Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1900-01-20
BETHEL.
BETHEL TANSERY BURNED.

BETHEL TANNERY BURNED.
Fire destroy ed the Bethel tannery
and its contents last Saturday morn :
ing. The alarm was given abo, t
midnight, but the fire already had
consider able Roadway, the watch
man having been in distant part of
the building when it began. The
water came at first with but little
force and when at 1890 the fire.
fighters were we'll prepared for the
, fray their attention was demanded
by the peril of other buildings. The
tannery building and some of its
contents were so inhammable that it
is probable that professional firemen
could not have saved it. Our volun-
teers, though rather slow in getting
to work, deserve great credit for
preventing the spread of the flames
to other buildings. At one time the
buildings across the track seemed in
danger and the paint had peeled
from the ceiling of the upper bal
cony in rear of the l>assett block
when the collapse of the tannely
roof only about 40 minutes after the
fire started, removed all danger in
that quarter. During the next two
hours streams played almost con-
stantly upon the old shoe shop to
the north, and the hide-house and
office to the south, all of which were
separated by narrow spaces only
from the vast seething mass be-
tween. Perhaps it is not unfair to
give special credit to those who
saved the hide-house and office and
with them several dwellings oceu-
pied by tannery employees, because
they had the wind against them and
they worked from very near the
point at which the fire started.
The conflagration which is the
largest which this town has suffered
in 20 years, was visible for many
miles and it's reflection on the sky
for many more. 1t was witnessed
at close range by very large crowd
including many who drove in sew
eral miles. Scores of ladies came
to the scene and hundreds lost their
nights rest. Hot coffee, prepared
at the Bascom House and distributed
by a party of young ladies; was well
coined by the firemen, some of them
faint with long eXertion. Several
who have seen many fires called this
one of the hottest and most rapid of
their experience.
The plant was valued at ST. 5000,
insured for $4,000. The owners
are local business men. Phelps n
Harrison, the tenants, had 100000
insurance on the machinery, hides,
leather, bark and other contents. of
which nearly, third was saved. A
carload of leather boxed up for ship
ment the next day was burned.
Phelps & Harrison's insurance of
500, 900 is divided among about 20
companies. No adjustment of the
losses had been made up to Thurs.
day, and the finn could not even set
men to work to clean up the debris.
Mr.. Walker, the firms book-keeper,
said that positively nothing had been
decided about the future. 1t is
probably safe to say, however, that
the business would go on if the
plant were restored.
The following officers were in
stalled by Past Grands l.. w. Clough
and w. c. Waldo at last week We'd
nesday evenings session of Bethel
lodge No. IS I. O. o. F.: r. S.
N. g., B. 1. bearing; L. S. N. G.,
Bert Newell; r. S. V. g., Walter
Mcdowell; L. S. V. g., James Nc
Bride; warden, w. F. Baker; con-
ductor, ]. I. Reed; l. g., F. NJ.
Kendall o. g., William Smith; II.
S. S., c. ]. Rogers; l.. S S. Perley
Chamberlin chaplain, J. A. Chedel.
The installation was followed by an
oyster supper. The delegates to the
grand lodge at Burlington in May
are Past Grands L. w. Clough and
X. p. Stockwell.
Edward n. Querin, until month
ago superintendent and manager of
the Bethel tannery, secured two
weeks ago an option of the Bethel
Shoe company's plant, with view
to establishing calf-skin tannery of
his own. Since that time other OPP
portunities have come to him, nota-
bly, at Enfield, N. H., where large
inducements were offered him. MIR.
Querin likes Bethel, however, and
the prospects Thursday morning
were quite favorable for his location
here. He would employ about SO
hands. There is a chance for good
water power by rebuilding the old
dam of the spool factory, thus effect
ing quite a saving over the use of
steam.
Jones-I say, Miss Brown, now
=, <1~,k al ,p,In,N |