The historic O.T. Johnson Department Store building in downtown Galesburg burned to the ground overnight, last night. My own community, Monmouth, sent about half its fire department -- crew and truck -- to assist in fighting the fire, but nothing could be salvaged of the original structure. Worse, the old brick building was next door to the Red Cross offices for the city, and it looks as though they will need almost as much help as some of the folks who lived in apartments in the Johnson building.
The blessing is, nobody was seriously hurt in this gigantic blaze. A few lost their living quarters and contents therein, and surrounding buildings lost a few windows, but the people all made it out uninjured.
The Red Cross folks are in wait-and-see mode, though, until they can inspect basements, and see how much can be salvaged of their basic supplies. Keep your fingers crossed, & hope the worst is over, there.
Update, Tuesday afternoon (without the Moody Blues): It was pleasant to see the local news affiliates, last night and in the early morn today, waxing poetic about the old building and its erstwhile occupants -- they mentioned that Ronald Reagan's dad worked there as a shoe salesman, and Carl Sandburg used to have frequent book signings in the department store, as well.
The landscape changed philosophically, then the fire changed it physically.
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