New Ulm review., 1904-12-07

/ Nelson & Grothe s8, 900, 81 1000 in
4 surance
Il. B. Meese So, 800, $1,000 insur-
1 ance
/ J. II. Haenze 81, 500 no insurance
1 O. w. Hart $500 no insurance
Bank of Hanska $500 fully insured
Harness shop and old printing
shop $l00 fully insured .
Theo. Surheim and Ole Grothe,
4 clothing 5000 no insurance
/ Edwards Wood & Co. $50 no in
surance
Total loss 1926, $3.50
Total insurance Sc, 800
j .....s.
Fire burned three of the largest and
! handsomest business buildings in
Hanska to the ground Saturday night
and inflicted a lose on that village of
over twenty-six thousand dollars,
covered with but sixty-eight hundred
dollars insurance. Several men lost
every dollar they had in the world,
even to a change of clothing, and the
principal sufferer, O. K. Kjorlaug,
went completely out of his head, and
though he is slowly recovering, may
never be exactly "right' again.
Two people, Mrs. O. w. Hart, who
lay sick in bed, and Theodore Sur
helm, who worked in Mr.. Hart S
barber shop and rushed back into a
burning building to get some clothing
had narrow escapes and we're rescued
from death by the heroic work of the
fire fighters.
The fire started in Kjorlaug & Co.'s
store from an exploding gasoline
lamp. About 5:45 O'Clock Saturday
evening Kjorlaug was lighting the
lamp. He filled to torch with wood
alcohol and lit it and then seeing that
the gasoline tank was empty, started
to fill it with the explosive liquid.
Some of the gasoline spilled onto the
torch blaze and in an instant the lamp
exploded.
KJORLAUG GOES WILD.
Editor j. W. Haenze, whose printing
Office and living rooms were above the
tore, smelt the smoke which worked
it's way up through the floor and rush
ed down into the store. Taking in the
situation at a glance, he grabbed an
overcoat which lay handy and wrapped
! it around the burning lamp, to smother
; the flames.
The storekeeper by this time was
! wildly excited and had lost complete
control of himself, and snatching the
overcoat away with a rebuke for the
editor for spelling a costly garment
5 he flung it to one side where it STRUCK
5 among some bundles of cotton batten
igniting them. He then opened the real
e door and started to toss out the
:. blazing cotton. In fifteen minutes tht
q whole store was ablaze and the frs
e had spread to the other two building.
9 closely beside it.
BUILDINGS AND OCCUPANTS.
: Kjorlaug & Co.'s store was in th'
! Thompson building, the corner build
3 ing on the north side of Main stree
) and upstairs was the printing offic
s of the Hanska Herald and the livin,
& rooms of the editor.
6 Next to this building on the ives
s side was the one owned by Nelson {
Z Grothe, and on the lower floor of thi
y structure was furniture store run b.
s the above firm. Upstairs Mr.. Grothe
& & unmarried, slept and kept his persona
4 belongings, and here also Edward
s Wood & Co. maintained an Office
3 Immediately adjoining this structur
q was the building owned by 81. +
$ Meese, a New Ulm man. The lowe
s rooms were unoccupied, but on th
+ second floor was the barber shop G
nIO. w. Hart and the rooms where h
Z lived with his family with him was a
y assistant, Theodore Surheim. Allth
S structures were frame.
81 Haenze rushed upstairs at once afte
& finding that the flames were beyon
s control and hurried his wife dowr
& stairs into the street, and then hin
q self began an effort to save some {
y his most valuable personal property
s his business accounts and importar
& papers, among other things.
Il EFFORTS TO SAVE USELESS.
6 But it was useless; the fire was to
Z swift and soon the rooms were so file
9 with smoke that he was forced to retil
s and joined the fire company which ha
6 arrived and was making mighty effor
q to prevent the spread of the flames
q the adjoining buildings.
: There was little wind, utWhat the
& was was from the northwest and
2 carried the sparks and blaze onto Il