Putnam patriot. [volume] (Putnam, Conn.) 1872-1962, 1929-03-14
FIREMEN RESCUE LOGGER AS
CITY HOTEL is DESTROYED

CONTINUED fruas Page Onel
ladder Morse brought O'Neil to safe
ty. He was taken TO the home of c.
ID. Sharpe and from there to the hos
pital. He was uninjured.
During the fire the members Of the
department were in constant danger of
falling embers. Several had narrow
escapes as the cornice on the South
Main street side fell. Spectators across
the street saw the heavy timbers wa
vering and about TO fall. A shout
went up to warn the firemen under
meath and they scrambled back just as
the timbers crashed TO where a few
seconds before they had been standing
The zero weather caused the water
to freeze and made fire fighting difii-
cult, Several Of the tiremen found
that ears and hands were frostbitteu.
Their coats and clothing became SO
stiff that they were unable TO bend
their bodies and stood at their task as
If in straightiacketa. The Salvation
Army was early on the scene with hot
coffee. sandwiches and cake. for which
the fremen were grateful Thomas
Duffy. who lives nearby, also supplied
warm drink.
Hard Fight
The alarm of fire was pulled nj
from Box 1 at the corner OF fomiret
and Main streets, calling out all of the
apparatus in the city. Il is said that
frozen hvdrants caused a short delay
but soon there were five or six streams
OF sufficient volume and force pouring
into the burning building from all
sides. Fortunately there was no wind
! While this helped the iremen to con.
fine the blaze TO the hotel 1t was only
by the hardest kind OF a fight that they
. prevented other nearby wooden struc
, lures from catching FIRE.
Chief Thurston was spending th'
, weekend out Of the city and Assistant
Alphonse Dumas took charge and han
died the situation IN creditable man
/, ner. Hose was laid from hydran
near the Motor Tire Service Compan!
only a short distance away, from Tn
hvdrant at the corner of Grove an'
South Main streets, and from a ny
= drant near the residence Of G. II
e sharpe. superintendent of the cit.
Z water department. School street. Thes
S streams were playing from IN the allie
between the hotel and the building o
: James Aframe. from the School stree
% side on the east from the roof Of Tn
p Sandlovitz building on the south. am
line was also run into the buildin
/ and up the stairs Of what was the Ia
I dies entrance 20 the hotel.
! The roof soon fell and later III
floor collapsed. While the fire was 70
the most part confined 10 the uppc
stories Of the building the fall Of thes
floors left the building but shell.
is Quilted and apparently beyond re
pair.
The alarm from the business cente
always brings people TO the scene o
, the fire. II was some time after tn
alarm was sounded before there was
sizeable crowd Of spectators. Man
remained but a short time. as the col
forced them TO take shelter Abou
= five o'clock nearby street lights wen
= out but soon after this the dawi
broke. II was not long before y wa
seen that the fire department had wol
another hard battle and that the sur
p rounding buildings would be saved
r some damage was done by water y
) the unoccupied building owned by a
{ Sandlovitz. who now lives in New la
. ven.
Before the roof caved in the flame
shot upward and lighted the sky 81
that the glow was seen for mile
around. This brought in people iron
outlying sections who saw the FIRE
reflection in the sky and believed
eonhagration was threatening the city
Old Landmark
The destruction Of the City Hotel re
moves an old landmark from the town
II Is estimated that the original struc
ture. added 10 from time TO time, wa
approximately seventy-five years old
When built IL was a dwelling house
= Later il was raised a story and tn
street floor was used as a store. A
one time the store was occupied b.
: simon Farley. now Of Pawtucket, as I
! Clothing store Again il was pain
shop.
When the building was TRANSFORMED
into q hotel the first landlord wa'
Stephen Cole. At his death the hote
passed 10 T.. G. Rogers, now landlord
az the Putnam Inn. The Iohnsons
father and son. succeeded Mr.. Rogers
ana after the death Of the father, the
son. Edward Johnson, went to Will
mantle and Albert Fourier Of Hart
ford became proprietor. Fournier
kept the hotel but short time, selling
10 "Teddy" Cassent, who gave Putnam
the best baseball team IL ever had.
Cassent sold 10 Samuel Smith, who
rot into trouble through the Illegal
sale Of liquor, and the property passed
10 its present owner, Zepherin Har-
quoil. Not since Cassent owned the
hotel have meals been served there.
The business Of the hotel has been
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