Tucson, Tuesday, January 23, 1934 --
Fire sweeps through the Congress hotel causing $100,000 worth of
damage.
Awakened by a frantic 7:30am call from the day clerk, Ms. Helga
Nelson, explaining the hotel is on fire, you waste no time in exiting
your room and heading down to Congress Street below. Walking around the
pumpers, you find a vantage spot in the gathering crowd, all watching
the flames and smoke billowing out the windows. A water drenched guest
passes by dropping a picture. You reach down, pick it up and hand it
back. "Oh, that is just my mother-in-law.
This is
a good excuse to lose
it," comes the reply.
By now the entire Tucson fire department is present, and a ladder
truck is busily evacuating guests from the third floor. Unbelievably,
two men are risking their necks to carry down a couple of suitcases.
"What could they be thinking? Dragging out suitcases when your room's
on fire," you wonder aloud.
"You wouldn't believe it, Mister," says a young bystander, "those
two guys just paid me ten bucks just to watch the suitcases. Ten bucks!
That'll help pay my room and board at the University."
By 8 o'clock the roof collapses and a cupola over the entrance
crashes to the ground. The police start to push bystanders back for
their safety, so you head up Congress Street in search of a couple of
eggs, toast, and a cup of coffee ....
Thanks to overLIB for the popups. |
Copyright © 2003. S. Halversen. All Rights Reserved. |