The Weston leader. [volume] (Weston, Umatilla County, Or.) 189?-1946, 1916-01-21
EXCITING FIRE IN
ZERO WEATHER



The nupuls hulldlng At the north
west corner o. Main and Water streets
occupied by n, ", zehm With the wes,
ton bakery, was burned 70 The Hround
sunday morning With all It's contents
causing = loss Of about e,oOo' partly
covered by Insurance.
The uro was discovered A. about
e:so O'Clock and the alarm was turned
In by Newt oHarra. The prolonged
elamor Of the bell told the townspeo
ple that q real iire was on. and ,hes
mmhled out Of their warm beds intr
an atmosphere we'll below aero, Some
enrerprlsing boys beat their elders &c
the hose house and did yeomsn work
In helping 10 drag the apparatus .C
,he scene Of action. Considerable de
lay was caused hy frozen hose aud ny
,l,ants, but one gvod streAn and thsr
anolher were soon playing upon tht
blaEe from the Brandt aud O'Harru
hydrants, and n sigh Of relief went ~
from the large crowd that by TINS time
had assembled.
Seeing that the Dupuls buildlug was
sloomed, Ms It's wooden walls Ano par
titions burned like tinder tho noAhle'
men directed thor efforts "a saving
lhe Weston Leader building short
distance west ON Main street, aud =
slrInv of three buildings owned ~
Mrs, Margaret Wheeler, 10 the north
ON Water street. The hrst Of these
stood not morc than twenty icet away
yet the hremen saved Y intact ano
were equally successful with tho Load
or building. They were aided hy ths
heavy blankets Oi snow ON the root.
and 6y the fact that little or no Wind
was blowing. Az that, u was an vuec'
tive bit OF DIRE lighting.
The fire Is supposed TO have started
t.om an oyer.heated stove and was
Ii,sl noticed by Frank Hlldebrand, whc
saw that the heating stove In the bak,
cry store and the stove pipe were red
hnl aud the ceiling above ablaHe, lie
kicked in the door and gave the alarm
n. Eaton, who had shoe shop In ths
building and was also The bakers as.
sis ant. had built thrne hres and
had then gone Into the detached bAk'
sry nj the rear 70 prepare batch oi
cookies. Busted with his duties, he
all not nulica the iirr until the interior
oi the main building was ablAse, Hs
then ran 10 the assistance oi Mrs.
Zshm, who with two of her ehiliruu
occupied sleeping rooms IN the west
part Of the Dupuls building. They
rot out in their night cluthes In The
nick Of time and we're taken 70 the
home of Rev. George Chapman
The nearest building north u ocru-
MED by Mrs. X. Morrison and danRh'
tets. They ran our scAntlly clad, "a
did also Mrs. Wheeler and her dauEh'
ter. Mrs. Newt O'Harra, who were In
the next adjacent building. All found
refuge In neighboriug houses while
everything movable was carried out oi
their respective homes by willing
hands, only TO be carried back again
hen the danger was over.
MIR. Zehu estimates his loss between
ta5U0 and &StO0. u Included his entire
bakery, confectionery, tobacco, Rru-
Gerry and restaurant stock and Tx.
lures. These we're insured for 5000.
He carried $50 on the bakery proper,
WDtcu " rs hMfVus hllNuuEU H9uto VI Hts
outfit was destroyed. The Zehm fam
lis los. practically all their clothes,
and have since been thankfully receiy'
ing donations.
The DuPnis building was owned by
Mrs. ]. b. Dupuis and was Insured for
e5O0 II stood upon one of the Oldest
business corners In town, which was
occupied In pioneer times by merch'
andiSe store conducted by The late
Lewis and Charles MeAlorris.
Harry Eaton lost all his clothes ex.
cept those on his back and all his shoe
shop tools. He had no insurance and
Is playing In III deserved hard luck.
He did much toward saving the bakery
proper. Had this become Involved In
the flames. II would inevitably have
set FIRE 10 the Leader building.
Mr. Zehm, accompanied BY hia old
est son, was in Spokane on business
trip nt the time OF the fire and return
ed the next day. Hn Is continuing the
operation Of bis bake oven and bis
bread Is being handled by tbe O'Harra
Store. the Barnett Economy Store and
Kirkpatrick's Confectionery. He will
NOT reopen a bakery store, but has
leased the Sailing building and II pre-
pairing to embark 10 another line of
business.