By Thomas Baird (Thomas) on Monday, September 21, 2009 - 05:21 pm:
Here's a memory lane posting, albeit not a happy one, because a piece of U.P. history was torched. The following was written by Grace Engel and published in the Menominee Herald-Leader on April 13, 1966:
"It took just four hours to burn an entire city last night. The logging community of Gibbs City, just north of Iron River, was put to fire which hundreds of persons watched.
"The town was considered a hazard to the safety of tourists and sightseers, and was demolished by a crew headed by Wayne Ross, a logging contractor, and George Pond, relative of the original builders of Gibbs City.
"Removal of the old store safe was one of the first projects for the wreckers. A cable was tied to a bulldozer and attached to the safe still inside the building. With a mighty pull, the heavy safe was pulled through the wall of the store, to land about ten feet from the building. Most of the homes had already been stripped of salvageable material.
"These homes, which had withstood the elements for years, quickly succumbed to the fire. Tongues of flame ate through tarred paper roofs and siding paper. Etched against an early, spring evening sky, each board and rafter glowed fiercely. When weakened timbers caused the walls and roofs to cave in, sparks shot high into the air rivaling any fireworks display. The heat could be felt many yards away, and fire control men constantly warned viewers to move away.
"When flames gutted the interior of the store building, loud explosions from paint cans were heard, plus the sharper report of glass bottles and old light bulbs.
"Smaller homes were burned first, then the two story home of R.F. Gibbs and finally the huge store connection buildings. A parade of fire marched from one end of the avenue to the other, climaxing in a roar of smoke and noise as the last building collapsed.
"Considered one of the most active communities in the U.P. until the lumber mill burned in 1921, Gibbs City today is a pile of blackened boards, broken glass and heat cracked stones.
"Footprints in the snow and mud testify to the great number of onlookers.
"Dozens of curiosity seekers had prowled the buildings for anything that would remind them of the occasion, bits of wood, newspapers, postcards, even part of the ornate post office fixtures.
"Traffic was tied up for blocks. About 600 cars lined the forest highway and side roads near Gibbs City. As one state trooper said, 'This is the first time Gibbs City needed a patrolman in 50 years!'
"Many walked a mile or so from parking places to view the destruction. Visitors came from several Michigan and Wisconsin counties.
"Some of the people in the crowd had lived in the lumber town or nearby in the years past. To some it was a sad occasion. They had seen the town born, now they were watching it die. Within four short hours of black smoke and orange flame.....and colorful memories rising over Gibbs City the town was gone."
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