The Clio messenger., 1915-03-12
FIRE L|CKS UP
OLD LANDMARKS
TINKER'S MACHINE SHOPS AT PINE
RUN DESTROYED
Fire Was of Unknown Origin as None
Had Been in Engine Room for
Several Weeks

Fire completely destroyed the famous
old machine shops at Pine Run owned
by William Tinker, Tuesday morning at
ten o'clock and aside from some of the
goods that were saved from the build
ings, il was a total loss to the owner
who, had no insurance. Among the
buildings that burned was the foundry,
cider mill and blacksmith shop. The
owner is unanle to make any estimate
of the loss but he considers it to be
very heavy owing to the amount of
machinery and tools that were stored in
the buildings.
Mrs. Tinker was the first to discover
the fire when she stepped to the rear
door OF the house to do some errand
when she detected smoke in the direc-
tion Of the machine shops. Mr.. Tinker
lost no time in hurrying to the build
ings and went through the machine
shop 20 the engine room where
the room was all afre. He closed the
door and then began to remove what
articles as he could easily carry. 1t
was not long before he was forced to
leave the building as the roof began to
tumble in. When this building was
complete ruins, the flames spread to
the elher buildings which are in a
group. The efforts of the bucket bri-
gade that bad been formed proved to
he fruidess and when Glenn Williams
arrived In Pine Run in his automobile,
ne noticed that the entire village Of
Pine Ban was threatened by the fire so
he .arned To Clio Here arrange
meats we're made to send the local fire
department 10 the rescue but owing TO
the aergetic work Of the bucket bri-
rade, the fire was confined to the
basslngs thathad already caught.
TSe destruction Of these machine
shops marks the loss Of some of the
oldest buildings in the village of Pine
Run They had stood there as f,.moas
lanomsrks for years and not many
wears ago, it was a customary scene
about the buildings of much activity
in the manufacture of machines used in
saw mills The buildings were built in
the fall of 1865, when Mr., Tinker in
company with his father, VIM. Tinker,
Sr.. also machinist, and who died in
1889, moved to Pine Run from Ohio
where they had always ran machine
shops. For several years the business
thrived in the manufacture Of steam
engines and apparatus for saw mills
in this part of the state which made
it necessary to run day and night. A
shingle mill was also operated in the
buildings for years. When the lumber
ing business began to decline, plows,
drags, cultivators and farm implements
were manufactured until competition
forced him to follow other lines of
manufacture He then manufactured
cheese boxes and potato crates besides
doing such foundry work as came to
him from time to time.
Mr.. Tinker is considered to be a
genius in the art of machine work.
This fact is truly understood when it is
learned that nearly all the machinery
that was in the machine shops was the
result of his own handicraft. This ma
chinery had always been a source of
pride to him and it's loss will probably
cause him considerable trouble as he
declares that it is impossible for him to
live comfortably without something to
do in his machine shops.
One of the greatest mysteries con-
nected with the fire is how it started.
Some think that it must have been in
cendiary as there had been no fire in
the engine room since two weeks ago
and the owner had always been very
careful not to allow any waste to col
lect that would result in spontaneous
combustion The last fire was built in
the room two weeks ago and since then
the gasoline engine has been used to do
the work.
The buildings were among the first to
be erected in the village of Pine Run.
Their destruction marks the passing of
the last of the earliest buildings in the
village, it is said, and the loss will be
greatly felt by the farmers in this Sec
tion Of the county.