White Church Burns

Fire broke out in the basement of the White Church, known officially as the Church of Christ at Dartmouth College, at about 10 o'clock, May 13. Within an hour the entire church edifice was demolished and nothing remained but a mass of burning timbers. The suddenness with which the fire struck and the rapidity with which it moved left people stunned and hardly aware of the fact that one of the last of the old landmarks was gone.

When the fire was first detected it seemed to be confined to the basement at the rear of the church. Flames were penetrating the rear wall and smoke was coming out at the roof. It was not long before smoke began to appear in the belfry and this was a sign of the conflagration that was to follow. The flames and smoke were being drawn through the attic space, the full length of the building and the belfry served to aggravate the draft and accelerate the flames. Within ten minutes after the alarm was sounded, and with the fire department concentrating on the back end of the church where the fire seemed to be, a squad of students began to remove the furnishings from the main body of the church. The lights were on, no smoke or flames were visible in the main auditorium and a very orderly and rapid job was done. Two lines of students going down the side aisles and returning down the center aisle gathered up all of the movable objects and them out onto the campus. Then with a lightning-like stroke the entire roof of the church burst into flames. After a minute or two the flames seemed to subside and fire broke out in the belfry

By this time it was obvious that there was no hope of saving the main building. Shortly a section of the roof fell in and carried the fire down to the main floor of the church. The heat was terrific and the flames rose higher than the trees. The efforts of the firemen were directed to the vestry at the west side of the church and at the rear of the building where it was feared that the excessive heat might cause some damage to Sanborn House. One by one the walls began to weaken and fall into the building. Within an hour and a half after the fire started, the fire was under control and the only vestige of the building which had been was the tall chimney that withstood the terrific heat without falling.

The vestry adjoining the church escaped with little damage beyond a severe scorching on its east side. The proposal had been made to move the Church to the site of Rollins Chapel, where in addition to its regular use by the congregation it would serve the needs for which the chapel is now used, and would balance a row of five white Colonial buildings for which early builders of the College had planned. There is now no indication of wha;t plans will be made for replacement.

LIEUT. C. A. PUDRITH '16 Who was killed in an airplane crash in England during the World War