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About The Falls City tribune. (Falls City, Neb.) 1904-191? | View Entire Issue (Jan. 29, 1904)
1 w h aIls ri nut. 4 - . . - - . . - - . - - - . . . . . _ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - , - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - , ' VOLU1VIE I FALLS 'I'Y , NEBRASKA , FRIDAY , JANUARY 29 , 1904. , NUMBER 4 ' - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - . - - - - - - - I , 0" The German . Hall . I Destroyed by Fire - . - - . The German hall was practic- r any destroyed by fire shortly af- ! \ , . ter noon last Sunday. A reher- ' I' sal for an entertainment to be given in the near future , was to have been held in the afternoon , and in order that the haIl should . - be properly heated , the janitor " built a fire in the furnace and then . . . , - left the building. At the time of I' , ' . his departure everything was in good shape. A short time later the fire was discovered and reports . of what happened from that time , on , arc very conflicting. When the fire was first discovered , the ' interior of the bar-room was an , : : ; ablaze and those who have most carefully looked into the causes ; of the fire , are inclined to believe that an overheated register set J . ; . . fire to the floor. Some of those who arrived first at the scene op- , cned an outside door and thus ! h\ i . created a draftcausin ' the flames , ' to spread very rapidly and soon : J , . - _ _ _ - , . . . : .the-interiorof-the entire han was > > ' r A - : . ablaze. The fire alarm was ' .t r : : . : , : sOltnded and although the thermometer - . mometer registered in the neigh- . , horhood of zero a big crowd turn- " cd out. The fire department responded - , , " , . sponded very promptly , but the ' < history of this fire is one long I ' i. ' ' . . . ' . . w chapter of tr ubles. A line of I : ; hose , vas laid from the hydrant . ' at Third and Lane streets but no : \.t' \ - sooner had the water been turned . on than the hose burst and the , 'I : , water had to be shut off. Another - \ , ; : er hose cart was brought and an- I' " ' > . other connection made only hJ be ' ' J r\ d : < ' . - followed by the . same results. , ; ) i- : ' ; ' . . I There was practIcally no water i- . . : i. - : supply and it became apparent t2' : " ' , ; , that the- building was doomed. " I , . By' ' this time the fire had gained ! " , . ' J " . . " such headway that it was possible - . \ ' . \ - hIe only to remove a small part of " . " L , . ' . the scenery and furniture through . ; ; . .1 ; , _ , : the stage entrance. Although - t ! y . . handicapped by lack of water the I" f : "j . , . fire boys worked bra vel ) ' . Where , 't < ever water touched their rubber - , coats it froze instantly. Will . . Goldner , who was helping to f : handle a nozzle sustained a badly I ' cut wrist from shattered window ' . . ! glass , and Fred Noah had his \ ; ( forehead badly cut in the same manner. Soon the flames broke through the roof , the timbers col- ; lapsed , the chimney fell in and # . there was nothing left standing , ' 1 but the bare brick walls. The crowd then dispersed , many car- ' ' rying with them frozen ears as - . - - - ' , - , " " mementos of the German hall fire. Building perts have examined - ed the ruins and declare the outer walls arc still sound and this be- ing the case the twelve-hundred dollars insurance win be enough to rebuild the han and after a settlement has been made with the insurance company steps will be taken in this direction. - - - - - The history of the German hall covers a period of over a quarter of a century. In 1878 a number of the German residents of Fans Cite ; organized a social club to be known as the Deutsche Gessel- schaft , and having purchased < ; lots on Morton street between Third and Fourth , they erected a small one-story building 20x30 feet in dimensions and this was the nu- cleus around which grew the more spacious hall that was destroyed - stroyed by fire on last Sunday. F. Giese was the first president of the Deutsche Gesselschaft and among the charter members were 1\1r. Bertram , Wm. Mast , George Gerhardt , John King , Fred Fischer - er , C. Huber , Fred Weber , 1\-1. Gehling , E. Rau , F. Lange , P. H. Jussen , J. O. Wirth and \Vm. Hoppe. When their first hall was finished it was here tat they met for social recreation. Here at all times the mother tongue was spoken ; here the tender associations - sociations of the Fatherland were recalled , old ties made stronger and the organization became in reality a Gesselschaft , or brother- hood. Others of our German citizenship - izenship sought admission , and were received and the society grew and flourished until the hall became too small and an addition 20x30 feet was built. : Mr. Ber- bam and 1\lr. Lange were the members of the building committee - tee and the cost of construction was $1375. li or a few years this building proved an adequate home and then an increase in the mem- bership and a desire to increase the scope of its social features , rendered still another enlarging of the building necessary. The new addition was 30x30 feet and was provided with a portable stage and a dancing floor. On this little stage was wrought the first beginning cf the German hall theatricals which served to develop so much real ability and to produce a whole array of ama- teur actors. In those days it was " necessary to remove the portable stage before dancing could be indulged - 'dulged in-a process that proved . . . . .1- orious ard unsatisfactory. The constitution of the Deutsche selschaft limited membership tot se who could read , write and speak ttt German language. But others beg n to earnestly desire to participate in the pleasures which the brother- hood afforded its members , and in order that they might do so a sort of auxilliary association was organized. This new organization - tion was known as the Anion Saeng-erbund-a double quartet of singers under tlw direction of Prof. Peterson. The original membership of the Arions was Wm. Albach , L. P. Wirth , Sig- mund Spaeth , Peter Kaiser , Robt. F. T. Preusse , Ernest Bode , Irvin Bode and A. Diesner. The plan of entertainment adopted by the Arions necessitated a larger build- ing and so an addition 20x30 feet with a wing 20x20 feet was con- structed. What was the original German hall became only the stage in the new bui1ding. This stage was fitted with scenery and , all the necessary paraphenalia. A fine dancing floor was provided : the building was heated by a fur- nace , and was in short , complete in every detail. The AriOl1S were enabled to invite to these enter- tainments , many whom the constitution - ' stitution of the Gesse1.haft : excluded - cluded from the lull , and this together - gether with the fact that the entertainments - tertainments were always of a high order of merit , made the German hall a very popular place. It vas this hall that has been destroyed by fire and the many -who have shared in its hospitality - ity trust the indomitable courage of both the Deutsche Gesselschaft and the Arions will enable them to surmount this loss and that the German hall will be lebuilt. LOCAL AND PERSONAL . , - - J. S. Fuller of Verdon was in town Tuesday. Grant Shubert of Shubert was in town Tuesday. F. B. Huffman of Shubert was in town on business Tuesday. Mrs. Win Wigton came down from Omaha Friday afternoon. Lou Turner of Salem made a business trip to tnis city Tues- day . On Monday and Tuesday the public schools were in session but part of the day owing to the trouble in keeping the school rooms properly warmed. - . . . Rev. Elmer Ward Cole \vil1 \ close his work , as pastor of the Christian church next Sunday. Subject of morning sermon "Can we Make Troubles Serve us , " and the evening subject Moses Dis- courag-emen " l ev. J. E , . 1-101- ley succcssor to Rev. Cole , will sing a solo both morning and ' eycning. The choir have pre- pared ; special musical program for'the vening service. You arc given it most cordial invitation to attend these services. If you have been receiving copies of The Tribune please remember - member they arc simply sent as sample copies for the purpose of . introducing thc paper and no attempt - tempt will be ii ade to charge yon for them. They come as the free gift of the pnblishers and may be discontinued at any time. The only way you can prevent this.is to authorize us to place your name on our list. The ladies of the Presbyterian Kensington society and theIr friends will be entertained on Thursday , February 4th at the home of W. W. Lee - ins 'assisted by Mesdames. Boncr atid Htrvey. ; The- cold weather has put a stop to work on the new mill , but the building is almost entirely enclosed and when work is resumed - sumed its completion will only be a matter of a short time. The interior of Hargrave & Ifargrave's clothing store is being redecorated and otherwise im- proved. When the workmen have finished , it will be a pretty fine looking place. The toy merry-go-round on exhibition - hibition in the window at Kaiser & Harnacks is attracting much attention. It was made by Sig- mund Spaeth and shows much ingenuity. Frank Greenwald has had his name added to the sick list. He has been confined to his home the greater part of this week. A big force of men has been at work cutting ice from the Culp lake. It is good ice ' and there is plenty of it. Irs. Pat Gunn was called to Chicago yesterday by a telegram announcing the serious illness of her father. Hon. E. A. Tucker of Hum- boldt was in the city Tuesday attending district court. J. H. McDowell came down from Tecumseh and spent Sun- day in this city. W. S. 1vlettz , who has been ser- iously ill , is improving ' 0 . . + ' W 1.n Y' 1. Y