The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1908-08-14
EIGHT MILE TRIP
IN THIRTY MINUTES
Twelve People and Two-Ton Fire
Engine Taken By Automobile
From Crown Point To Schererville
In Record Breaking Time Last
Night.

Crown Point. Ind, Aug. 14.-(Spe-
ciaI.)-In the way she saved Scherer-.
Vile from being destroyed by fire last
night, Crown Point fOrges to the front
again in the ranks of nOtOriety. This
time the Hub set the precedent in the
way of an automobile volunteer fire
department., establishing n record for
a long distance run of eight miles in
less than thirty minutes, pulling
old fashioned hand pump engine
weighing nearly two tons between
Crown Point and SchererviIIe, up hill
and down, in remarkably fast time.
Big Machine Turns Trick.
Mrs. Hart's Stoddard- Dayton car was
the machine that performed this re-
markable feat with Guy c. Clark at
the steering wheel. Mr.. Clark voIun-
teered to take the old engine to Scher-
erville in response to a call of the
people there for aid from the Crown
Point fire department to extinguislM
blaze that threatened the entire WI
liage If the Stoddard- Dayton people
want an example of a durability con-
test for their car, all they need to do
is to refer to Crown Pointers who wit
messed the run.
Fire Breaks Out.
Last evening between and o'clock
a telephone message was received from
Schererville stating that the large hay
barn of John Treinen, containing fifty
or sixty tons of pressed hay, was on
fire, and asking the assistance of the
Crown Point fire department as the
blaze was threatening the entire vii
lage. AS ScherervilIe has no water
pressure it was thought at first that
their plea was useless, until the old
hand engine used years ago when
Crown Point relied solely on this meth
cd of protection from fire was thought
of
Beaten All Records.
1t would have taken an ordinary
team at least an hour and a half to
make the run. and by that time the
entire village could be in flames. Guy
D. Clark, driving the Hart Stoddard-
Dayton touring car. offered to pull the
engine to the scene of the fire and
with SIX passengers in the machine
and as many more on the fire engine
the race to Schererville was started
And the men on the engine were giver
ride they will not forget in years
to come. Everything went smoothly
until the Neundorf farm was reached
when they caught up with the Manning
tea and coffee wagon. where Clark haC
TO bring his automobile to such a sud
den stop, to keep from running into
the rig, that the old fire engine, MOI
supplied with brakes. collided with tht
rear of Clarks machine and did con
siderable damage to the expensive car
Rlame Driver For Accfdouf
Eye witnesses declare that the driv
er of the coffee wagon was wholly t.
blame for the accident, as he coult
have given twice as much road as h,
did. and that he deliberately stopped
in the middle of the road to preven
the machine going by. His version o
the affair, however, is different, claim
ing that his horses became frightened
by the noise of the old fire engine anc
the yelling of the crowd in the aut,
and that he was powerless to preven
his horses from blocking the road
Much indignation was aroused at tn,
time of the accident against the drive
of the coffee wagon on account of hi
action and the damage to the auto
mobile. In spite of the fact that tn,
old engine had not been used since tn
Merrillville fire, some six years ago. i
worked TO perfection when the seem
of yesterdays blaze was reached. aa,
had the supply of water been are
quate the fight fighters would hav
gotten the blaze under control. :.
Barn an Entire Loss.
The barn and its contents was =
entire loss. but the residents of the vii
lage are considering themselves luck
that the arrival of the auto made
possible TO save the adjoining build
ings.
Two Jews were seen lettering aroun,
the scene of the fire earlier in the day
and it is thought that the fire wa
started by them, either carlessly o
Intentionally. A search was made 70
them last night by the authorities, bu
they could not be located Clark, &c
companied by Marshal Young, Vernon