Father's Day Fire historical marker to be dedicated
Downtown Iola suffered a major blow when a fire destroyed seven buildings on Father's Day, June 20, 1999. The fire devastated one-half of the west side of Main Street.
In recognition of the major event in local history, the Iola Historical Society (IHS) will place its second Historic Iola marker at about 5:45 p.m. Thursday, July 22, during the Thursday Night on Main event. This marker will recall the Father's Day Fire and be placed in a planter in front of the Physical Therapy Associates office in the new Main Street business strip. The two-sided marker tells the history of the fire and has two vintage Main Street photos depicting the buildings that were burned to the ground.
The Iola-Scandinavia Area Chamber of Commerce and the Hometown Program's popular Thursday Night on Main summer events are held on the very land that once had the century-old historic buildings until the fire.
Invited to attend are the 13 central Wisconsin volunteer fire departments that helped battle the blaze. These fire departments have been asked to wear full dress uniforms and to bring one or more of their firetrucks.
The Iola and Rural Fire Department has already agreed to bring its trucks to the event, and also made a financial donation toward the marker. The firefighting trucks will be on display near the marker for viewing throughout the evening. More than 200 firefighters were involved in the effort to keep the fire from spreading any farther.
The Father's Day Fire marker is No. 2 in a series that will be erected in the Iola area in the coming years. Historic Iola Marker No. 1 was dedicated last February at the Iola Winter Sports Complex's chalet in honor of the 100th anniversary of the Iola Winter Sports Club. A future additional display at the site of the Father's Day Fire marker will show pictures of the fire and the firefighters battling the blaze, taken by local residents and media.
The historic marker program is accepting donations to help offset the cost of manufacturing the markers, which are cast by Sewah Studios in Ohio.
The historic marker program was suggested to the IHS last September by area resident and member Greg Loescher, who chairs the program. He noted on a 2009 visit to Paducah, Ky., that they had dozens of markers throughout the downtown and even on back roads far outside of town, marking a wide range of events, people and buildings. He thought a similar program in Iola with its long history would be educational to both local residents and visitors.
For more information, call the IHS at 715-445-4652, access the chamber's website at www.ischamber.org, or visit the Historical Complex from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. any Saturday throughout the summer.
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