Orville Bischof

Orville Bischof

A copy of the following newspaper article, hand-identified as being from the May 10, 1956, Tribune, was found in a scrapbook owned by Town Historian Richard Schmal:

Fire Destroys Building At Bischof Farm

Lightning, last Thursday evening, struck a big new cement block building at the Orville Bischof farm on State Road 2, in Eagle Creek township, and the flash fire almost instantly destroyed the contents and the building, which was protected by lightning rods.

Lowell and Hebron firemen accomplished the almost impossible job of saving the nearby buildings, licked by flames forced by the high winds.

The building housed the farm's grinding mill and feed storage bins. A new 33 ft. aluminum semi trailer loaded with feed and two tractors were a total loss. The mill was being industrialized, and new equipment, not yet set up, was destroyed. There was a walk-in freezer in the building, filled with meat for home consumption, and the freezer and contents burned.

The loss will run into many thousands of dollars, Mrs. Bischof told the Tribune. Despite the loss they suffered, they are grateful that no one was working in the building when the flash occurred.

A granary on the John Biegle farm northeast of Crown Point was destroyed by fire, also caused when lightning struck the building, during Saturday night's storm.

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Last updated on May 12, 2006.

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