The Bastrop Advertiser (Bastrop, Tex.), No. 94, Ed. 1 Monday, January 28, 1980 Page: 1 of 10
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Heavy damage
in nighttime fire
is' §astrop Ibbcritstr.
losses from the early hnorning Friday fire that swept through Bastrop Meat Company
and the Oldest Drug Store could climb to as much as a half million dollars.
The rough estimate is based on the value of real estate selling on Main Street, $40,000 to
$50,000 worth of damaged meat, equipment and valuable antiques and other items in the
Oldest Drug Store.
It was the most costly fire in Bastrop since the September 1976 blaze that destroyed
much of Bastrop Junior High School.
Only a week earlier this year another fire did heavy damage to the United Pentecostal
Church on Loop 150.
Firefighters from four jurisdictions battled the blaze in the 900 eastside block of Main for
more than four hours. Crews later had to put additional water on the buildings to mop up
hot spots.
Complete coverage of the fire starts on Page 1 and continues on Page 4 and 5 of this
edition. The information and photographs were compiled by Davis McAuley, Katherine
Reynolds and Kathleen Claps.
Fire raced through a section of the 900 block of Bastrop's historic Main Street early
Friday, destroying Texas’ oldest drug store I left | and the Bastrop Meat Co. Irightj.
Talking over the disaster were (from left] Precinct One Constable Melvin Barnes, Police
Chief and Fire Marshal Adell Powell and Frnest Rios, state meat inspector. Staff Photo by
Davis McAuley.
Bastrop County's Leading \euspaper ■ Since March 1, 1853
Monday. January 28, 1980
Bastrop, Texas
-T- m-nr "Vina
NupfcerM
Four city fire departments battle blaze
By DAV IS McAULEY
A predawn lire fanned
In a snulh wind destroyed
the historic Erhard Drug
Store and Bastrop Meat
Company on the east side of
the900 block of Main Street
Friday.
' ll was a big fire when we
got here it it just got
bigger." said one fire
volunteer.
“W e were lucky to stop it"
at a fire wall between
Frhard's and (iriosenbeck’s
Furniture, said Fire Chief
Carl Spooner (iriesenbeck s
sustained smoke and water
damage.
The fire, reported at 3:10
a.m. by volunteer fireman
Bruce Jackson, was under
conirol by 8 a.m.
About 45 firelighters from
Bastrop. Smilhville and
F.lgin battled to contain the
blaze m the meal market,
where it apparently started.
They were joined by lour
men and a snorkel truck
from the City of Austin Fire
I lepart ment.
There were no injuries.
COLLAPSE
Th(> blazing roof of the
meat company collapsed into
the building even as fire was
spreading mlo t he roof of the
antique filled drug store.
1 "We thought we had it
contained" in the meat
company, said'Spooner. But
smoke soon began pouring
out between the drug store
and (Iriesenbeck s. As fire
spread beneath the drug
store roof, firemen could not
break through to douse
flames from above. Dense
clouds of smoke in the
building hampered efforts to
suppress the fire from
inside.
“The fire apparent ly start
ed m the general area of the
barbecue pit" in the meal
company, reported Police
Chief Adell Powell.
Albert Cassell, an early
observer on the scene,
repor’edlhal before firemen
arris ed, fire and smoke were
pouring out near the top of
the meat market, but no
signs o| lire were visible on
t he ground floor t hen.
Bastrop Meat Company
iounder Clyde (’lardy said
the building had been
rewired about five years
ago. "But that doesn’t mean
an elect rical problem isn’t to
blame," he said.
The drugstore roof burned
and tell into t he building.
F1RFVVAUU
Radial mg heal from the
blazing meat market was
intense enough to ignite
wooden parts of the drug
store, according to Spooner,
but an 18 inch thick fire wall,
between the drugstore and
(inesenbeck’s allowed fire
liter to coni am I he flames at
: h at point.
"We kep' the wall cooled
down" so the interior of
(iriesenbecks would not
ignite, he said. At times
walcr ran I wo feel deep in
t he ant ique drugstore re .
named i he Wick and
Chimney by ow ners Ron and
Mary Hit / of Seabrook.
Spooner said he had only
i he "highest praise" for men
of t he Aust in Fire I lepart
mcnl unit which mounted
two 21'/ inch water lines
from t he top of t he snorkel
truck to pour water into the
inferno from above.
'T appreciate t heir help,"
he said.
F.vcn as smoke poured out
ov or downt own a nd in I ensi
heal kept firemen 30 feet or
more back from the flames,
other volunteers organized
at nearby banks and
churches to supply coffee
Rb»i Ritz I second from left | gets help Friday morning in removing antiques from the
Oldest Drug Store, which he was transforming into a tourist attraction before fire gutted
it. Helping him were Adren long I left I and Fire Chief Carl Spooner I right |. Staff Photo by
Davia McAuley.
and other refreshments to
firefighters.
Mayor J.I’. Sharp, who
manned phones in city hall
for a. time, thanked local
organizat ions, husi nesses
and I he men and women who
i urned out to help.
RUNS
"That’s 15 years of my
life." said Meat Company
founder Clyde Clardy, as he
surveyed the burned-out
ruins Friday. “But when I
saw the drugstore going, I ■
got a lump in my thmat that
just wouldn't go away," he
added.
Bonnie Krhard Zunker,
now of Corpus Christi, w ho
soid the drugstore to the
Ritzes in 1974, said "It's the
end of an era," after she
surveyed the ruins Salur
day. Clayton Erhard opened
his Bastrop drugstore in
1865.
ESTIMATE IMPOSSIBLE
Ritz. said he could not
estimate in dollars t he loss of
old drugstore fixtures, furni
lure, antiques, old photo-
graphs and memorabilia in
the building.
And, I’oV Ritz, a dream had
gone up in Smoke and fire by
dawn.
An employee of NASA in
Houston, Ritz. had planned to
retire to Bastrop in about a
year and a half.
The Ritzes had become a
familiar and welcome sight
on Main Street, working at
renovations to the building
on weekends.
Clardy sold the custom
slaughtering, meat process-
ing and barbecue operation
to longtime employee
Arthur Luna a year ago.
The state license for
slaughterhouse and meat
processing were in (he
process of being transferred
to Luna, said State Meat
Inspector Ernest Rios.
CONDEMNED
Between $40,000 and
$50,000 worth of freshly
slaughtered beef and pork
was condemned by the
inspector Saturday. The
contaminated meat was-sold
to Texas Rendering Com
party for five cents a pound,
said Luna.
Only one freezer oT meat
in the building was spared
front dost ruet ion, he said.
Clardy said the building
was insured for $190,000, but
that was "nowhere near" the
replacement cost of the
building and equipment.
Insurance did not cover the
meal, which is a perishable
commodity, Luna noted.
As many as 60 to 70
slaughtered carcasses, were
in the meat company coolers
and freezers when the fire
broke out, Clardy estimated.
Most were contaminated by
heat. water, ash and
fire produced gasses. Some
wore "charcoaled,” said
Inspector Rios.
g "My main concern was to
get rid of the meat before it
became a health hazard," he
said.
County Judge Jack A.
(iriesenbeck and his wife
Ruby e*)t short an antique
huyiti/ trip ((^Birmingham,
Alafiama when news of the
lire reached them Friday.
Arriving at the furniture,
appliance and antique -Store
about 4:30 p.m., the judge
reported extensive smoke
damage.
Firemen were recalled to
the scene later Friday and
Saturday to douse hot spots
which blazed up again.
Despite the intense heat
at the height of the fire,
some combustibles in the
drugstore remained intact.
Cans of paint were apparent
!v unaffected. An old box of
shotgun shells could be seen
sitting on a shelf.
Friday afternoon, yuopkors
removed items to Safety
fi i*ni the front display
windows of the drugstore
and cut down the sidewalk
awning to barricade the
front of the building.
When the awning came
down, "It sounded like the
lid falling on a coffin,” said
Ritz.
TOURIST ATTRACTIONS
Both t he drugstore and
the meal market had become
tourist attractions.
Even though the drug-
store was open infrequently,
mostly on weekends, visitors
would look at the old
photographs and other items
in the window and ask about
the establishment.
The meat market drew
front throughout the state.
Tourism experts had
advised the Bastrop Cham-
ber of Commerce that the
city had a nucleus of unique
historic attractions with the /6
old county jail, county
museum, oldest drug store,
oldest weekly newspaper
and the 1889 Opera House.
If all the buildings were *
restored, properly identified
and staffed and advertised
on signs along highways,
downtown Bastrop could
draw thousands of extra
visitors and tourist dollars,
t be professionals said.
At present the museum is
open only on weekends. The
old jail has been restored but
little information is available
inside to inspect. The
newspaper. The Bastrop
Advertiser, has no historic
displays since all history files
have either been destroyed
by past fires, stolen or lost.
Continued on Page 5
Man discovered
dead in auto
Olan Elvm Sorrels died in
his car. probably from alcohol
and exposure, in Rockne
Wednesday, Justice of the
1‘eaee Cody Lentz ruk‘d
following an inquest.
Sorrels. 60, was a native of
IVtivtown. HLs present
address w as given as 103 1/2
W. 45th in Austin.
According to information
given to Lentz, Sorrels was
drinking in Leon’s Country
Store Tuesday evening. He
spent the night in his car
across FM 535 from the
store.
Reportedly, Sorrels was
seen alive in his car as late as
1 p.m., but about 2 p.m. he
was reported dead, said
Lentz.
Sorrels is survived by his
mother, Mrs. Hugh Sorrels of
Luting; a brother. Garland
Sorrels, of Austin; and a
sister, Mrs. Iris Wolford of
LuSng.
New church planned
United Pentecostal Church,
heavily damaged bv fire Jan.
19. probably can t be rebuilt
and a new church will have
to be erected, the church’s
pastor. Rev. H.D. Compton
said Sunday.
It looks like ilNt pretty
well totally destroyed," Rev.
Compton stiid after he had
talked with contractor* last
week.
build a new church."
Faulty wiring caused the
blaze that look four hours to
cent aim
The church building, on
Loop 150, was a chapel at
Camp Swift during World
Warll and was later moved
to its present location.
United Pentecostal Church
plans a barbecue fund raiser
jit February, possibly on
, Feb. 23, said Rev. Compton.
”We probably will have to Meanwhile the eongrega
tion is holding services at
Ace’s Bar-b-que, 918 Main
St. to save the cost of having
to rent quarters. Th»
barbeque is owned
Hancock, a church
“Everyone is welcome
attend" Sunday
services at 10 a.m.,
services at 7:30
Wednesday prayer
services at 8 p.m.,
Compton.
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McAuley, Davis. The Bastrop Advertiser (Bastrop, Tex.), No. 94, Ed. 1 Monday, January 28, 1980, newspaper, January 28, 1980; Bastrop, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth737696/m1/1/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Bastrop Public Library.