Mossman Guitar Building Fire in Arkansas City Traveler on February 1, 1975
Collection: Winfield Notable Artists
Title
Mossman Guitar Building Fire in Arkansas City Traveler on February 1, 1975
Subject
S. L. Mossman Co.
Arkansas City Traveler
Newspaper Article
Description
Arkansas City Traveler photo and article about the fire at S. L Mossman Co. on February 1, 1975.
Creator
Arkansas City Traveler
Source
Winfield Public Library
Publisher
Winfield Public Library, Winfield, Kansas USA
Date
1975-02-01
Rights
Format
text/plain
Language
English
Type
Clippings
Citation
Arkansas City Traveler, “Mossman Guitar Building Fire in Arkansas City Traveler on February 1, 1975,” Winfield Digital Collections, accessed June 24, 2026, https://winfield.digitalsckls.info/item/183.
Text
Arkansas City Traveler
ARKANSAS CITY, KANSAS, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1975 TEN PAGES PRICE 15c
Mossman Guitar Is
Burned To Ground
They’ll be singing the blues tonight. With feelin’. The S.L. Mossman Co., makers of the finest flattop guitars for many of the world’s finest bluegrass and blues pickers, burned to the ground at Strother Field this morning.
“It is gone,” Arkansas City Patrolman Ralph Speer said at 11:30 today.
Speer was ferrying oxygen to Arkansas City firemen, who, with Strother Field and Winfield firefighters, were attempting to get the fire under control after a 9:22 a.m. call.
At a little after 10 a.m., Speer said flames twice as high as the building were coming from every comer of the building. When he returned 20 minutes later, the roof and side of the building were gone.
Neither fire department officials nor owner S.L. Mossman could be reached this morning. They were too busy with the fire.
The cause of the fire was unknown this morning.
Speer reported that as the fire consumed the building and its contents, a 50-gallon drum of what was thought to be lacquer thinner blew up while Arkansas City Lt. Ken Evans was inside the building. Evans was not injured.
The fire was under control but not out by 11:15, Speer said.
“It must have been going pretty good before they arrived,” he said.
Two outbuildings at Mossman’s, one used for storage, were saved.
As off-duty firemen here were called in to stand by while other firemen fought the fire, about 50 persons
gathered near the Mossman plant to watch it burn down. Cowley County (Turn to Page 7)
THE S.L. MOSSMAN CO. WAS DESTROYED BY FIRE THIS MORNING.
Original Format
Paper
Title
Mossman Guitar Building Fire in Arkansas City Traveler on February 1, 1975
Subject
S. L. Mossman Co.
Arkansas City Traveler
Newspaper Article
Description
Arkansas City Traveler photo and article about the fire at S. L Mossman Co. on February 1, 1975.
Creator
Arkansas City Traveler
Source
Winfield Public Library
Publisher
Winfield Public Library, Winfield, Kansas USA
Date
1975-02-01
Rights
Format
text/plain
Language
English
Type
Clippings
Citation
Arkansas City Traveler, “Mossman Guitar Building Fire in Arkansas City Traveler on February 1, 1975,” Winfield Digital Collections, accessed June 24, 2026, https://winfield.digitalsckls.info/item/183.Text
Arkansas City Traveler
ARKANSAS CITY, KANSAS, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1975 TEN PAGES PRICE 15c
Mossman Guitar Is
Burned To Ground
They’ll be singing the blues tonight. With feelin’. The S.L. Mossman Co., makers of the finest flattop guitars for many of the world’s finest bluegrass and blues pickers, burned to the ground at Strother Field this morning.
“It is gone,” Arkansas City Patrolman Ralph Speer said at 11:30 today.
Speer was ferrying oxygen to Arkansas City firemen, who, with Strother Field and Winfield firefighters, were attempting to get the fire under control after a 9:22 a.m. call.
At a little after 10 a.m., Speer said flames twice as high as the building were coming from every comer of the building. When he returned 20 minutes later, the roof and side of the building were gone.
Neither fire department officials nor owner S.L. Mossman could be reached this morning. They were too busy with the fire.
The cause of the fire was unknown this morning.
Speer reported that as the fire consumed the building and its contents, a 50-gallon drum of what was thought to be lacquer thinner blew up while Arkansas City Lt. Ken Evans was inside the building. Evans was not injured.
The fire was under control but not out by 11:15, Speer said.
“It must have been going pretty good before they arrived,” he said.
Two outbuildings at Mossman’s, one used for storage, were saved.
As off-duty firemen here were called in to stand by while other firemen fought the fire, about 50 persons
gathered near the Mossman plant to watch it burn down. Cowley County (Turn to Page 7)
THE S.L. MOSSMAN CO. WAS DESTROYED BY FIRE THIS MORNING.
Original Format
Paper