A Green Lake Home Lost to Flames
A handsome residence near Green Lake is destroyed by fire while the family is away, leaving behind only the memory of a swing in the backyard.
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.
The residence of Fred W. Stroud, located on the north side of Green lake, was totally destroyed by fire yesterday afternoon. Mrs. Stroud and her children were away at the time. Motormen and conductors passing on the Green lake streetcars noticed smoke and raised the alarm, but with no water supply available, the house was quickly consumed. Neighbors were able to save Mr. Stroud's library and a few mirrors, but the rest of the home and its contents were lost. As the children returned from school to find their home in ashes, one noted the loss of their garden swing. The home was insured for $3,700.
“Where can we have our swing now?”
In 1894, Green Lake was a developing suburb where a house fire meant total loss due to a lack of city water infrastructure. Today, it is a densely packed neighborhood where concerns have shifted from basic fire-fighting access to housing density and preservation.
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