Fire at midnight destroyed the stock of the Clyde Hankins grocery and feed store on N. Madison adjacent to the hitch yard and badly damaged the building. The blaze discovered at 11:50 pm had already spread throughout the building when it was found. It was believed to have started in the rear of the building in the feed department. Flames had burned upwards through the second story and were leaping through the roof when the firemen arrived. Using every precaution to prevent the blaze from spreading to the adjacent buildings, firemen put both of their fire trucks into action as soon as possible. Streams of water from the two pumpers finally brought the blaze under control and the fire was extinguished about 5 am Sunday. The seriousness of the fire was increased by the fact that other buildings covering almost a block were adjacent to the damaged building on the south and danger of the fire spreading was cause for alarm. The loss is believed to be covered by insurance although the estimate of the damage was not available Monday. The building is owned by the Knobeloch heirs. The stock by Mr. Hankins was a complete loss.

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