The Town That Went Up in Smoke
A major fire at a general store and post office cripples a local business hub in Tonasket.
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.
Word was received here Sunday of the burning at Tonasket of the general merchandise store of W. W. Parry, late Saturday evening. The fire destroyed everything connected with the store, including the big safe in the office. It appears that those in charge of the store had gone to supper and left a fire burning. There was no light burning at the time, and the first warning of the fire was the blaze itself. By the time the building was reached, it was a mass of flames, and it was impossible to save anything. The safe door had been left ajar, which accounts for the safe being destroyed. Connected with the store building was a big warehouse, which was also lost. Located in the burned building was the U. S. post office, and as a result, mail schedules are somewhat mixed. The loss will be a heavy one for Mr. Parry, who had prospered in his home by the river for many years, building up a business that included a ferry, feed stable, saloon, blacksmith shop, and hotel.
“The safe door had been left ajar, which accounts for the safe being destroyed.”
Fire was the single greatest threat to early Washington settlements, where wooden construction and wood-burning stoves often meant the loss of an entire town’s infrastructure in an hour. Today's commercial centers are better protected by building codes, but the vulnerability of the small-town 'hub' remains a constant anxiety for rural commerce.
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