A rash of fires in the city recently brings to mind how very quickly someone can loose everything they own in a flash fire. With Spring cleaning going on as we speak, it’s a good time to remove all flammable debris from the immediate area around your home or business.

Fires that few will remember include the one in the 1930’s that turned the northeast corner of Second Street at Walnut Avenue into a pile of rubble.

As bad as that one was, it wasn’t the first time that there had been a fire on that corner.

Back at the turn of the last century (1900) a fire destroyed everything that had been built from that corner, northward, to the southeast corner of Second Street at Laurel Avenue.

The late Mary Alice Fontenot once told me that, as a young girl, she was spending the night at a friend’s house on the corner of Third and Walnut on the night of the first fire and remembered that it lit up the night sky as if it were daytime.

In the late 40’s, one of the rice dryers on the north side of town went up in flames, as did the original Queen Theater.

Many of you will remember the fire that took Eunice High School from us.

We remember it well, as burning embers were falling so heavily on our roof that we had to get up there with a water hose to wet it down.

Now that we’re all thoroughly depressed, let’s all go out and fireproof our surroundings.

You can light up the old BBQ pit while you’re at it but watch out for the sparks.

Georgie Manuel.

May 2008.