Fire this afternoon burned out a motor operating the air conditioning unit at Uptown Motel. The blaze, which began during a thunder storm, was quickly extinguished by Marion firemen. There was speculation that the fire may have been caused by the motor’s being overheated, not to being struck by lightning. The thunderstorm began about 1 pm and the fire occurred at about 1:30. An estimate to the damage to the motor was not immediately available. There appeared to be no damage to t he motel. Power was interrupted in some parts of the city.

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