From the Glenwood Herald November 10, 1911
Conflagration at Lowry!
The principal business block in Lowry was totally destroyed by fire last Sunday night. Four business houses, one dwelling house and two barns were totally destroyed by the flames.
The fire was discovered at about 11:30 Sunday evening. A lady leaving on the train saw the reflection of the flames in a window. An investigation was made and it was found that there was a fire in the back room of the Mercantile Company's building. The fire had already gained considerable headway and as the oil was stored in this room it was impossible to try to stop the spread of the fire.
A large oil tank soon exploded and the fire was spread in all directions. A living house nearby caught fire and burned down. The inhabitants of the house were away and all they possessed was destroyed. A family who lived over the building occupied by the Mercantile Company saved themselves by crawling out through the window to the roof of the implement house and came down by means of ladders.
The fire company was called out at once and did excellent work in keeping the fire from spreading. The buildings were built of hardwood so that the heat was intense. Nevertheless the Lowry fire boys took their hose to the street west of the burning buildings and set to work to save the buildings across the street. They used doors and wagons and other things for screens but these continually caught fire and burned up for them.
All the windows in the buildings across the streets were broken and fire started inside of the buildings. But the firemen were able to save them, although it was necessary also to watch the mill north of the burning buildings and also the buildings east of the fire zone.
The business houses destroyed were the implement house belonging to John Hagstrom, The Lowry Mercantile Co., The Lowry Drug Co., and the Smith & Velander harness shop. A very conservative estimate of the loss, exclusive of the damage done to the buildings on the west side of the street is $40,000. The insurance amounts to less than one half of this.
The Lowry Mercantile Co. suffered the biggest loss and had the largest insurance. Some stock carried in the harness shop was saved, but on this there was no insurance, which also was the case with Russell Benson who lived in the residence that was burned.
It is as yet not known whether these buildings will be rebuilt.
The men at the fish hatchery are busy at the present time taking the trout eggs. Some have been taken already and the process of hatching has been started. Mr. Pinkerton reports that he expects to get about 500,000 trout eggs this year. Last year he had 315,000.
The hatchery last year hatched out more than 2,000,000 trout. Mr. Pinkerton has ordered 2,000,000 for this year so that it is expected that about 2,500,000 trout will be hatched. The process of hatching will continue all winter. It is quite interesting to visit the hatchery at the present time to see the taking of the eggs and the process of hatching the eggs being started.
