The Boston Globe from Boston, Massachusetts • 38

THE BOSTON SUNDAY GLOBE APRIL 20, 1997 Winter is back' A KUlington ski resort recording Storm pummels region with wind, snow, flooding Unknowii patriot outdid Revere 3, i( few fwTrW'T'' '1 I rw" 1 i I I I I i 1 the wind yesterday outside his home hardest hit by the ocean storm, with beach erosion in Siascdnset on the eastern shore of the island. A large wing of one home in Codfish Park was washed out to sea due to the erosion, said Bruce Watts, Nantucket's fire chief. "I don't know what is keeping the rest of the house up. It's amazing to see it" Watts said two other houses on the street will be condemned because of the erosion from the storm. A wind gust of 97 m.p.h.

was recorded in Falmouth. Police in that community said trees were down and numerous home alarm systems were activated. ComElectric, which services Cape Cod, the islands, parts of the South Shore and Cambridge, reported scattered outages that lasted from one to two hours for a few thousand customers. Spokesman Michael P. Durand said ComElectric crews started working on storm-related damage Friday night.

The longest outage, about 6 hours, occurred in Dennis when a tree limb brought down several wires and affected 1,300 customers. Durand said the earlier storm, with its heavy snow, may have brought down most of the weaker tree limbs and kept outages from this storm to a minimum. The northeaster was a clone of the April Fools' storm, with the only difference being warmer temperatures that produced rain instead of snow, said John Hastings, a meteorologist with Weather Services Corp. in Lexington. "They were both 'cut-off lows' in that they were cut off from the upper-level winds that tend to move most of our storms out to sea quickly," he said.

"This was a slow mover which created the prolonged rainfall." Revere Beach Boulevard was closed for about an hour yesterday morning because of flooding and debris on the road, said State Police spokesman Larry Gillis. "There have been some tree Marathon route wet, but ready for runners STORM Continued from Page Bl lyOn Cape Cod and the islands, however, with northeasterly winds gusting to 90 miles per hour, ferry service to and from Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket was canceled for much of yesterday. "It's blowing real, real hard," a steamship authority employee said. 'I Nantucket was among the areas 'MotiWiFatlwr's Day Graduation Anniversary Wrthday Clasi Reunion Sports Banquet Z' For that special someone, an unforgettable video production i created from your photos or slides. -Call today for Free Demo Planning Kit (800)872-0986 Advertorial FEDERAL SAVINGS BANK HELPS MA PEOPLE With Credit Problems Horn Loan and Investment Bank, F.5.B.

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In Scituate, 10- to 15-foot waves pounded the shore, resulting in flooding of roads with names like Lighthouse, Oceanside and Surfside. There were minor power outages throughout the Boston area. Boston Edison said that fewer than 1,000 homes were affected throughout the day in communities from Milton to Somerville. And Nynex reported a slight increase in the number of repair calls yesterday, from a normal of about 3,000 calls up to 4,400. "There are some scattered problems, a dropped wire here or there," said company spokesman Jack Hoey.

The telephone company called in extra repair crews for the weekend, he said. At Coast Guard headquarters in Boston, preparation helped keep rescue crews safe and dry. "We started broadcasting storm warning messages to mariners 24 hours ago and we haven't had a single rescue call in all that time," said Petty Officer Scott Backholm. "It's unusual we wouldn't get a call. Hopefully people heeded the warning and stayed in port." The storm's impact was selective.

Parts of the Berkshires and northwestern Connecticut were blanketed by snow. And many mountainous areas of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine received more than a foot of snow. a'-v Week April 21-26 INVENTORY CLEARANCE BBISSELL Continued from Page Bl Farm at Cambridge and marched to Lexington, where they found a Com-4 pany of our Colony Militia in Arms, upon whom they fired without provo- cation, and killed six men and wounded four others. i "By an express from Boston we find that another brigade is now upon their march from Boston, sup-, posed to be about 1,000," it continues. "The bearer, Israel Bissell, is charged to alarm the Country quite to Connecticut, and all persons are desired to furnish him with' fresh horses, as they may be Despite the wording of the Bissell rode all the way to Philadelphia, the seat of the founding.

fa-, thers' Continental Congress. Israel Bissell was born in East Windsor, in 1752. Like manyj young men of that day, he became an express rider. For their fast, dashes, the riders favored such horses as the famous Narragansett pacers imported to Rhode Island. To reach his destination in April 1775, Bissell had to race over rugged terrain at breakneck speed with a relay of horses.

His stops were' quick; a short nap here, a hasty meal there. His message was signed and, copied by the stunned locals, once they were convinced of its au-. thenticity, sent Bissell on his way. It is said that his first horse fell dead from under Bissell as he pulled into Worcester at noon April 19, barely two hours after he started on the first leg of his journey. He had traveled about 40 miles from Water-town, normally more than a day's distance for a postal rider.

After leaving Worcester, Bissell headed south to Pomfret, where he carried the word to the French and Indian War hero Israel Putnam, who was plowing in the fields with his son Daniel. Reports indicate that in New Ha-ven he alerted Captain Benedict Arnold of the Governor's Guard, who i called his command together on the green and proposed to lead them to Boston at once. When the selectmen refused to furnish the company with ammunition, Arnold threatened to break into the magazine. The officials then re-lented and decided to furnish the powder. Arnold quickly roused Yale students who were eager to join the cause of revolution and embarked upon his historic debut in the war.

From New Haven, Bissell decid- ed to race on to New York. Why, he did this is not clear since his orders were only to deliver the message "quite to Connecticut." Probably caught up in patriotic fervor and the heat of the moment, Bissell raced on with his important leather bag over his shoulder. According to newspaper reports, he persevered and on April 23, 1775, he crossed the King's Bridge to Bloomingdale Road and Wall Street, arriving at the Merchant's Coffee House in New York City at noon. "There Bissell's message was greeted with immense excitement. The whole city became the scene of riot, tumult and confusion.

The colonial patriots took to looting British property and troops were enlisted for the service of rebellion," accord-. ing to newspaper accounts. He arrived in Philadelphia on the evening of April 24. The exhausted and disheveled young rider delivered the alarming message that was to change the course of the country. For this dedicated patriot, how- ever, the rest was virtual obscurity.

In his poem "Paul Revere's Ride," Henry Wadsworth Longfellow immortalized Revere's 20-mile ride. But no one did the same for Bis- sell, who rode 17 times as far. Although few people nationwide have heard of the young post rider's nero-ic journey, if you ask 'almost any school boy or girl in Hinsdale they'll take you to his grave in the far cpr- ner of the Maple Street -He died in 1823 at age 71. Local residents honor their unsung hero in some way every Patriots Day. At a graveside service, a lo--cal historian read a poem written by the late Berkshire County poet Clay.

Perry in 1955. It began: "Listen my children, to -my epistle; of the long, long ride of Israel Bissell; Who outrode Paul by miles and time; But didn't rate a po- et's rhyme." ALL FABRICS ALL SIZES SAVE 20-80 Gowns Starting 299tu(, Originally priced Designs by all Major Manufacturers seen In BRIDE'S MODERN BRIDE SAVE $100.00 i with this ad on any In-stock already marked down wedding gown. Einlrwt I I ORDERS PLACED DURING SALE 4 it GLOBE STAFF PHOTO JOHN TLUMACKI on Lighthouse Road. area called Athletes' Village, was soaked by rain. Fleming said that steady winds and the spreading of water-absorbing straw across the field would help dry it out.

Around the corner, at the official starting on Hopkinton Common, Danny Kass braved a cold wind by standing with hands in pockets at a folding table selling T-shirts and sweatshirts. "You're only the third person to come by, and no one's bought anything yet," said Kass, who works for the Bill Rodgers Running Center. "We've paid for this spot so it's worth it," he said, as workers around him laid cable and set up exhibit booths. Along the Marathon's main arteries Routes 135 and 16, as well as Commonwealth Avenue and Beacon and Boylston streets the roads, many freshly painted with Marathon insignia and directions, were wet but clear of debris. In Copley Square, where workers reported for duty at 5:30 yesterday morning, a portable toilet fell victim to the gusting winds near the John Hancock Building.

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Indeed, a midday ride along the route from Hopkinton Common to Copley Square in Boston showed no visible signs of storm-related troubles. "We had great practice for anticipating potential delays last year," said Jack Fleming, a spokesman for the Boston Athletic Association, which coordinates the race. In 1996, a spring snowstorm pelted the area with 15 inches of snow just days before the centennial running of the Marathon. "We improved on a few things after last year, but mostly it helps to have the same group of experienced people working on this year after year," Fleming added. Much of the football field at Hopkinton High School, which will serve as the pre-race staging Wagon.

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