Their second fire in about four months gutted the Reach & Son Battery Mfg. plant at 1007 W. Aikman St., Marion Sunday at 9:30 pm officials of the fire department said. It was the third tragedy in the Reach family recently. The founder, Regent D. Reach died suddenly in Marion Memorial Hospital in 1959 and the plant was razed by fire April 8, 1966. Van A. Reach, son of the founder took over the operation after his father’s death. Van died in 1965. The blaze originally was discovered by Mrs. Ollie Mae Reach on her return from church services. She called the fire department and it responded, but flames already had gained such a headway that there was considerable smoke and water damage to the structure. In the previous blaze, the plant in which the Reaco Battery was manufactured was declared a total loss. The new fire was believed started in the bathroom, according to Fire Chief James C. Dungey and defective wiring again may have been the origin. The chief aided his fellow workers, residing at 1004 Aikman St. No plans for future production at the plant were announced by Mrs. Reach. At the time of the original fire the business was being leased by Dale L. Baker, Rt. 2, Marion who said he planned to open the undamaged portion of the building as soon as possible. It was the latter structure that was hit in the most recent fire.

(Extracted from local newspapers and compiled by Harry Boyd, posted at http://www.marionfire.us )