****Castor, 99 Years & Holding****

FIRE!!! This announcement, possibly in the middle of the night, would frighten the most courageous.

It is a cry that alerts the neighborhood even today, and all the differences that occur among people are cast aside.  We come together as best we can to fight the dread enemy and come to the aid of our neighbors.

When this dread enemy appeared in the night in 1923, it was a call that touched many.

The fire was at the school, and the means of fighting it were primitive and ineffective.  We imagine the bucket brigades from water wells and a sense of general panic when the crowd realized the flames from the first building to catch fire were spreading to the second building.

There was little sleep in the small village that night, and soon the crowd realized there was nothing left to do but stand and watch.  It was too big a fire to fight.  Both schools, high school and elementary would go.

"The original school buildings were a great loss to the community," said Rupert Sledge.  "We had lively school plays in the community and I was on of the star performers in one of them.  I was six years old and played Tom Thumb."

"The stage and auditorium were located on the second floor of the high school building.  It was situated approximately eight feet south of the elementary building.  The two buildings comprised the complete structure of Castor High School.  The windows of the second floor were eighteen feet from the ground."

"Approximately 150 parents and friends climbed the stairs and crowded into the seats arranged before the stage.  The lighting for the play was primitive, since there were no electric lights at that time.  A single lantern fueled with kerosene hung closely from the pine ceiling of the room.  Parents waited with anticipation and watched as the curtain opened and the play began."

All attention was focused on the child "stars" and fire threatened the large crowd assembled on that second floor of the building.  The lantern was too close to that pine ceiling, and soon a circle of red and black embers appeared.  One can imagine the panic and the resulting tragedy of that night if someone had _?_ ___?_____ ____?_____ (a few words missing from copy) fingers for life," Sledge said, "but lives were saved by his action that night.  Three years later I watched both buildings burn to the ground."

Rumor has it that the fire started from cigarettes of some careless people meeting after hours to engage in gambling activity.  there was blame fixing the next among those walking among the ashes of the once-proud buildings.  The fixing of fault resulted in nothing more than talk.

Soon, the community went to wok finding places for the students who had attended the first Castro Schools, and classes were established in Churches, and the Woodsmen of the World building until a new school building could be built.