The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1900-07-13
THE LOSS Is VERY LARGE.
Barn and an Outbuilding Are De-
stroyed, the House Being Saved.
HALF COVERED BY INSURANCE
The Flames Cast q Spectacle of Unusual
Luridness In the Sky Believed
That the Fire Was
..,. at Nassil-

A large barn and outbuilding on the
farm Of Charles Sllker, which Is locat-
ed near the north end of Meyers lake.
was completely destroyed by fire We'd
nesday night. The fire was caused by
a stroke of lightning which entered the
building, igniting the combustible con-
| tents, such as hay and other stuff
The loss will reach several thousand
| dollars, with only about half the loss
! covered by insurance. AL. Albright, who
| Is well known in this city, has charge
of and conducts the farming for Mr..
| Sliker The farmhouse, which stands
just south from the buildings burned,
was not damaged, although several
times during the progress Of the fire
it was believed that the wind would
blow the flames over to the house and
| also ignite that. AS there was no fire
apparatus within reach, the two build
ings could not be saved.
The Sliker farm is located two and
| three-fourths miles northwest of this
| city. 1t is reached by travelling along
the Fulton road and following along to
the Whipple road, some distance north
of the Casino at Meyers lake. There are
three buildings of any dimensions on
! the farm, the house, barn and one
| ne OIL
which struck the barn was witnessed
about 1880 o'clock, by the Albright
family. In few minutes flames issued
| from the barn and in quarter of an
| hour the entire building was wreathed
in flames. Neighbors ran in from all
directions to assist in saving such stock
and implements as were possible under
| the circumstances. They entered the
1 hail srp oil 80 h. I,,S
some plows and few farm implements
| were destroyed in the confiagration
which was greedily eating it's way to-
ward the outbuilding. The barn was IF
large proportions; probably one Of the
| largest in the vicinity, and it contained
large quantity of hay and other stuff
which had recently been placed there by
Albright. After removing such imple-
ments as could be secured without in
curing accident to those assisting, at
tention was paid to the outbuilding,
which was used as a corn crib, granary,
hog pen and chicken coop.
While some of the contents were got
ten out of this building. the fire COM
municated with it so quickly that the
men assisting were not enabled to do
very much there. A number of
of the contents of this building were
destroyed. This building was standing
about 20 feet away from the barn, ana
it was burned to the ground
The reflection of the flames in the
sky, at that hour OF the night, with
occasional streaks of lightning silhouet-
ted against the lurid red, caused one Of
the grandest spectacles ever witnessed,
! of that nature, by thousands of resi-
dents in this city, who stood upon the
streets, even while the rain was falling
or drizzling, watching the sky. The be-
lief was apparent at first that large
fire had occurred probably at Massillon,
| and that the whole town was burning.
But as Massillon lies directly west,
those who knew of the location refuted
the statements of others. Then again
some believed that the Casino was being
| destroyed. Telephone calls during the
raging of the storm were numberless.
as the citizens seemed in great anxiety
| as to the location of the fire.
! On Tuesday afternoon Mr.. Albright
hauled to his barn about five tons of
hay which he secured at the Frazer
farm. Mr.. Albright had assisted in
the work and that portion was given
him by Mr. Frazer for his work. Mr..
Frazer stated that he could store it
in the barn, but Albright said he would
haul it home. All this hay was de-
stroyed in the fire.
| A number of the neighbors and others
who assisted in the removal of portion
| of the contents of the barn, received
more or less serious burns. as the fire
| increased while they were at work.
After securing such implements and
other articles from the lower portion
| of the burning barn, as was possible,
the attention of the men was turned
toward saving the house, if flames
should communicate herewith. Mr..
Slker stated to a News-Democrat re-
porter Wednesday night that his loss
would reach several thousand dollars
and that the loss was only about half
covered by insurance. He said the
flames burst out from the upper portion
of the barn as soon as the lightning
struck the building, igniting the hay
and other combustible stuff. and that
from the beginning the fire ragged with
such fury that it was impossible to do
anything toward saving the building.
The loss to Mr.. Albright will be very