Fire Takes an Old Soldier's Every Saving at Beaver
A state representative's newly built Clallam County home, barn, livestock, and tools were destroyed in a fire — a $3,000 to $4,000 loss.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Everyone will sympathize with Mr. Hoole in the severe loss he has sustained by the complete destruction of his home at Beaver. His savings of years have gone to ashes. He thinks his stock, horses and cattle have also perished. His house, recently built, cost over $1,000, and in his barn he had twenty tons of hay and over $500 worth of implements. The total loss will be between three and four thousand dollars. Mr. Hoole is an old soldier, and with the stoic fortitude of a Union soldier in times of trial he will face his reverse and again bravely begin anew and nearly penniless to restore his fortunes and rebuild a home.
“His savings of years have gone to ashes.”
In rural Washington, a house fire can still wipe out a family's savings in an afternoon, with volunteer fire response and insurance gaps shaping the aftermath. Hoole's loss is a reminder that disaster relief and fire protection have long been unevenly distributed beyond the city.
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