This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: Moss, Maple Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/5d.2ADI/3488 Message Board Post: Payette Independent Payette, Idaho Friday, July 15, 1904 PAYETTE CREAMERY PLANT GOES UP IN EARLY MORNING BLAZE Combustion of Gases in Furnace Causes Disastrous Fire Resulting in Total Loss of $5000, of which $1500 Was Covered by Insurance Held by the Local Company Which Owned Building And Much of Machinery While Manager Maples Loses $2000. Shortly before 5 o’clock yesterday morning, fire broke out in the Maple Leaf Creamery plant and within a short time the building was totally destroyed together with practically all of the machinery and a large amount of butter. It is estimated that the total loss was nearly $5000, of which amount $1500 was covered by insurance held by the Payette Creamery Company, which owned the building and some of the principal machinery, all valued at $2500, while Manager W. L. Maple says that his loss will reach $2000. He had no insurance. Mr. Maple places his loss upon butter alone at about $1000, as he says he had in storage over 6000 pounds of besides which he owned a separator and a number of the tools and had on hand 200 pounds of cream for churning that morning, 200 butter boxes, 10,000 new wrappers, which he had just received, about $60 worth of machine oil, two tons of coal, and other material of value. The Payette Creamery company owned the building, churn, engine, boiler, vats and other machinery. The fire was started by a combustion of gases in the furnace which caused live coals to be thrown out into the coal bin among kindling wood and other dry material while a large amount of machinery oil, which was setting near, became ignited and added greatly to the fury of the flames. Mr. Maple was in the building at the time, having just started up steam in the boiler, but the blaze burned so fiercely and spread to rapidly that he could do nothing whatever to stop it, although he spread the alarm quickly and help soon arrived. Had it not been that the morning was a perfectly calm one it is entirely probable that much more damage would have been done to property in the vicinity. As it was, strenuous efforts had to be put forth by men with buckets to save the sheds and lumber of the Thompson Lumber Company, whose grounds are just east of the creamery site. Luckily a ditch runs nearby from which the water was secured with much greater convenience than it could have been pumped, enabling the impromptu bucket brigade to make their efforts more effective. The creamery plant was put in a number of years ago by a company composed of local people at a cost of $3750 including the site. Some other improvements were afterwards added. A. B. Moss is president of the company at the present time and D. C. Chase is secretary. It is not probably that another plant will ever be installed by the company as the creamery was never supported by the farmers as had been expected. It is understood, however, that Mr. Maple had been making a success of it as a private enterprise and may make arrangements to install a new plant in the future.