From the Pottsville Republican and Herald, 15 November 1966:
VALLEY VIEW PLANT DESTROYED BY FIRE
Valley View Enterprises, a one-story cinder block construction building, was destroyed by fire that started in the boiler room at 6 o’clock this morning.
The blaze was discovered by Mart Zerbey, an employee, when he reported for work. He poured water on the fire and thought it had been extinguished, but within minutes, it broke through to the ceiling of the boiler room and the roof of the factory building.
Firemen from Valley View, the company being located just 150 feet across the street of the burning building, Hegins, Sacramento, Klingerstown, and Gratz were hampered by low water pressure in their futile efforts to save the structure.
The fire was at its height when the roof of the structure fell through, and at noon today, only the east wall of the building was standing. Firemen, with the aid of a front-loader, were pushing in the west wall in order to confine the smouldering remains from further outbreak.
Volunteers managed to remove most of the machinery from the building when the fire was concentrated in the area of the boiler room, and temporarily stored it in garages and warehouses in the community. Also saved were the finished dresses, gowns, and nightwear that were ready for shipment.
The plant is located in Valley View, on West Maple Street, to the rear of the Valley Citizen, a weekly newspaper, which was threatened by the flames. It was the major industry in that borough, employing 100 women being established 40 years ago. Originally a wooden frame structure, it was recently reinforced with a cinder block foundation and asbestos shingling.
Oscar Stutzman was the manager of the plant, and had just been discharged from a hospital three days ago after recuperating from a heart attack.
Firemen believe that the loss was insured and seem certain that the building will be replaced.
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For other blog posts related to this industry, see Valley View Enterprises.
Special thanks to Jerry Umholtz of Valley View for a collection of news articles and pictures related to the fire, rebuilding, and re-opening of this plant. His grandmother was one of those who worked at the plant and his father was across the street waiting for the school bus when the fire broke out. The headline image from the Pottsville Republican and Herald is from Newspapers.com.
Corrections and additional information should be added as comments to this post.