Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1932-01-07
H|NCKLEY HAS
BIG FIRE LOSS
Grade School Building, Put
up in 1896, Destroyed
Tuesday Night.
New Gym Also Suf f er S
Some Loss; Partly Gov
cred by Insurance.

"A disastrous IRE Wnlcn totally Qe-
stroyed one of the school buildings
in Hinckley village-district No Q
occurred there Tuesday night. Just
how the fire originated is not known,
but it commenced in the coal bin of
the basement in the southwest corner,
and is thought to have been caused
through spontaneous combustion. Two
of the grade teachers. Miss Jean Speer
and Miss Dorothy Richards, return
ing home from a visit with friends,
saw the smoke emerging from the
building shortly before midnight and
sounded the alarm. The fire siren
did not work and hence there was a
little delay in getting out the fire de-
partment by telephone and other
methods of sounding the alarm. The
fire department also encountered
some difficulty in that the hose
burst twice, but they fought vail
antly and kept the flames from in
volving other buildings in the neigh
borhood. The Pine City fire depart
ment was also called. but the grade
school building, a sturdy brick struc-
ture could not be saved. All that re-
manned next morning was the brick
walls, and they were badly cracked
from the heat.
Arranged for Temporary Quarters.
The dimensions of the building was
about S0X90 with eight class rooms.
In it was housed seven grades and
the Normal Training class. Superin-
tendent L. w. Brown dismissed the
grades for the balance of the week
but made arrangements for the Nor
NAL Training class to continue their
work Immediately in the Masonic hall
Tentative arrangements are that part
of the grades will continue their work
Monday in the high school building
with a little crowding and other
grades will be domiciled in the Odd
fellow and Woodman halls. The other
school building, which was built later,
has housed the eighth grade and the
four years of high school, also the
office and library
About an hour after the flames had
gone their course in the grade build
ing and the firemen had returned to
their homes, fire broke out in the new
gymnasium bull ing which was
erected only year ago. This was
at o'clock Wednesday morning. The
flames here did not get far as it was
in the control box of the electric
wires. However the wall back of the
stage where the control box was To-
Gated, was badly damaged and the
loss there will amount to about 81 900.
Just how that fire got started is also
problematical. The wires lighting
the gym enter from the outside and
have no connection with the class
room buildings but there was a wire
underground from the building de-
stroyed to the gym for operating a
pump to return water from the steam
pipes, the gym being heated from the
plant in the basement of the grade
building.
Two Firemen Injured.
In climbing onto the roof of the
gym building to pour water onto 1t
just above the fire, Frank Schultz
slipped from the ladder and fell,
chief of the fire department, with the
result that Schultz sustained two bro
ken ribs and Kaltenhauser was cut
I'm the face, receiving a deep cash
which necessitated medical attention.
Schultz was also treated by doctor
but neither was seriously hurt.
The value of the grade building and
,onfoptc ic actin afo6 N no oyor $40 =
900. 1t was insured for about $45, 900.
Plans for rebuilding have not yet
been made, but the building opera
lions will likely not take place be-
fore spring. The first school build
ing was erected on that location in
June of 1898. That was destroyed
in the great Hinckley forest fire OF
Sept. 1, 1894, and in June of 1896 it
was rebuilt. A stone at the entrance
bore the inscription in Latin: Alto
gether We Conquer" j. S. Patrick
is president of the school board and
M. L. Nelson is the clerk.
With strong wind blowing from
the north it is thought by many that
the snow on the roof of the Coffin
hotel and several residences across
the street, which had just fallen that
day, helped materially in saving those
buildings from burning as embers
from the fire were scattered freely
in that direction.
A Substantial Building.
Old timers in Hinckley say that the
grade building which was erected in
1896 and destroyed Tuesday night was
very well built and a real substantial
structure. j. ]. Folsom, hardware
merchant, stated that at the time the
late Dan McLaren, then village black
smith, and John M. Currie, now liv-