Fire at 3:15 am Friday damaged the Marion Bowl on Rt. 13 west of Marion. Fireman who fought the blaze for nearly two hours and prevented total loss of the elaborate bowling establishment expressed the opinion that the fire started from electric wiring in the attic. Although an estimate of the damage was not available it was expected to run close to $20,000. The bowling alleys themselves were not damaged, but manager Hank Wines said the establishment would be closed indefinitely because of the damage to the building. The Bowl dining room will also be closed indefinitely. The fire apparently started in the attic over the kitchen of the Bowl café, and spread through the attic over the bowling alleys. It was discovered by Ralph Horsley, bread salesman for the Marion Baking Co. He saw the smoke from the building as he was preparing to go to work and gave the alarm. Firemen battled dense smoke to get at the seat of the fire. Within minutes after the fire truck reached the scene, all members of the regular fire fighting force were on the job including those not on duty at the time. Smoke masks enabled them to fight the fire at close range and they confined it to the upper portion of the building. The worst damage was over the café where the fire broke through the ceiling.

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