Whetstone: Were early 1922 fires connected?

President Woodrow Wilson issued the first National Fire Prevention Day proclamation in 1920, although not until 1922 did Marshfield start observing it each October. One wonders if that had something to do with the Marshfield fires of 1922.

I recently covered the Jan. 25, 1922 fire which destroyed the Marshfield State Bank on the corner of West Third Street and Central Avenue, and mentioned two other fires which took place about the same time. The bank fire was “assumed” to be caused by the furnace overheating.

Area newspapers reported on Feb. 2, 1922, that there had been three major fires in Marshfield within 10 days that year — the bank, Kestel Brothers general store which suffered a $40,000 loss, and a battery station.

Deciding to investigate this unusual series of fires, I recalled back in 1895/96, Marshfield was plagued by an arsonist. While I could not find mention of all the early 1922 fires, I did find these.

Besides the bank fire in January 1922, the Demgen residence caught fire when no one was home. Firefighters broke windows and doors to fight the blaze of unknown origin.

The Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune said the Feb. 2 blaze at the Kestel Brothers store on North Central and A Street started around 11 p.m. on the second floor, which was strictly storage. The fire department saved the building but smoke and five streams of water caused more than 50 percent damage to the well-insured stock. It was never discovered how the fire actually started.

Earlier that day a fire occurred at a battery station and was extinguished with chemicals.

In February, the Tribune wrote, “During the past 10 days (Marshfield) has been visited by a fire epidemic, averaging over one fire daily.”

During this area outbreak of fires, the Athens Messenger reported, “Early in the morning of March 12, 1922, the First National Bank building, on the corner of Court and Washington streets, went up in flames. The damage totaled an estimated $41,000. The C.C. Millikan Jewelry Store and Home Furnishing Co. also suffered losses of about $10,000. The bank did not collapse, but almost all of the inner walls were affected by the flames, causing it to be deemed a total loss.” Investigations revealed the fire started in the back of the jewelry store but never said how.

Fire destroyed the Weigelsdorf cheese factory on March 30, 1922, three miles northeast of Marshfield. Fire origin was unknown and loss was estimated at $9,000 because most of the stock and equipment was saved, although the building was lost.

The Tribune also reported on June 9, 1922, the Marshfield Telephone Co., caught fire. The operators stayed on duty, “amid falling plaster and dripping chemicals” while the blaze was extinguished. The fire, noticed at 7 a.m. when flames poured from the windows, was thought to have started with a cigar or cigarette left burning in the Masonic Lodge rooms above.

Were the fires connected or all random? We will never know.

Rhonda Whetstone is a columnist for News-Herald Media, Stevens Point Journal Media and Daily Tribune Media. Rhonda’s Twitter ID is TribRendezvous if you wish to follow her musings there. You also can get previews of upcoming columns by clicking “Like” on Back to the North Wood on Facebook. If you have story ideas of a historical nature, email her at Rhonda.Whetstone@gmail.com.