es) to share). The program will begin at 1:00 p.m., “Life in Windsor After the Closing of the International Shoe Factory” shared by former shoe facory employees and those associated with Windsor businesses. Public invited.
Sources: WINDSOR REVIEW, THE CLINTON EYE, & HENRY COUNTY DEMOCRAT, (July-August, 1954).
