For years the largest hailstone recorded in these United States fell
near Coffeyville Kansas. For those of you interested in cowboys and the
old west, Coffeyville is also the home of the infamous Dalton Brothers,
a real rootin tootin bunch of bad hombres. They met there end in their
hometown when they tried, unsuccessfully, to rob two banks at once. The
boys were recognized as they rode into town, (you don’t have to be
smart to be an outlaw) and they were shoot to pieces but back to the
point of this story.
The Coffeyville hailstone weighed in at 1.67 pounds with a
circumference of 17.5”. Incidentally, that hailstone fell to earth on
September 3rd, 1970 and Coffeyvillians have held onto that record with
a tight fist until it was pried from their hands by the folks of
Aurora, Nebraska. In June of 2003 a hailstone fell in Aurora that
measured 18.75” in circumference, but weighed in at a paltry 1.3
pounds, a mere “cube” compared to the Kansas ice; but these hailstones
pale in comparison to the largest chunk of ice to ever fall from the
sky... sort of.
Let me take you back to the late 30s or early 40s and where else but
Texas, Waco to be exact because, “everything is bigger in Texas!”
It was a cold gray rainy day when a traveling salesmen checked into a
Waco hotel. Some say it was the Raleigh but no one can be sure and no
one can remember the gentlemen’s name... but those are unimportant
facts. Anyway, the man asked the bellboy to bring him a block of ice
and some ginger ale not unusual when half pints of booze were the most
popular size at that time. The bellhop put the ice in the sink and was
quickly tipped by the salesman. It was then the salesman noticed the
gray sky turning to an inky black the wind picked up and in minutes pea
sized hail began falling on the street, soon it turned to dime size
then quarter size. Passersby began gathering underneath the hotel
awning and started picking up some of the stones; while just above
them, the salesman was becoming well oiled by demon rum. He decided to
have a little fun at the yokels expense. Since the locals liked
hailstones so much he would give them something to tell their children
and grandchildren about.
He turned on the hot water and rounded the remaining block of ice into
a sphere then without further adieu he tossed the “ice ball” out the
window. Imagine the look in the eyes of the citizens in the street when
this huge chunk of ice hit the ground! They quickly gathered up the
stone and called the local newspaper, after all they knew a record size
hailstone when they saw it.
A bit later the salesman came down to the lobby to see how his
practical joke was working out... oh boy was it working, he decided he
should fess up and tell the truth, besides, he wanted to see the
disappointment on their faces when he told them he had just played a
joke on them and it really wasn’t a BIG hailstone but no one was buying
his explanation; after all who would believe someone with liquor on his
breath.
Well, not only did the newspaper print the story but Ripley’s Believe
It Or Not bought the story and with the advent of WW II the story was
spread around the world by the servicemen from McLennan County Texas.
So if someone should ask you where the largest hailstone was found you
can tell them Waco Texas, the hard part will be keeping a straight face
when you tell the tale.
-- Mike Burger
