First Lightning Strike?

[ANTHONYPIOPPI]

Came across this piece dated Sept. 13, 1896. Could this be the first reported case of lightning killing golfers?

Cooperstown, N.Y. Sept. 13 -- Henry Bowers of this village and William Kornan, Jr. of Utica were killed by a bolt of lightning  on the grounds of the Otsego Golf Club at the head of the Otsego Lake, nine miles from Cooperstown, yesterday afternoon while playing golf.

[Bill Brightly]

Wow, looked who surfaced for air! Nice to hear from you, Tony!

 Oh yeah, thanks for all you help in the Steamshovel debate...

[Jim_Kennedy]

Tony,
That was a bad Saturday for those boys, they were probably supposed to be home doing chores anyway.

Such a pretty place, too:

[John Foley]

Hmmm - Tony looking at details of Otsego. I smell a sequel!!

Otsego is on the very short list of places I want to get to.

Does anyone know how they fared thru the floods in late June of '06? Not sure the lake was effected as much as all of the streams & rivers in that area.

[ANTHONYPIOPPI]

Jim:

Thanks for posting photos. It was god getting them back for smacking whitey around on a day reserved for prayer.

John:

How about "Death in the Short Grass."

OK, everybody pitch in with their best death/dying/dead on the course stories. I'll tell about the execution on the tee of Captial City Country Club in Tallahassee.

Bill:

What debate on Banks? I was busy playing doctor for some very sick people.

Anthony

[Jim_Kennedy]

Tony,
It was Bill asking you about the Banks debate.

John,
Here's one photo:



More at:   http://www.otsegogolf.com/Otsego%20Golf%20Club/Flood%202006.html

[John Foley]

Jim,

WOW - I knew it was tough in the area, but not like that!!

Thanks for the pic, any more?

[Jim_Kennedy]

John,
More here:
 http://www.otsegogolf.com/Otsego%20Golf%20Club/Flood%202006.html

Tony,
Many years ago a student at Hotchkiss got blown right out his shoes, literally, and was killed when he tried to run from the pro shop back to his dorm during a storm. The pro at the time, Jim Smith, rushed outside and was yelling at him to get back to cover when a bolt came down, ran along a buried drain pipe, and exited through the teenaged boy.

Very sad for the younster, and Jim Smith was so torn up about it that he left his job at the school. His son, Josh, who is around my age and has played here all his life, says it really weighed heavily on his father for the rest of his life.