Fire guts landmark
By MIKE CORN
WILSON -- By day, the basement of the historic Wilson Opera House had been home for soon-to-be 80-year-old Libbie Sebesta, cataloging the history of the Czech Capital of Kansas.
It was a monumental task for her to view the charred, destroyed remains of the building where she had spent so much time.
Instead, she stayed home, jotting down the vast number of artifacts that had been contained in the building's basement, in the event the Opera House foundation carried insurance on the building.
The 108-year-old Wilson Opera House was one of three buildings in Wilson destroyed by fire Friday morning.
A passerby reported embers coming from the building at 2:35 a.m. Friday, contacting Wilson Police Chief Mike Schoenhofer, who remained on the scene throughout the night, diverting traffic around Old U.S. Highway 40, the historic highway that passes in front of the row of buildings.
In addition to the opera house, an adjoining brick-fronted building was destroyed and a wood-frame doctor's office was damaged so much that it was rendered unusable.
Schoenhofer said the fire appeared to start in what is called the Johnson building, in the center of the three-building fire scene.
Inside were a number of items, including antique cars and other collectible items.
Everything but a 1959 Ford parked in the rear was destroyed in the fire.
The destruction was catastrophic, attracting townspeople and 12 to 15 fire departments who came to help fight the fire.
It's not yet known what caused the fire, and Kansas Fire Marshal Rod Oldridge deferred questions to Schoenhofer.
While three buildings were destroyed, four other historic buildings on the block were saved, including the limestone building that houses the American Legion.
The Russell City Fire Department, bringing two trucks to the fire, was charged with keeping the legion building safe.
A ladder truck and a pumper was brought down, said Capt. Shane Preston.
"That was our main concern," he said of the Legion building.
Russell firefighters were called out at about 2:45 a.m., arriving a short time later.
Preston said the opera house was fully engulfed when they arrived.
Russell firefighters focused their attention and their water on the Legion building, spraying it down to keep the flames from spreading.
Preston said firefighters went inside the building every 60 to 90 minutes to check out the situation.
While it's likely the contents of the building could see some damage, either from heat, smoke or water, most of the damage will be contained to the exterior of the building.
The fire scene attracted dozens of onlookers, including Sebesta.
"This is one of the greatest losses that the city could have," she said.
The opera house, she said, was finished in 1901.
"This was the centerpiece of the town," she said.
For Rudy Hoch, the fire signaled the loss of years of memories.
"I saw the Yellow Brick Road in there when it came out," he said, of the Wizard of Oz.
And he said he likely wore out a couple pair of shoes on the dance floor inside the building.
Hoch grew up in the Wilson area, born in 1923.
"I'm going to be 86 years old," he said. "It was a movie theater, a dance place and a gathering place for local people."
While the opera house is situated about a block south of Wilson's historic downtown area, Hoch said it is the center of the town.
Even the doctor's office, he said, is where four of his children were born.
Although Sebesta sought to diminish her role in the museum, she was quick to tick off a list of items contained in the building, and the names of the people who either donated them or were responsible for getting them.
It was all things Czech, including money and books.
She mentioned a 100-year-old sugar bowl, a 102-year-old wedding dress, and she made it clear that many of the people in the community migrated to the United States from Czechoslovakia, with a few coming from Bohemia before Czechoslovakia was formed in 1918.
"There were lots of pictures," she said, "lots of pictures."
There were maps, and Czech eggs.
"Beautiful Czech eggs," she said. "I couldn't begin to tell you some of the stuff we had."
As for Sebesta, it will be a dramatic change in her life, no longer having the museum to toil in.
"I'll keep busy," she said. "All my scrapbooks are down there. They're gone."
"It kind of takes your insides out," Hoch said of the loss of the building. "It's irreplaceable. It's a tremendous loss to the city. But it's gone."