Have you seen the lightning in the Hotond logo? This is due to the night of Friday July 16 to Saturday, July 17, 1858. Back then, a storm broke out in southern East Flanders like never seen before. A couple of mills were severely damaged. Two donkeys were “struck dead by the heavenly fire” at the ‘Mill te Spyte’ in Sint-Blasius-Boekel. There was damage of 1800 Francs to the Hotond Mill. But that was not all. Lightning struck the Hotond Mill on 26 April 1910. Mulder Cyriel Vanderhaeghen was at work and could only escape by means of a ‘zeel’ (thick rope), because the stairs were already on fire. Interesting to know: there is a ‘Severe Lightning’ on the menu in the Hotond Café.