By DENNIS WINGFIELD ■

By DENNIS WINGFIELD ■

Rappahannock Newi Contributing Writer ,

July rolled merrily along until its last week before calling our attention j to some really unusual weather. j

It started out a little on the sluggish side with high temperatures only ^ in the 70s. The first few days averaged ( nearly 10 degrees cooler than last July ( and last July was one of the coolest , ever.

Not until the 20th did the average temperature exceed last July’s and by ' the 28th, a string of 18 consecutive days of temperatures in the 80s had * been reached. These temperatures raised the average to nearly (.89) a degree warmer than last July. This doesn’t sound like much of an increase until you realize that through the first 19 days, this July was cooler than last July.

Much needed rain came our way through July 13. To the tune of 1.57 inches, clouds gathered over our area and produced this “liguid sunshine.” After that we hit a period of concern with no rain at all for 11 consecutive days. To add to this concern was an average daytime temperature of 85.5. Normal stream flows were reduced to a trickle. Gardens had to be watered. Weather news had the entire East Coast in need of rain.

July 25 called our attention to 1.20 inches of rain. The side effects of a hurricane that had moved up the coast brought us rain for nearly all of that day and well into the night. It also brought something else-some very high winds. A friend in Sperryville called to say his garden looked as though a lawn mower had run through it. Another caller (Rick Johnson) stated that only one side of a barn on his property in Woodville was left standing. And . our rescue squad responded with medical assistance to an individual just outside of Sperryville who had been blown off his roof as a reSen.

McCarthy

opens Culpeper

Library series

Former Senator Eugene McCarthy will be the opening speaker for the fall series of programs offered by the Friends of the Culpeper Library.

Sen. McCarthy will speak Sunday afternoon, Aug. 11, at 2 o’clock. Everyone is invited to the free program.

Later in the fall the library will host a series on Southern Reflections, presenting speakers on Southern authors. The first lecture, featuring Russell Baker whose Growing Up has long been a best seller, will be presented Sept. 20 at 7:30 p.m.

Other writers to be discussed during the Friday evening programs are Ellen Glasgow, Booker T. Washington, Lee Smith and William Styron.