The Dawson Herald from Dawson, Nebraska • 35

THE DAWSON HERALD DAWSON NEBRASKA HISTORICAL EDITION Fire Destroys Business Section of Town in 1890 CVtorcKnll Sharshall no insurance loss $70 no insurance Hanna loss $1100 no insurance Buser loss $1000 no insurance DIES ON FARM WHERE BORN During the month of September 1935 occurred the death of the faithful driving mare at the A Utermohlen home Nothing unusual you might say about the death of1 a horse but was 34 years old last April and was born and died on the same farm and with the exception of about one year always lived at this farm When a colt and a young horse she belonged to the George Smith family and was the driving horse and would take them at a merry clip wherever they wanted to go When the Smith family moved to Dawson she went along but like life so she came back to the farm and made her home with the Utermohlens When in the pasture she was always the leader and the rest of the horses seemed to admit that she was "boss" She never liked the automobiles and seemed to always resent their appearance on the road Never did a crowd of men work more nobly in saving property and the rapidity with which Jim Burgett hauled wate? to the scene of the fire was admired by all Notes on the Fire Charlie Herlocker came near losing his life in the flames He entered the burning hardware store to close the safe Being unable to find the same on account of the heat and smoke he was almost suffocated and as he turned to come out the floor gave way under the tons of shelf ware and began to sink One of legs went through the floor and summoning up all his strength he scrambled out and rushed for the door reaching the street in safety A moment after the floor and building fell with an awful crash Gur populace was surprised to see Hanna come dragging a lot of new lumber in among the ruins early Tuesday morning and by noon Mr Hanna had a building half done He moved in in the evening and in less than 24 hours after the Are was doing business in a new building Ed is a rustler About half of citizens came down Tuesday to see the ruins Did a crowd of yes women too ever battle harder against the flames? The following is a list of losses and insurance: Barlow Son loss $1200 insurance $1000: Libbee loss $2500 insurance $1000 Herlocker loss $10000 with no insurance Jones loss $75 ware so the work was confined to the saving of the implements As soon as the Are got under headway terrific explosions took place blowing the debris a hundred feet high Libbee succeeded in saving what goods were in his show cases but his magnificent stock of irugs paints oils etc were all lost Jones barber shop was one door north of implement building and was quickly licked up by the flames Mr Jones succeeded in saving almost everything Next came the two story building used as a restaurant under the management of Miss Sharshall a young lady who was just getting a start in business and was meeting with good success This building was dry and made an intense fire Miss Sharshall lost goods to the amount of about $70 Next came the billiard hall of Hanna Mr Hanna saved a peanut roaster and a refrigerator but his billiard tables were consumed Loss $1100 and no insurance But the Are still swept on and caught on the Buser building occupied by the Independent This building being the last in the row everything was saved but considerable property was badly damaged Loss on building $1000 and no insurance Mr Herlocker is the heaviest loser his loss being about $10000 with no insurance By steady and hard work the part of the block occupied by Barlow Son was saved Damage to stock and building $1200 with insurance of $1000 The biggest fire loss that Dawson has ever sustained was 45 years ago on June 9 1890 when almost the entire business section was destroyed The following interesting account of the fire is taken from a copy of the Dawson Independent of that week We are unable to leam where this issue of the paper was published! as the Independent plant was destroyed in the fire but presumably it was printed at Humboldt precisely four last Monday afternoon the hardware and implement house of Herlocker was discovered to be on fire Origin of Fire About the time mentioned above 4 Charlie Herlocker went into the cellar to draw some gasoline Reaching the tank he turned the faucet and at the same instant the cellar was filled with flame With a determined rush Charlie reached the steps and came up and gave the alarm but owing to the dense smoke the store could not be entered The fire originated in the cellar among barrels of coal oil and a tank of gasoline and was beyond all control a moment after it had started It was at once seen that the entire heart of our little city was to be wiped 'out of existence by the dreaded fire in a very short time Citizens came to the scene of the conflagration and lent willing hands in saving what property they could The intense heat and smoke prevented any work being done in the hard Early Assessor Wm Fenton was appointed as-sessor of Grant precinct by the county board in 1883 his bond being approved March 13 of that year CONGRATULATIONS TO THE HERALD FOR THE PLUCK PERSISTENCE AND PUSH WHICH HAS MADE THIS SPLENDID EDITION POSSIBLE 'rfj! The Dawson Bank FOUNDED 1887 FOR 48 YEARS THIS BANK HAS BEEN SERVICING THIS COMMUNITY WE CORDIALLY INVITE YOU TO ENJOY THE FACILITIES OFFERED BY THIS INSTITUTION General Banking Safe Deposit Boxes 'M RILEY President DAN J- RILEY Cashier HEIM Assistant Cashier.