Adirondack Daily Enterprise, May 8, 1963 Address:
Old Address: 228 Broadway
Other names: Steam Laundry, 1931, according to Sanborn map; S. Anthony Cottage (DIS), M-K Novelty Company factory
Year built:
Other information: The M-K Novelty Company factory was located at 228 Broadway from 1950 to 1972. After the fire, they relocated to 17 Cedar Street.
Adirondack Daily Enterprise, November 28, 1956
ARTICLES FOR SALE
SEVEN TONS STRUCTURAL steel H beams, 10" and 12", 36 feet long. The M-K Novelty Co., 228 Broadway.
WANTED TO BUY
SCOTCH PINE LOGS, SMALL Diameter. The M-K Novelty Co.; Saranac Lake. Phone 1307.
Adirondack Daily Enterprise, Angust 31, 1964
ARTICLES FOR SALE
TWO SCHOOL BUSES, TAKEN off duty last July. 44-seat capacity, in excellent condition. Useful for hunting camps, or for any commercial purpose. The M-K Novelty Co., 228 Broadway, Saranac Lake, N.Y. Dial 891-3840.
GAS DRIVEN GENERATING units from 500 to 5,000 watts. New in original boxes with spare parts, air-cooled or water-cooled. The M-K Novelty Co., 228 Broadway, Saranac Lake, N.Y. Dial 891-3840.
Adirondack Daily Enterprise, March 13, 1967
WANTED TO BUY
HOUSEWIVES, RESTAURANTS, Institutions. Do not throw away your empty tin cans. We buy clean car various sizes all year round. If interested call Saranac Lake 891-3840 for further information. The M-K Novelty Co., 228-30 Broadway, Saranac Lake, N.Y.
Adirondack Daily Enterprise, March 22, 1972
BLAZE GUTS NOVELTY CO. ON BROADWAY
By RYCK LENT
SARANAC LAKE — Two men from the Village Volunteer Fire Department today will be keeping watch over the smoldering ruins of the M-K Novelty Co. factory at 228 Broadway.
A fire there yesterday was reported at 2:45 p. m. It burned out of control for more than two and one-half hours, reducing the souvenir and novelty-making plant to a heap of rubble.
There is no dollar figure for the loss at the present. The owner, Manuel Kretis, employed six men, all of whom escaped injury when the fire started in a dipping shed where plaques were coated with shellac.
One of the men who discovered the blaze, Bob Pinsdorf, said that at first the employees thought they had put the blaze out. "About ten minutes later, one of the guys ran in and said that the whole shed was on fire."
The fire spread quickly throughout the building. Wood, and a number of 55-gallon drums of paint thinner added fuel to the fire.
A total of 45 men from the Fire Department answered the call. All of the Village fire equipment was required to contain the fire. The 75-foot Snorkel truck came into play at 4:15 p.m. The Bloomingdale Fire Department had 12 men at the scene, and others were standing by at the Village engine house.
One man, John Umber, was treated for smoke inhalation. The Saranac Lake smoke eaters stationed four men together with a pumper and truck with area lights at the scene overnight. The remains are still smoking today.
Fire damage was confined to the M-K building alone. The only other damage was flooded basements and smoke in the two neighboring buildings. Pumps were brought in to keep the basement water level down during the blaze. There was no estimate of the damage.
At the fire, standing with the usual crowd of spectators,' were two volunteer volunteers. Bill Mitrocsak and Alan Turner, both hotel-management students at Paul Smith's College, helped the regular volunteers. The two New Jersey residents had helped at fires before at home, and according to Mitrocsak, "we followed the trucks here." Working without respirators and proper clothes, they helped pour water on the surrounding buildings, and then worked on the stubborn areas at the back of the burning building.
Mary Kretis, wife of the M-K's owner, said she knew nothing of the fire until she looked out her window and saw the trucks and the smoke next door. The Kretis family lives at 230 Broadway, next to the factory, Firemen, M-K Novelty employees, and passers-by helped Mrs. Kretis move articles out of the house against the fire's spreading. Mary Kretis said "I've lived here 22 years. My husband has worked there 30-40 years. It is a great loss to him."
