What Stocktonites Were Doing 98 Years Ago
The new high school came near going up in smoke last Saturday night. It was a great scare for the populace and while considerable damage was done everything was soon repaired. The fire started in the basement among some trash that had been dumped in a corner. The fire rapidly spread and before it had been gotten under control burned up several new school desks, several boxes of paper towels, toilet paper, etc. The water pipes in the room above were melted and other damage resulted to the woodwork in that particular section of the building The fire was discovered by the janitor Allen, about 11:30 p.m. as he was returning to his room at the building. He lives in one of parts of the basement and being unable to gain access through the door broke out a window to get in. The heat and smoke were too great for him to combat the fire with the building’s fire hose and consequently he gave the alarm. The Board had the insurance adjuster at the building on Sunday morning and estimated the loss at $1,000.00. Three or four plumbers were busy that day getting the plumbing in order so that nothing might hinder the working of school on Monday morning. It was a close call for the fine building and lucky the damage was no greater.
Osborne was the scene of one of the most disastrous fires in the history of the town last Sunday when six business buildings were destroyed. The firms suffering were: Loomis Plumbing Shop, the post office, Jones’ Café, Babcock’s Variety Store, Robinson’s Electric Shop and the R. R. Mays and S. B. Farwell Abstract and Loan Office. Three of the buildings were owned by Mr. Hayes, and the other three by Mrs. J. K. Mitchell. There was no wind and the fire department, aided by good pressure and plenty of water, was able to keep the flames confined to the above six buildings. A twoinch fall of snow on Saturday night also kept sparks from igniting other business buildings across the street and to the east and west. The post office contained much mail matter, which had come in since the rural routes went out on Saturday and on account of very little having been taken out Sunday. A considerable amount of the contents in the post office and other buildings was gotten out before the fire reached its limits. The buildings destroyed were of frame and ironclads. The Hayes building was among the oldest in town, while the Mitchell buildings were put up some twenty years ago. The fire burned fiercely for several hours, but was under control by eight o’clock. The amount of insurance carried and the loss is undetermined at this time.
A party of Stockton folks last Monday visited the oil field just opening near Fairport. They also visited Natoma, Paradise and Gorham and took in the oil interest from these points. The company which was engaged in installing the pipeline to Paradise had the pipe all laid and connected and most of it buried. The company expected to turn in the oil to the 1,600-barrel tank at Paradise, which had just been completed. A new rig has been unloaded a few hundred feet south of the present well and the erection of the derricks to begin at once. Several carloads of drilling materials are being unloaded at Gorham and hauled out to new sites for drilling. A rig was unloaded at Natoma last week and a crew is at work building the derrick on the Worley Ranch, four miles below Natoma. They expect to have the derrick completed this week and drilling will begin at once. With the coming of the pipeline into Paradise a quantity test of the new well is possible and new interest will be added to the field’s development. On Monday the well overflowed and sent a stream of oil thirty-five feet into the air. Many oil prospectors and boomers are scouring the country for leases or other interests.
Mrs. Bert Eades suffered a bad cut on her right hand Wednesday afternoon. She was sharpening a knife and the blade struck the fleshy part of the hand between the thumb and forefinger, inflicting an ugly gash.
The old wooden flooring in the basement under the National State Bank had become decayed and was torn out and replaced with a concrete floor this past week.
The total precipitation for the year 1923 was 23.60 inches. The total precipitation for the eight month period beginning August 1st, 1922 and ending March 31st, 1923 was only 4.49 inches, which indicates very clearly why the 1923 wheat crop was so nearly a complete failure.
From the Woodston Argus: Mrs. Warner Young left last Sunday evening on the passenger to visit her mother in Topeka who we are told, is very sick….Mrs. Carrie Ott had the misfortune to slip on the icy sidewalk Wednesday evening and broke her wrist….Myron Chapel had the misfortune to slip and sprain his ankle the fore part of the week and at the present time he is unable to get around…..Mrs. V. Bruton went to Downs the fore part of the week to have some dental work done…. The Revival meeting at the U. B. Church started Sunday night and is now in full progress….Last Friday, while packing ice in his ice house, William Morrissey had the misfortune to drop a cake of ice on his toes.
