Selected from the pages of the Windsor Locks Journal and lightly annotated by Wendy Taylor, Kent Memorial Library.
April 2
A fire…destroyed a five acre tobacco shed owned by Henry Easterby on the wood road to Windsor Locks. The fire, however, was not discovered until several hours after it had burned, as it was in a patch of woods off from the main highway…Mr. Easterby saw smoke arising in the woods and upon investigation found the ruins. The fire was seen from Windsor Locks, but could not be located. The loss with lath and poles, also owned by Mr. Easterby, was estimated at $3,500. In the shed was about six acres of bundled tobacco owned by Thomas Cahill. Mr. Cahill’s loss is about $1,500. The tobacco was to have been taken into Edwin Seymour’s warehouse the latter part of the week to be sorted.
This is due, the owners claim, to the fact that their money is tied up in tobacco in the hands of the association.
A fire, believed to have started from an overheated oil stove, destroyed a small frame building on the Robert Gregg farm [in West Suffield]…The house was owned by Mr. Gregg and occupied by James Babcock. All the contents were lost…Mr. Babcock, who has been living alone for several years, was taken to the Brightside home for aged men in Holyoke.
A large house that had been used as a boarding house for employees at the Hatheway & Steane plantation near the mountain, was burned to the ground…A family had but recently moved into the house and they lost nearly all of their furniture.
April 9
A large frame barn, at the rear of the Bissell property on Main street, belonging to the L. P. Bissell estate, was totally destroyed by fire…The fire was discovered about 3.30 by B. J. Ahrens, who lives on adjoining property, the barn then being a mass of flames.
The loss of the structure itself was about $6,000…Stored upstairs was a quantity of valuable antique furniture owned by Mr. Ahrens and A. G. Bissell. The loss on this was about $2,000, not covered by insurance.
The fire department had to fight strenuously for about an hour to keep the fire confined to the barn. Many people volunteered and assisted the firemen in protecting adjoining property. Sparks from the burning building were carried a long ways, falling on other buildings in showers. …The heat was so intense that firemen on the hose lines had to be protected by having wet coats and other articles kept in front of them.
Despite the rain, there was a large crowd at the auction of George A. Sheldon…Mr. and Mrs. Sheldon are now located in their new home, the Arthur Bissell farm.
April 16
Dog taxes are due and payable May 1st. The fee for the registration of dogs this year has been raised to $2 for males and $10.25 for females.
Two grass fires called out the fire department…The worst one was at the rear of the Old Manse, north of the Second Baptist church, which threatened several buildings before it was extinguished. The other fire was in a vacant lot on the Thompsonville road.
April 23
Extensive repairs are being made to the iron work on the Suffield Thompsonville bridge.
April 30
The continued cold weather has held back the farmers in their work and it is claimed that the season is at least two weeks behind. Tobacco beds are coming along slowly, but many of the growers have had to make their beds over. About the only planting that has been done is potatoes and onions and the weather has been almost too cold for them. When warm weather does arrive summer temperature may be permanent and vegetation will soon make up the time lost.