Arson at Cusick: $200 Reward for the Fiend Who Tried to Burn the F.O.A. Hall
Someone piled slabs against the northwest corner of the Cusick hall and set them ablaze before dawn Friday. F. M. White spotted the fire and put it out before the town could burn.
Some party or parties made an attempt to burn down the F. O. A. hall at Cusick Friday morning. The fire was discovered by Mr. F. M. White and put out before much damage had been done. The fire was started near two o'clock in the morning. Slabs and edgings were piled upon the northwest corner of the hall and set on fire. A north wind then blowing was evidently intended to make short work of the hall and perhaps more of the town. A reward of $200 has been offered by the citizens of Cusick for the detection of the guilty party or parties. The citizens of Cusick have hired a watchman to patrol the town at night.
“A north wind then blowing was evidently intended to make short work of the hall and perhaps more of the town.”
Small-town arson attempts are rare today, but the instinct to post a reward and hire a night watchman when the authorities can't be everywhere echoes the way rural communities still pull together around crime — and the fear that a single fire could take a whole town.
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