Damage estimated at about $4500 was done by fire, smoke and water at 5:30 pm Monday when a blaze resulted from an explosion in the rear of the Provart Confectionery and lunch room on N. Market St. The explosion is believed to have been caused by a gasoline stove. No one was in the room at the time. Mr. Provart was in the front of the confectionery when he saw a flash of flame reflected in the glass front of the store and heard the sound of a slight explosion. When he reached the rear room where he had been cleaning some frying pans a short time before the room was in flames. The fire department reached the confectionery within a few minutes and after a stubborn battle with fire and smoke extinguished blaze. The firemen were handicapped in discovering the seat of the fire because of the smoke and fumes which arose from fire within a small room used as a kitchen. The damage from water was considerable in the ground floor room and smoke filled the rooms of the apartments of Mr. and Mrs. E.E. Clark as well as the store rooms of the Heyde Hardware Co., Sam Miller Shoe store and Heyde Music Co. on the south. The threat of the fire was made more serious by the fact that there is no fire wall between the confectionery and any of the rooms north of the Duty building on the south corner of the block, and but for early discovery, the blaze might have been disastrous. As a result of the fire the confectionery was closed Tuesday, but is to be repaired and re-opened. The loss was covered by insurance.

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