One of the great things about working for a community newspaper is getting to know the community. Of course, I’ve lived here all my life, and worked here for quite a few years too, so I’m familiar with most folks. But it’s always good to meet new people. And it’s always good to kick back and share some memories with some of the “old timers” I remember hearing about when I was growing up.
One topic that is always of interest among longtime Easley residents is the fire that destroyed Ellenburg Furniture in the 1970s. I’ve seen some fantastic photos from the fire — we ran one on this page just a few weeks ago — but I really knew little about it.
My memories of Ellenburg Furniture are very limited. My grandmother lived next door to Charles Ellenburg at 115 Ellenburg Drive when I was growing up. My brother still has memories of going next door next door and having a tomato sandwich with the Mayor of Easley. My sisters were friends with Kim, and even though I was a pre-schooler, I realized that Kim was a very attractive girl.
But I didn’t really go to the furniture store very often. I remember once my uncle Cecil took me there, and one of the workers had some kind of gadget that was supposed to be a cage for an animal. If you touched a certain spot, a spring-loaded weight with a furry tail attached would pop out and scare you.
Former Easley Fire Chief Jimmy Cobb came by Monday with a few items, and he took time to share some stories about the Ellenburg fire.
One thing I didn’t know was that it wasn’t the first fire at that location. There had been a fire there in the mid 1960s — under a different ownership — that did some damage, but did not destroy the building. Repairs were made, and the building was put to use again, until it was destroyed entirely by the fire in the 1970s.
I had heard that the building was originally Whitmire’s Grocery, but I didn’t know that Charles Ellenburg Sr. had run a furniture store there in the 1950s. His son, Charles Jr., was the owner of the store when it burned. Mr. Cobb couldn’t remember the name of the person who operated a furniture store there between the two Ellenburg ownerships.
One thing that always struck me as funny was how the Ellenburg building was completely destroyed, but the Peppers Hardware building was basically unharmed. Mr. Cobb explained that to me.
“The Peppers store was kind of a pawn shop, and (Mr. Peppers) had a lot of war relics in there,” Mr. Cobb said. “All sorts of stuff — including some old hand grenades. I didn’t know how much stuff he had, but I knew if the fire reached there, the whole block could explode. So I had my men coat the area between the stores with a constant fog of water.”
The fire was intense, and Mr. Cobb had an idea of why.
“Years ago, people used to use motor oil to clean their hardwood floors,” Mr. Cobb said. “They would get a few bottles of motor oil, pour it on the floors, mop that up, then sweep up behind it. I don’t know the logic behind it, but people used to do it. So those old floors in that building probably were soaked in motor oil for years and years.”
Cobb was never able to determine a cause for the fire. But it was not from a lack of effort.
“I spent I don’t know how many hours sifting through the ashes, trying to find clues,” Cobb said. “After all, Charles Ellenburg was the mayor of Easley, and this store belonged to his son, so I knew people would be asking questions. But in the end, I never found any proof of one thing or another.”
For years that lot was vacant, but a few years ago a smaller building with three business places beneath three apartments was constructed there.
Post a Comment
