POSTCARD: Smokestack struck by lightning

I discovered this postcard on Ebay, and its image has quite the story to tell. The postcard, which shows the Haish building which stands at Ninth and Locust Streets in DeKalb, reads:

"Haish's New Electric Power and Gas Engine Plant, DeKalb, Ill. Smokestack struck by lightning Saturday, July 28th, 1906."

The front side of the Haish postcard. | Photo by Jessi LaRue

The back side of the Haish postcard. | Photo by Jessi LaRue

Documentation courtesy of the Joiner History Room offers a little more insight on this image:

"The building picture on the reversed side is of The Jacob Haish Company, Power & Gas Engine Plant, located at Ninth & Locust Streets. The Power Plant was discontinued prior to 1915, the Gas Engine Plant was discontinued in about the year of 1916. The property was sold to Hurley Machine Company and was purchased in 1924 by the Nehring Electrical Works from the Hurley Machine Company. The three [story] building was remodeled into a two [story] steel structure and an addition of two stories and one [story] was built adjoining this building at the west end in 1936, all as it now stands in 1956. A one [story] structure was built east of this building in 1930 and another structure in 1941, as it now stands in 1956. The present Office Building at Ninth & Locust Streets, was built and finished in early 1938, all the above building and remodeling was done by the Nehring Electrical Works."