The Fire

On Tuesday evening, November 13, 1951 the clubhouse was devastated by a major fire. Two dinner meetings were going on with about 200 guests when the fire broke out, assumed to have been started by careless smoking. All of the guests and employees were able to evacuate to safety, but over forty fire fighters and reservists from next door were injured fighting the blaze. When the fire was extinguished the top floor was gone. Club members, led by Mike Belinson, rebuilt the clubhouse the following spring to its present general appearance. The third deck ballroom was now the attic and the wide second deck veranda had been incorporated into the dining room which now occupied most of the second deck. The title of “Ship’s Husband” was created for Mike Belinson, and a tradition of Fire Nite Stag parties was started to comemmorate the recovery and the cameraderie it inspired