Fire of April 28, 1967

ebook History of Watertown, Wisconsin

Kresge Store Bldg. is Struck by Fire

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04 28 1967

Origin Is Not Determined; Loss Is Around $1,500

The S. S. Kresge Co. store building in downtown Watertown was struck by a fire of undermined origin early last night and resulted in damage estimated at $1,500. One fireman suffered smoke inhalation and two others were injured.

The fire alarm came in by telephone at 5:38 p.m. after Dennis Nelligan, manager for the Watertown Office of Household Finance, located on the second floor of the building, noticed the lights in his office flicker and then go out.

He went into the hall and detected the odor of smoke, then hurried to the store downstairs to see if anything was wrong there. He revealed that he had smelled smoke and a telephone call was put in to the fire department which responded with all major equipment, including the big aerial ladder.

The fire started in the southwest corner of the top floor which is not occupied. The fire created dense smoke and began to burn through the roof. The smell of smoke was noticeable for several blocks at one point of the fire.

Early evening shopping crowds and people going home from work were attracted to the scene. The downtown section, already affected by the reconstruction of Main Street, was soon jammed with traffic and police had to re-route it to keep cars away from the fire area.

All off-duty firemen were summoned and helped in fighting the fire and clearing the upper parts of the building of smoke, as well from the attic of the adjoining J. C. Penney Co. building.

Tarpaulins were used to cover goods in the Kresge Co. quarters to prevent water damage after water began to seep through. Quantities of sawdust were employed to soak up water in parts of the building. Some of the windows were covered with roofing materials following the fire after the glass was broken.

Assistant Fire Chief Walter Schuenemann suffered an ankle injury, Capt. Harold Hell received burns on his right arm and the palms of both hands and Lt. Donald Asmus suffered smoke inhalation.

All firemen were back at headquarters at 8:11 p.m., but later two were assigned to make additional checks of the building to see that everything was in order.

William Guyette, senior assistant manager of the Kresge store who has been in charge of its operation, said this morning "We are open for business. ... it could have been a lot worse and we were very lucky."

HOUSED FAMOUS STORE

The building occupied by Kresges was once the home of Watertown's largest and finest department store, a business place which attracted customers from many parts of southeastern Wisconsin, the Schempf Bros. Co. department store. The store was famous for the variety of its merchandise.

Schempfs were a pioneer family in Watertown and the store was in operation under the Schempf name and ownership for 88 years opening in 1848, exactly 12 years after the first white settler in Watertown, Timothy Johnson, arrived here. It closed its doors on May 16, 1936. Later the store and building was occupied by Montgomery-Ward and Company, after which the Kresge Co. took over the building.

For years Schempf Bros. Co. used the slogan, "The Big Cash Store." Dating back to 1848, the concern was incorporated in 1896 as a stock company with a capitalization of $50,000, a considerable sum at that time.

STORE'S OFFICERS

Associated with it were Leonard Schempf who served as president, John Schempf, vice president, Edward L. Schempf, secretary treasurer. Later Max Kusel became associated with the store and remained with it until his death. Edward L. Schempf, the last member of the family to be associated with the store, died in Texas in the 1950's and is buried here in Oak Hill Cemetery, as are other members of the family.

His former wife, now Mrs. Grace Brandt, resides in California.

GOODS, STOCK SOLD

At the time the store closed in 1936, an announcement stated that its stock and goods had been sold to the Figge Stores of LaCrosse.

Closing the store brought an end to an era in Watertown. The store for many years had maintained a large grocery department in addition to its general dry goods. It was a favorite gathering place for city and rural folk. In the early days farmers brought their butter and eggs to the store to be sold for cash or taken out in trade.

Later, as new merchandising methods were introduced, the store was given over exclusively to dry goods. It had both a men's and women's fashion department, yard goods, perfumes, gift articles of all kinds and many other departments.

The store maintained an elevator and had a unique cash system, employing an overhead shuttle service which always delighted and intrigued youngsters who came into the store with parents or other adults.

Schempf's store was often referred to as "The Marshall Fields of Watertown."

It was the kind of business place that not only attracted throngs of out-of-town people to its store but by coming here out of town shoppers also patronized many other business places.

The late William Sproesser, a longtime jeweler here, often credited the Schempf store with being a drawing power for other business places. He said that when people came to Watertown to shop at Schempf's they were also attracted by merchandise on display in other store windows and entered those places doing additional and specialized shopping.

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