Betty's Critters - & History Views

This is my own synopsis of the first "big" fire:   On September 5th, 1920, a fire started in the ice cream parlor owned by L. N. Doughty, at what is now 4102 Main Street.  He had paid a 15-year-old boy $10 to start the fire.  Doughty was charged twice by the Grand Jury, but was never convicted due to insufficient evidence.  The boy confessed when confronted.  The boy stated he had started the fire in a specific place; but the fires inspector said the fire started elsewhere in the business.  The young man was also charged and acquitted by a jury.   The fire was first spotted and and the locals alerted at 1 a.m. Main Street, about 1915 There was a "stiff northwest wind" blowing. The buildings on both sides of the ice cream parlor caught fire.  The island's volunteer fire brigade arrived, but the fire engine would not function. Firemen from the U. S. Coast Guard Stations at Assateague, Wallops and Pope's Islands arrived to help fight the fi...