DANA — Paul Conner stood on a downtown sidewalk under a cloudless sky Wednesday and remembered the lively Dana of his 1950s childhood.
In the glare of a morning sun, he recalled a time when a two-block area on Indiana 71, the town’s Main Street, supported five groceries.
Behind him, an occasional scent of burnt wood wafted out of the Dana Tavern, where a fire early Tuesday gutted the contents. The loss of a town business turns Conner’s mood sour.
“It’s absolutely terrible,” he said, as the bill of a ball cap shaded the 65-year-old’s careworn face. “I’ve lived here all my life, and I hate to see any business go down. This was the tavern; I’m not a drinker, but I hate to see it go.”
In the past five years or so, this town of about 700 people has lost seven businesses within a distance of about two city blocks.
First, it lost a chiropractor’s office to fire. In the years since, a drug store/gift shop faltered, an auction house collapsed and a grocery burned down, taking with it a flower shop. In 2005, a woman died in an apartment fire.
It has been two years since the grocery burned, and Conner and other residents of the town northwest of Clinton had hoped their run of misfortune had ended. But now this.
The cause of the fire had not been determined by Wednesday but a gas leak is suspected, said Jeff Knopp, assistant chief of the Dana Volunteer Fire Department.
Dana lost its bar, a two-story building on the east side of Indiana 71, a popular getaway for farmers and townies to down Budweisers and, on Saturday nights, shake and sway to karaoke.
The building’s owner, Jerry Wilson of Terre Haute, emerged from the remnants of its charred interior late Wednesday morning.
“It’s depressing,” he said, somberly. “We just remodeled the whole place.” With his insurance adjuster, he had surveyed the remains where tables and chairs lay overturned, blackened wires dangled and water from firefighters’ hoses still dripped from the timbers above. Wilson said he will rebuild.
Fifteen of Dana’s 22 firefighters were on the scene within minutes of the call just after midnight Monday. Their efforts and those of six other area fire departments helped keep the blaze from spreading south to the Town Hall. A mere 40 inches of space separates the tavern and Town Hall structures.
South of the Town Hall, Charlie Jones has sold insurance for 18 years out of an 1800s-era, two-story, wooden Goliath of a building. He and his wife’s alteration shop are the only tenants, although their grandchildren smile at visitors from poses in photographs positioned around the office.
A short, 65-year-old with a round, friendly face under gray wavy hair, Jones is comfortable in a town where no one wears a tie and everybody knows everybody’s dog’s name.
“The sad part of it is, we not only lost another building, we lost another business,” Jones said of the tavern fire. “When we lost the grocery store, the state would not approve the rebuilding of it because we don’t have a sewer system.”
Jones looked up from his chair in the 3,200-square-foot main floor of the building, whose walls post assorted plaques and pictures, a “Notary Public” sign and a red Diet Coke clock.
Dana has potential, he said. About four miles away, workers soon will convert the Newport Chemical Depot to an industrial park. If they build it and business comes, Dana instantly becomes a viable choice to locate a family for any influx of workers.
“Until we get a sewer system here, how do we attract business?” he wonders.
Lew Peery, a member of the Dana Town Council, said the snag on a sewer project is the cost. The town had an engineering study completed and has applied for grants.
“We have a project that’s ready to go, we’re just waiting for the money,” he said. “The town can’t grow any until we get it done. It’s a priority.”
Back out on Indiana 71, Dana’s main drag, sparrows hopped around to peck for seeds spilled off trucks that rumble toward the town’s grain elevator.
Conner pondered the past and shook his head regretfully, his mirrored sunglasses holding steady to hide the gaze of the retired bus driver.
“I don’t think it can get any worse, can it?” he asked.
John D. Wright can be reached at (812) 231-4355 or john.wright@tribstar.com.
Local & Bistate
Once a lively burgh, Main Street Dana has seen its share of heartache
- Local & Bistate
-
-
Packing the hall
If you didn’t come early, the seats were hard to find.
-
Alternative-fuel project has Rose, ISU students all charged up
The future of Earth’s auto industry is intertwined with the career prospects of local university students, and a world-class team shined with green energy Sunday.
-
Montford Point Marine
In 1943, 19-year-old Ezell Odom was on the sandy beach of a tiny South Pacific island about 7,000 miles from his parent’s home in Terre Haute.
-
K-9 officer Shadow honored as a hero
A Terre Haute K-9 officer injured in the line of duty has been honored as a hero by the Indiana Veterinary Medical Association.
-
Freezin’ for a Reason
Hundreds lined up outside Hulman Center amid frigid air to participate in a warm-hearted cause.
-
Even as law, right-to-work dominates crackerbarrel
The flames of the right-to-work debate were gone, but the coals still seemed to smolder.
-
Vigo School Board to give OK on bonds for DeVaney project
The Vigo County School Board will meet at 6 p.m. Monday in the administration building, 686 Wabash Ave.
-
Bridging the gap to ‘forever’
They can be taken from their homes by strangers for reasons they may not understand, with no possessions other than the clothes they are wearing.
-
Students showcase keen problem-solving skills at Rose-Hulman
For the 16th straight year, Honey Creek Middle School students came out on top in the Wabash Valley MATHCOUNTS competition at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.
-
Ivy Tech to celebrate Black History Month
Ivy Tech Community College will celebrate Black History Month with a series of events at its campuses statewide.
-
Whitney Houston, superstar of records, films, dies
Whitney Houston, who ruled as pop music's queen until her majestic voice and regal image were ravaged by drug use, erratic behavior and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown, has died. She was 48.
-
Giant welcome home for Steve
Terre Haute was suddenly home to thousands of cheering New York Giants fans Friday as residents welcomed Super Bowl champion Steve Weatherford back home for a parade.
-
‘One for Terre Haute,’ Steve tells crowd at North
“This one was for Terre Haute,” native son Steve Weatherford proclaimed Friday as he shared his Super Bowl victory with the community that helped send him on the path to a world championship.
-
Hometown support vital to success, Weatherford says
Steve Weatherford said Friday he wouldn’t be celebrating a Giants’ Super Bowl victory if not for the support he’s received from his hometown, his parents and mentors in his life.
-
Craning for a rare glimpse
A visitor from the Far East has naturalists flying to Linton, hoping some good comes from one bird’s bad directions.
-
Vigo’s primary election filings complete
The slate is set for the May 8 primary election, with the race for three at-large seats on the Vigo County Council drawing the largest pool of candidates at the county level.
-
Documentary on electric vehicles plays Sunday at Rose
The rising popularity of electric vehicles and their impact on the world eco-system is the focus of a documentary, “Revenge of the Electric Car,” being presented at 3 p.m. Sunday in Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology’s Hatfield Hall Theater.
-
Man gets 10-year sentence in battery case
A West Terre Haute man received a 10-year prison sentence Friday after pleading guilty to aggravated battery for beating a friend caught in bed with the man’s wife.
-
Asian hooded crane lands in Greene County wildlife area
Bird watchers are flocking to a southwestern Indiana wildlife area to try to catch a glimpse of a crane usually spotted only in Asia.
-
Slow drips: It’s maple syrup season in Indiana
More seasonal, colder temperatures will hit the Wabash Valley this weekend, which is ideal weather for maple syrup production, said Keith Ruble, superintendent of the Vigo County Parks and Recreation Department.
However, Ruble voices concern that this year’s maple syrup season may be short.
-
Downtown restaurant celebrates expansion
The streets of Terre Haute were chilly Thursday night, but for the glow of hot pasta inside Louise’s Pizzeria and Cafe.
-
Contract signed for new Y
Papers are signed and the ink is in place for a new YMCA to operate in Terre Haute.
-
City to impose $30 release fee on towed vehicles
The Terre Haute City Council voted without opposition Thursday to impose a new $30 release fee on vehicles towed and impounded by the police as part of a criminal investigation.
-
Valley educators cautious on Indiana’s ‘No Child’ waiver
Indiana is one of 10 states to receive a waiver from federal No Child Left Behind requirements.
-
Driver dies after Illinois school bus crash
“Brace yourself. Brace yourself,” Fay Pickering shouted to her students just before the school bus she was driving crossed U.S. 40 and landed in a ditch Thursday morning.
-
Trial date set for former WTH police chief
A July 23 trial date has been set for a former police chief of West Terre Haute accused of theft.
-
Motorcycle gang member pleads guilty in federal court
A member of an Indianapolis motorcycle gang who delivered methamphetamine to a Terre Haute dealer has pleaded guilty to drug charges in federal court.
-
July trial date set for mother charged with child neglect
A July 30 trial date has been set for a Terre Haute mother charged with neglecting and battering her toddler.
-
Business hosting SPPRAK fundraiser
Java Haute is hosting the latest fundraiser sponsored by SPPRAK — Special People Performing Random Acts of Kindness.
-
Valley high school cooking competition under way today
Clabber Girl Corp. and Gordon Food Services will host the fourth-annual High School Chef Competition, beginning today through Saturday, and again Feb. 18, in the Culinary Classroom at Clabber Girl.
- More Local & Bistate Headlines
-








