After leaving the depot at 1 I went to Assembly Hall to untrim & staid til 3. Ruth Burnside came & came home with me & we visited til after 5. Then I thot I'd change my dress before supper & before I had my skirt on Molly came over & asked me if I wanted to go and see the fire, by that time flames were high above the trees. We hurried & by the time we reached Gilbert Street corner, the flames were so hot & high, we walked out that street & were very excited as we saw one after another house roof catch on fire. We saw 8 right along. I went to Anna Smith's & Molly came home. Helped Anna pack as every one around thot that whole section would have to go - but Oneanta arrived soon - & helped. As it neared night ot rained. The fire was awful & every one was helping to do everything possible. I went over to Aunt Almena's. They were ready to leave - but the wind veered towards the tract & took Bloxham's Feed & coal business instead. Bainbridge, Unadilla, Walton, Oneanta & Norwhich Fire Departments came. Anna & I walked over about 10 (we had supper at 9) & it was very spectacular to see the huge piles of lumber & coal on fire. Household good were piled or thrown everywhere & Mr. Sherwood's lawn resembled a a picture of Belgian Refugees paused for a rest. Every one between the tracks & the river & Novelty Work & Main Sts expected to be burned out. Many places caught from burning shingles.
Went to church today but there was none. Every one helping fire sufferers or working for Red Cross. Bessie & I walked over around devestated region; then I sat for a while on her porch watching the committee stopping autos for fees. Came home, had dinner & am sitting down to write for the first time in 10 days. Have had letters from Ida, Mrs. Bumpus, Helen Sprague, & "Pat" Lapp. May write some later. (Wrote to Louise P.) Sent special fire copies of Record to Don, Lottie, Mae, Berta & R.J.Notes: According to the Oneanta Daily Star the fire mentioned here occurred on Saturday May 25, 1918, so Calla's entire entry that I have been transcribing for days now was all written on the Sunday following the fire.
According to the paper the fire started at the chimney of the Novelty Works, a plant making bathroom fixtures, and spread to another inductrial building close by which stored large quantities of lumber. It then spread to Bloxham's Feed Store where he had just received 3 train cars worth of coal. In all 35 buildings suffered some damage, 15 houses were totally consumed, 18 families were displaced, The storm that Calla mentions also caused damage as a lot of families had removed furniture to their lawns in an effort to save it and it was then drenched by the rain.
The paper estimates that the fire caused $300,000 dollars in total damages. The article makes a detailed account of whose houses were damaged, and how much they lost, as well as how much they expected to recover from insurance.
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