News: Greenwood Midland Cooperative (Fire - 1978)

Contact: Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon
E-mail: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org 

Surnames: Martens

----Source: Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark Co., WI) 12/28/1978

Greenwood Midland Cooperative (Fire - 1978)

Members of the Greenwood Volunteer Fire Department battled a blaze at the Greenwood Midland Cooperative complex early Christmas morning.. The fire was brought under control but not before an estimated $350,000 damage was done to the building and its contents.

It was just after 4:30 a.m., Christmas morning, when the call went out for volunteers. Firemen remained on the scene for several hours. The fire of undetermined origin reportedly started near the front of the hardware store. By the time firemen arrived the roof had collapsed.

The hardware store was located between the co-op’s offices and a service station. All three areas suffered damage with the most severe to the hardware section.

Reported loss by LeRoy Martens, general manager, was the entire hardware inventory and much of the diary equipment. Smoke damage was reported in other sections. A $250,000 figure was placed on lost hardware inventory, which does not include replacement cost for the structure.

Martens also announced that the service station and dairy equipment service have remained in operation. The Co-op’s board of directors is to meet soon to determine if a new hardware store should be constructed.

The co-op also known as Cooperative service-Clark County, operates as an elevator, dairy feed, seed and fuel delivery service as well as another hardware store in Loyal.