What might have been a disastrous fire was quickly extinguished early Friday evening due to an early discovery and prompt action by the fire department at the Smart shop on the South side of the Public Square. The fire started in a dressing room in the rear of the ladies ready-to-wear store where a late afternoon customer is believed to have dropped a light cigarette. The blaze was confined to that part of the building and was quickly extinguished with the firemen’s chemical tank. Smoke, however filled the dress shop and seeped through into the rooms on the second floor. Several boys in the recreation hall on the second floor at the time the fire was extinguished quickly made their way out of the building without confusion.

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