The Mail-Journal, Volume 8, Number 1, Milford, Kosciusko County, 3 February 1971 — Page 10

THE MAIL-JOURNAL—Wed., Feb. 3. 1971

4

Disastrous 1901 Fire Story Told

Many questions were answered this week when Syracuse lifetime resident Russell Hinderer supplied us With an article from a book dated January 10. 1901 and sent to Mr. Hinderer from his son Nelson at Houston. Texas The Texas resident informs his father the information came from a book published by the county and only several are thought to be in existence The particular book in his possession was purchased from former Syracuse resident. Clifford Cripe, now of Eau Galhe, Fla., and came from possessions of the old Sargent Hotel on the north side of Lake Wawasee which was tom down by Cripe. The story as it appeared in the hook was dated Thursday, Jan 10. 1901 It follows ' Last Sunday evening the peace and quietness of our beautiful town was rudely awakened by the cry of fire At. 5 o'clock Erve Treesh. who was clerking for T H Conrad, the grocer, came running up street shouting fire A number of citizens who were sitting around the stores rushed to the scene of the fire and discovered flames issuing from the rear storage room of Conrad s grocery store The town was soon the scene of great excitement men hurrying here and there getting buckets filled-with water but by the time they got back to the rear shed, in which were, stored oil, lard and other inflammable stuff, was burning beyond control The fire spread with remarkable rapidity and soon the flames had reached Sloans restaurant, next door, and it was then beyond the control of the bucket brigade The

TERMITES UNIVERSAL TERMITE CONTROL Ph. 267-7372 511 So Union St. Warsaw, Indiana allied lbr. co. (formerly Conn A Buhrt Lbr. Co.) Phone: *57-3331 Syracuse ANDERSON PAINT AND SUPPLY CO. Syracuse, Ind.

Humid-MreHumidifiers help Charity ta' lick another dry air probkm. IT £ —- ■lk , JM YIM “Kissing Mama was a shocking experience.” __ F** When Charley had his AumidtS Aire Power Humidifier installed, | . it got nd of the dry air that causes static electricity. Now his house is kept at recommended humidity levels (30 to 45%). Humid Aire evaporates moisture naturally into the air, sweet as spring—even during the coldest winter months Helps keep walls and floors from cracking, furniture and doors from warping;. Skin doesn’t feel so dry. Makes the air /CshockJ J more comfortable to breathe, and ( saves on fuel bills, too. S »••»-> w Fwr Humtd Aire Humidifiers install v on or near warm air furnaces. Models for homes. heated with hot Jlr —water, steam or electricity, too. Call or write for a free home humidity survey and Humidity Facts Booklet today. Humnl A>r. ,* med<-« approval «h*« pr.ser.beJ by your phy VC an A»k him About humidificMiOb ’Of your Maith and comfort White Plumbing and Heating Electric and Air Conditioning North Webster, Indiana JOE WHITE GLEN WHITE rwcHt «^ c7 ‘

Citizens then went to work to try and save the stocks and fixtures and every effort was put forth to save property. Goods were carried to the.street. Store buildings and every accessible place was used for the storage of goods. The fire quickly spread to The Fair store and Mrs. Benner ’s millinery establishment and residence. The, corner block and first-floors of which were occupied by Weyrick & Hinderer and F L. Hod), could not be saved although every effort was made to stop the-progress of the fire A portion of the stocks were saved, but many thousands of dollars of valuable goods were lost The large brick store building owned by Richard Guy and occupied by Weyrick & Hinderer well filled with merchandise amounting to $12,000. insurance $4,500 in the following companies: Etna. $1,500, Ohio Farmer’s; SI,OOO. Glen’s Falls. SI,OOO. American. SI,OOO. F. L. Hoch carried a large stock of drugs valued at $3,500. insurance SI.OOO in the Fireman’s Fund. The stock of Henry Sloan’s restaurant was valued at $1,200. insurance S2OO tn the Ohio Farmer’s company T H Conrad carried a stock of groceries valued at SI,OOO. insurance $250 Ohio Farmer’s and S3OO in the Glen’s Falls insurance companies Miller & Lehman of The Fair carried stock estimated at $1,500 and were also owners of the building valued at SI,OOO. insurance S2OO in the Ohio Farmers and S6OO in IW? Rockford compan? Mrs. } M A. Benner conducted a millinery establishme'nt stock S6OO. building. $1,2Q0. SBOO insurance in Fireman’s Fund. Dr B. F. Hoy who had rooms over Conrad’s store suffered a loss of SBOO on drugs, books' instruments and furniture, insurance S2OO in the Ohio Farmer s. Pensinger’s barber shop had a small loss of $lO The upper part of the large brick building was leased by the order of Knights of Pythias and Rathbone Sisters The lodge room was one of the finest in the state The loss in paraphernalia, carpets, stoves, and other property amounted to over SI.OOO. The lodge also leased the town hall and the loss in scenery, chairs, etc . will more than ex-

ceed S9OO. insurance S4OO in the Fireman’s Fund. The large brick buildings owned by Richard Guy, a wealthy farmer living south of town, was not insured and the loss is a heavy one. The buildings destroyed were owned by the following persons: — Richard Guy. Two-story and basement, trick, valued at SIO,OOO no insurance. Mrs. Jenny Young. Goshen, frame building, valued, at $1,200, insured with Hyde & Brooks of Goshen for S2OO. J. H. Miller, Milt Woods and Rev. Buchman owned the frame building occupied by T. H. Conrad valued at SI,OOO. insurance $l5O. Miller & Lehman, one-story frame building valued at $1,300, insurance S6OO in the Rockford Insurance company and S2OO in the Ohio Farmers. Mrs. M. A. Benner, two story frame building, occupied as store and dwelling, valued at $1,200. insurance SBOO in tbe Fireman’s Fund company. Our citizens worked hard and faithfully to render all the assistance possible and by' their united efforts manythousands of dollars worth of merchandise was saved. Those w-ho have suffered a loss fully appreciate this fact and are loud in their praises for the assistance rendered than in their hour of need. No effort will be made to untangle the piles of valuable goods now stored in Ketring’s two new rooms and otha places, until the insurance adjusters arrive. Thae is some talk of new buildings being built as soon as possible but it is too early to outline any plans for the future. The grand total loss has been carefully estimated at about $30,910.00. Insurance $8,500. Fire Notes Geo. D. Bartholomew had a narrow- escape from death. He was working in the K. P. hall and was overcome by smoke and fell as he reached the lodge room door. He managed to find the door and saved himself. Tipp Bushong got hit on the forehead with a brick and he will carry the mark for several days. The ladies carried water and packed out goods and rendered all the assistance possible. The ladies deserve much credit for their valuable help. . Miller & Lehman will move into the Epert property on Huntington Street as soon as their loss is adjusted. S. L. Ketring’s two new store buildings came in very handy, and the goods were piled on the

■pg JFe’re Paying CASH FOR SCRAP IRON Including JUNK CARS I Pkone 457-3555 Syracuse Iron & Metal Co.

floors. It was a lucky thing the buildings were ready. Weyrick & Hinderer will occupy one of S. L. Ketring’s new trick buildings. < F. L. Hoch will occupy S. L. Ketring’s new store room. Miller & Lehman have stored their goods up stairs in the Ketring building. Mrs. M. A. Benner has her goods stored in the large hall above the REGISTER office. The Knights of Pythias have paraphernalia and chairs stored in the rear of the REGISTER office. It was a close call for t)r. Bowser’s house and only by heroic work and tearing down the front of Mrs. Benner’s building was his handsome residence save. F. L. Hoch’s loss is to be deplored. His one policy of 1,000 expired Saturday noon and insurance agent Wallis failed to renew it. It looked for awhile as though Dr. Hoy’s residence would be destroyed, but it was saved. Doc. was over 6 miles from town coming from a trip, and onseeing the flames he did some tall driving. The Syracuse hotel had a close call and the steel roof is all that saved it. The shingles on the livery barn and Church of God caught fire, but water was put on and the fire put out. Richard Guy’s loss is heavy, but he was not in favor of insurance, and of course has no one to blame for his loss. Robert Epert bought the brick in the east wail and is busy cleaning them up. They will be used to brick his store room. Mrs. Benners loss is a sad blow tb that estimable lady coming as it does at her advanced age of life. Much sympathy is expressed for her by our citizens. Richard Guy will rebuild a large double store on his lots early in the spring. Miller & Lehman commenced to move dirt from their lot ready to commence building early in the spring. They will erect a neat two-story brick store. . Wm. Butt sprained his leg while removing goods from Mrs. Benn er's property. The town bpard employed seven extra police to protect the property scattered about the streets. A wise move on their part as much property was being stolen by a gang of theives. . — Hundreds of dollars worth of goods was stolen by people and will never be recovered. It’s a pity some of them could not have been caught and punished. Dr. Hoy will occupy the front

room in the Ketring block for his office. He has ordered his furniture and left Tuesday for Chicago to purchase drugs, etc. Fire Protection At last Syracuse has waked up to the importance of fire protection. Water works and fire protection have been discussed by our people for many years and for many years a tax has been levied and a faud of $1,500 has already been accumulated for that purpose. The REGISTER has many times presented the importance of fire protection. Last year our town board took it up and had the (Jans drawn for a water works plant and the town also leased the water power of the Syracuse Water Power Company for a term of twenty-five years. A committee of Mr. Geo. W. Miles and Fred. Hinderer were instructed to visit neighboring towns where they had a plant similar to the one in contemplation for Syracuse, and only this week they visited Albion and reported their direct pressure system a success. The board at its last regular meeting, Monday evening, called a special meeting for tonight to discuss the plans and get ready to put in a plant as soon as the frost is out of the ground. Syracuse has many fire traps and our business men should exercise the utmost care in guarding against the possibility of a fire, which not only endangers your own property, but also the property of others, who might lose all they have. There are a number of business places where no insurance can be had. owing to the great risk and we cannot be too careful about our premises. It may be a good thing to have a fire and destroy these old tumbledown wooden buildings, but coming as it does at this time of the year, it causes a great loss to many who are unable to stand it. Syracuse will arise Phoenix like from the ashes, and new brick buildings, will take the place of the wooden structures, and in a year or so our town will have outgrown the present loss. v; 6U6 HEP I Q poUNPS/

s new... 1 L_ r tn© Flower Bed All the traditional Wolf quality features • Extra-firm support • All-cotton cushioning i with foam top V Tre •scotchgard fabric finish A colorful new mattress to bring fresh ''L.X »'■ new comfort to your bedroom with Ju' ' ;-sv'* ’J the extra-firm support you want in f a q uilted mattress ' at a pnce that s :;.'W K JF/rt wonderfully inviting! H ’ 11111 ’! t H tT2 I’T , Queen Size K |n § s' ze r-_ Deluxe extra-large Deluxe 78x80 giant j U U 60x80 mattress and mattress and 2 long AB K K 'JI matching box springs twin box springs By the makers of the famous g K SICQ 9S 5?59 95 . Mattress Deluxe 54x75 mattress ■"“ super quality bedding . . f ,ng . B 9»r BS SLEEP SALE and King aroßMa j v/|\l Now for a limited time ... the . — F|ower Bed at a very I special price! Mattress and match3 Way* To Buy — Ca»h, Charge, Payment* I ' ng box 95 On 13 ...’ z Mile South of SYRACUSE, INDIANA . Brammer Furniture

LIGONIER NEWS By Rose Cunningham Chatter Belles Hold Meeting The January meeting of the Chatter Belles Extension Homemakers Club was held Tuesday evening, at the home of Mrs. Glen Hicks. Lortie. president, was in charge of the business meeting with members answering roll call with “A New Idea I Used in Holiday Entertaining.” A very impressive installation of new officers was conducted by the president. Devotions were given by Mrs. Jerry Branham and Mrs. Kenneth Simmons read the thought of the month, “Happiness is not found, you stumble over it on your way to service”. The Heloise and Decorating report was given by Mrs. Jerry Cunningham and Mrs. Gary Peterson gave an article on frostbite and exposure to cold. Mrs. Cunningham also gave the lesson on “Maintaining Good Mental Health.” The next meeting will be at the Tony DePew residence with Mrs. Larry DePew as hostess. Mrs. Wysong Honored At Recent Dinner Mrs. Retta Geiger, homt economics in the Cromwell school, recently held a luncheon at her home for the other women instructors of the school. The occasion was to honor Mrs. Cecelia Wysong. art instructor of the school, who is retiring. John Blosser of Goshen has been hired to teach art in the school. \ COMMUNITY NEWS Mrs. Maggie Chiddister at tended the wedding Sunday of her great-grandson, Lyn Ham bleton and Miss Cindy Gard, ir Fort Wayne.

Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Swartz are parents of a daughter, Tana Jo, born January 13 and weighing seven pounds, 13 ounces. Mr. and Mrs. Donald Robbins' are spending a month vacationing in Florida. Don is editor of the Cromwell Advance. Mr. and Mrs. Hobart Smith and granddaughter, Melanie Erker, of Valparaiso, visited Mrs. Emma Smit, Saturday. Pfc. E2 James Wellman graduated from basic training at Fort Knox, Ky., Friday. His parents, Mr. and Mrs. Lee attended the graduation exercises. Pfc. Wellman has been sent to Fort Gordon, Ga., for further training. The American Legion Auxiliary held its regular monthly meeting in the Legion Hall on February Ist. Mrs. Kenneth Simmons and children and Mrs. Kermit Simmons spent last Sunday in Kalamazoo, Mich., visiting Mrs. Kenneth Simmons parents, MILFORD YOUTH ESCAPES INJURY Phillip Price, 19, r 1 Milford, skidded into a utility pole Friday evening at 9:30 at the intersection of CR 175E and Beer Rd., one mile and a half east of Milford. Price was unhurt but $650 damage was done to his car. Deputy sheriff Bernard Minier and Milford marshal Don Drake listed the cause of the incident was due to icy roads.

! Anchor Bar j * SYRACUSE 1 Thursday Evening Special | I ITALIAN SPAGHETTI I A Chianti Wine — Garlic Bread — Salad A $2.50 |

V.T. Spends $1306,843 In Kosciusko County The Veterans Administration today announced that expenditures for Indiana for fiscal 1970 totaled $180,837,578, of which $1,306,843 was for Kosciusko county. J. C. Robison, director of the Indianapolis VA office, said the bulk of the money was $105,772,590 in disability compensation and pension payments for Indiana veterans — $801,7p6 for Kosciusko county veterans. Other VA expenditures in Kosciusko county for fiscal 1970, Robison said, were for GI Bill and other VA Education program. $136,300; and insurance and indemnities $146,881. Additional expenditures in Kosciusko county included direct loans, $221,906. In announcing these figures, Robison invited Kosciusko county veterans to contact their VA office at 36 South Pennsylvania Street, Indianapolis, for information on any program, including the GI Bill. Doctors seeking diagnoses of birth defects patients’ throughout the nation are utilizing the March of Dimes Syndrome Identification and Consultation Service in Boston.