52 Ancestors Week 9: Disaster

Although I have been unable to find an example, surely in my nearly nine years of blogging I have alluded to the fact that my Grandpa Jack's family home burned sometime shortly after he returned from the service in WWII. It is a fact of which I have long been aware, and is the reason that so few photos from Grandpa's side of the family exist. Some of the few that do survive are actually singed around the edges, physical artifacts of that disaster.

For some reason, though, I never could seem to find any independent information on the fire. All I knew was the little that Grandpa told me. However, a mere two weeks ago, I finally found my first independent source: an article appeared in the 18 Aug 1948 edition of the Council Bluffs Nonpareil. So now I finally have a date for that fateful blaze. It must have happened on 11 Aug 1948.

The article reads:

Interior of Home Damaged by Fire

Fire, heat and smoke damaged the interior of the two-story home of Francis A. Hoyt, 1102 South Thirty-fifth street, Wednesday.

Two companies of firemen brought the blaze under control. It is believed a kerosene stove in the kitchen caused the fire. Hoyt told firemen he heard what sounded like an explosion in the stove.

 

Though brief, there is some valuable information contained in that article. First of all, as aforementioned, I can finally put a date to the incident. Secondly, the address is given. From city directories and other sources, I know that the Hoyts lived in that house from at least 1940 and continued to live there until at least 1957. There must have been some serious renovations made. Thirdly, it was a two-alarm fire. This makes me certain that this article is truly the correct event. In the past I have managed to find another article concerning a fire at the Hoyt house, but that one was a minor chimney fire and quickly put out. This one bears much more the character of the fire Grandpa spoke of. Lastly, the article says that the fire was believed to be caused by the kitchen stove. That rings a bell somewhere deep in my memory. It seems that Grandpa once told me that.

Incidentally, the Francis A. Hoyt referred to in the article was Grandpa's dad, my great-grandfather.

Citation:

"Interior of Home Damaged by Fire," Council Bluffs Nonpareil, 18 Aug 1948, p. 12, col. 1; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 9 Feb 2020), World Collection.