Enterprise Album
On January 22, 1968, 58 years ago, an early morning fire destroyed the two-story brick building at 146 West Main Street that housed Barnesville Dry Cleaners. Classes at the high school were canceled due to the intense heat and smoke.
The Enterprise reports the fire likely started between 6-6:30 a.m. Bob Outland discovered the fire when he arrived for work. He attempted to call the fire department but the phone was already out.
Local insurance agent Hilda Truax lived upstairs. Walter Cook realizing she was likely still in the building broke down the door to the apartment. That awakened her. He was able to get her out of the building. The Enterprise account headline was “Walter Cook Saved My Life.”
The building was rebuilt as a one-story affair recessed from the W. Main sidewalk.
The Dry Cleaners closed many years ago. Since that time, it has served as the home of Domino’s Pizza.
In the photo above, taken from S. Broadway, Mayor Nick Majors, center, is shown speaking to Bill Ball, a member of the Board of Public Affairs (water board), who is wearing coveralls.
In this photo taken from West Main Street, Barnesville firemen are shown shooting water up into the air over Adelyne’s Beauty Shop, operated by Adelyne Williams and housed in the frame building that stood to the east at 140 W. Main.
At the time a News-Register photographer snapped these photos, Jo Mott was the Barnesville correspondent to the Wheeling daily. She covered public meetings, wrote features and occasionally wrote breaking news articles, including this story.
During that same time, in addition to supporting two weekly newspapers, there were Barnesville correspondents covering local news for The Times Leader, Daily Jeffersonian , Wheeling News-Register and Zanesville Times Recorder..
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