There’s more to the story of the Whitney store fire | A Glance at the Past

Published 2:00 pm Monday, December 19, 2011

By Harriet Muhrlein

Mike Whitbeck had purchased the former Whitney store on the corner of Highway 104 and Miller Bay Road. He moved the store back from the highway.  This was done by jacking up the store and placing log rollers under it to move it.

The store was closed on Christmas Eve; a fire started inside the building.  While the main structure was not completely burned, the heavy smoke permeated the building, forcing owners to have it rebuilt.

What a horrible Christmas Day, knowing that one’s business had been destroyed by heavy smoke. In addition to that, the cause of the fire was first thought to be arson.

That rumor has persisted over the years.

Just a couple of months ago, I received a phone call about the store and the fire from a very knowledgeable person. The information he gave was very informative and most plausible.

First, the fire was not arson. However, it took serious examination to determine the cause.

A fluorescent light was usually left on when the store was closed. This fixture was above the magazine rack.

Sometime Christmas Eve after the store closed, the ballast in the fluorescent lamp failed. The parts within the ballast provided the voltage to start the lamp working. Those parts were filled with oil and as they failed the oil began to burn. The burning oil dropped onto the magazines, which burst into flame.

I was told that so much smoke permeated the interior that the entire building needed to be replaced. The new larger building housing the Kountry Korners Store and the other businesses opened in 1986.

This column is brought to you by the Kingston Historical Society. We meet on the fourth Wednesday of the month, 10 a.m., at the Kingston Community Center. Please plan to join us.

— Harriet Muhrlein is president of the Kingston Historical Society. Call (360) 297-2448, email harrietmuhrlein@comcast.net, or write P.O. Box 333, Kingston, WA 98346.