This is what was happening here 82 years ago today. The fire started in the summer kitchen which stood on the right. It leapt across the breezeway to the main house. The family was attending a funeral. Someone driving by happened to have a camera and later sent the photos.
At the church, someone told them their house was on fire and they rushed home. My dad was 14 at the time and helped frame the current house. Drove a lot of nails.
My mom's aunt owned a "clubhouse" half a mile away. Dad's family lived there when the new house was being built. That's where mom and dad first met. Mom was 10 and dad 14. Took another 17 years before they married.
As a retired firefighter, I saw this kind of event often. What a bitter double tragedy for the family to bear.
@poemblaze Wow. Incredible. It's amazing that you have that photo.
@LiseL It's the only photo we have of the old house.
@poemblaze It's heartbreaking to look at. We have a similar story in our family from around the same time period, maybe ten years later. We only have partial photos of the house -- they mostly show the porch -- because the photographer was focusing on the people. You don't expect a fire. You'd never think to document your house.
My great grandfather was 77 at the time and lived here. The family was attending the funeral of his younger sister Mary.