The Black Hills union and western stock review. [volume] (Rapid City, S.D.) 1904-19??, 1910-09-30

ana looked upon tlaG Ola uW6llluS a.
the happiest place on earth, for i
was home.
In the early days it was preten
tious dwelling, large and spacious
and through it's portals many of the
best people of the place passed tt
take part in many historical socia
gatherings held there. The owner
of the home was prominent mar
He came here from Colorado in the
learlieat p ::e-ly days and carried his
daugnrer from where the stage
broke down to Deadwood on his
shoulder. This daughter is now
married and lives in the far west
Other children at home, besides
Ralph, who is employed at the Pho
neer-Times, are Francis, practic-
ing attorney here, and Will who is
employed at the shines plant. Lewis
lives in Montana and Clarence at
tends school, but is home at the
present time. In this house were
born Will, Ralph, Logan, Theodore,
now deceased, Clarence, Francis, and
also younger brother and young
er sister. 1t was home to all these
and memories that crowded around
yesterday afternoon brought tears of
sorrow when they saw the old home
pass into ashes.
Col. Parker was long a prominent
and talented man, and popular here,
and Mrs. Parker was lavish enter
tainer, and many line might be
written of the splendid gatherings
that occurred within the walls of this
old mansion of the hill. In the early
days at Christmas time it was fire.
quent scene of Christmas gatherings,
and having large family of chill
dren OF their own, the Parkers in.
vited those of other families to share
with them the pleasures of Yuletide.
Then it was a place where the boys
always liked to go, and many faith
er, after an unsuccessful search for
a missing boy, went to the Parker
home and pulled his young hopeful
out of bed at this home, where he
had been to partake of some of Mrs.
Parker's pies. 1t was the custom for
the boys to gather there and help
pick berries and every boy that did
so got pie, and there was no dearth
of help to pick berries.
The home was valued at about
$4,000 and had $4,000 insurance
on the building. There were about
81 1000 of furniture and household
goods that were burned, including
carpets, rugs, stoves, etc., on which
there was no insurance, making the
loss about $1,000. One regretable
thing about the fire is the fact that
there was a probable purchaser for
the property, including the thirteen
acres of ground.
A Telegram reporter climbed the
hill to watch leach separate dying
ember cast it's ghost" not upon the
1oor, as Poe put it, but upon the
landscape, and having desire to
explore parts of the hill that as yet
had not been visited in organizations
hereabouts, struck across the hill to
city creek, but had not taken into
account the thoroughly dampened
condition of the branches and the
foliage. 1t was wet trip and neces-
complete change of outfit
on arrival home, but the game was
worth the candle. 1t certainly is a
wierd looking place and in snow
storm one imagines himself in the
heart of wilderness.
In this connection it might be
we'll to recall to the minds Of the
old old timers the big fire of 1879,
which caused the Parker family to
move into their house on the hill.
At 2 o'clock in the morning on
that memorable 26th day of septem-
Der, fire broke out in the Wilson
Bakery on Sherman street, whore
Wardman's plumbing shop now
stands. The flames communicated
rapidly to the hardware store Of
Jensen & Bliss, whore q large guam
t1ty of giant powder was stored.
When this blew up it was all of with
the town. The fire spread with the
rapidly of lightning to all parts of
the city and by o'clock in the
morning the thriving little city was
a mass of charred ruins. The loss
amounted to over million of dol
lars, but nothing daunted, the thrift
ty pioneers started to work building
over again, enduring such setbacks
as floods, cyclone and the fire of
1895, with never ending pluck and
endurance, and the metropolitan
Deadwood of today is what we have
to show for their thrift and forti.
tude.