WILDWOOD – A plaque will be dedicated at Rio Grande and Pacific avenues Sept. 23 at 2 p.m. in honor and memory of Firefighter Charles Bonner. He died Sept. 23, 1952, after a fire at that location the prior day.
According to a Wildwood Fire Department release, Bonner joined the Holly Beach Fire Company Feb. 11, 1924 and was transferred to the Municipal Fire Division Nov. 11, 1938.
He played a major role in the activities of the fire companies, participating in the minstrel shows sponsored by the departments. He was an end man. He was also a member of the Hereford Masonic Lodge.
Bonner had been under a doctor’s care for several weeks prior to the fire that occurred at Rio Grande and Pacific Avenues.
That blaze destroyed Ken’s Bowldrome and Locke’s Cigar Store. The loss was set at $80,000.
The fire started with a large explosion that forced out the front of the bowling alley. Bonner suffered a stroke during the excitement and was sent home. He later went to the hospital where he died.
He was survived at the time by two sons, James and Charles Jr., both of whom were in the U.S. Navy; and two daughters, Mary Ann and Corrine, both of Philadelphia. He was also survived by his sister.
Those wishing to attend are asked to be at Rio Grande and Pacific avenues by 1:45 p.m. Sept. 23.
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