Wyandot County Republican. [volume] (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1869-1903, 1869-05-20
The. Grover 4 Baker sev;no M,.

effects were removed. Loss $40. 900
Insurance $4,000. The wholesale
grocery house of Mckee, Wood
ward, and w Weakley, third door from
the corner, was not forced open fol
some time afterward, and little was
saved from that establishment bu,
the books and accounts. The room
north OF the grocery establishment
was used by Nick, w. d w. as 8
warehouse for fish and heavy goods
and we learn that everything in i,
.Was destroyed. Loss $4,000. In.
'surance $4,000. The corner room
on First street, was unoccupied. =
The extensive basement was
mainly occupied by Frederick
Lange, for Billiard rooms, Re,
istaurant, etc, etc, and he has lost
everything he had. He had recently
made good many expensive i'm
provements on the rooms, expect.
ing to remain their for term oil
years SO that all the fixtures, and
everything he had was destroyed
with the place. His loss will be
heavy. Insurance $1,000.
The second story was variously
occupied. j. M. Turner had an
Office, and a suite of rooms, on the
north side. james Davis, who is
engaged with Woodward d Co., oc-
eupied some rooms with his family.
on the same floor. The rooms
fronting on Main street were gen
orally filled with merchandise man
-ufaclures, etc. Nothing whatever
was saved from the second story.
The upper portion ofthe building
comprised the auditorium, dressing
rooms, property room, green roo N.
etc. This portion Of the Opera
House was wrapped in a mass of
flame when the steamers arrived.
And in half an hour from the time
the alarm Of fire was first given,
the extensive slate roof fell in, and
the immense body of flames shot NJ
several hundred feet above the mon
ster building, fearfully grand
spectacle. and the whole city was
illuminated as though by sunlight.
: Strange as it may seem, the fire
had burned through into the second
story of the Opera House, and the
seo .resooff Of was about falling in. when it
was ascertained that br. Davis and
family were yet in the building
1t seems that they were not aroused
from their sleep until the smoke
from the rapidly approaching flames
reached them and threatened them
with sufIocation and death +! Through
the personal eNer,ious Of Mir. Henry
Kette and others, who procured a
ladder from the rear of the building
they were removed to the street
from a window in their bed room
their retreat down the stairway
having been cut off by the flames,
which rushed down the entrance
into the street.
A young man by the name of
Ayers, who also occul led a dorm.
itory in the second story, was not
aroused from his sleep until he was
partially strangled by the smoke,
and he made his escape by the
.veraudah, above the entrance to the
Opera House, and climbed down the
iron-work into the street.
The fire had been raging
only little over half an hour.
when the burning cornice at the
south end of the building fell on NJ
Dinners Furniture manutactory and
warerooms adjoining, and the,
were soon also wrapped in flames
Soon afterwards the whisky recti
flying establishment of w. Penn
Ayers, on the east, caught fire, anG
the flames soon gutted the building
the spirit in the place making sin
gular bright blaze which reach &c
the altitude OF two or three hundred
fest.
All the while the steamers were
playing on the burning building, but
were unable to make the slightes,
impression on it. About the time
the roof of tile Dinner building was
enveloped in flames, the water gave
ont at the cisterns in reach, and thai
insured the destruction ofthe estab
|3ishment and valuable contents, as
4well as the loss of the life Of Mr.
Herman Sandmeier whose grocery
was in the south hal
of the building!
Mr.. Sandmeier, in company witt
a score of men, was hurriedly car.
rying out goods from his store
when the water was exhausted, ant
the flames gained rapidly on them
While in the act of grasping some
valuable goods to carry out, a por
tioi of the south wall Of the Gpers
House fell with a crash ON the rooi
OF Dinners building, carrying por
ton of the timbers down through
into the lower story! Several mel
were struck down by the debris ant
Mr.. Sandmeier was caught between
some timbers, and had his arm:
broken! Several attempts were
made to rescue the unfortunate man
but second portion of the Oper;
House wall falling, the poor maj
was caught fast by the falling tim
hers and so tightly hedged in as te
make it exceedingly difficult to ge
to him: and to extricate him from
his painful ana perilous position
would take some time. Daring
men we're there ready to make the
desperate effort; and. IN answer te
Mr.. Sandmeier's cries for relief
they were proceeding to displact
the timbers and r"bish, when furi
Gus flames, no longer held in checl
by the Steamers, which had no wa
| tor to uao ,i1, h c.l ur,1,r, tho d dacporat I,