Fire destroys East Prairie's Big Book Club

EAST PRAIRIE, Mo. -- The Big Book Club in rural East Prairie, a private club so well-known in and around Mississippi County that some might call it a landmark -- burned to the ground in an early morning fire Sunday.

"We got a call at 4:51 a.m.," said Mark Smithson, chief of the East Prairie Fire Department.

As responding firefighters found the building was fully involved, a mutual aid call to other departments was issued "as soon as we arrived on the scene," Smithson said. "We did receive mutual aid from Bertrand, Anniston, Sikeston and Miner. Sikeston and Miner supplied tanker support."

Sikeston firefighters remained at the scene until about 10:30 a.m., according to Lt. Ken Dicus of the Sikeston Department of Public Safety's fire division. "It was a fairly significant fire," he said.

The East Prairie Fire Department remained on the scene until about noon, according to Smithson.

Smithson said even though the building was a total loss, he does appreciate all the help they received from the area fire departments that assisted.

The fire is under investigation, according to Smithson.

"The fire marshal was called at the request of the owner and is still on the scene right now," he said Monday when contacted for information about the fire. "The cause is still undetermined."

The club's current owners, James Marcum and David Williford, could not be reached for comment as of press time.

The Big Book Club got its name from being located on Highway 105's Big Book Curve between Charleston and East Prairie. Years ago, there was a sign there that looked like the open pages of a Bible with a verse on it. People started calling it the 'Big Book Curve' and the name stuck.

Tom Mince of Dogwood, a former member of the Big Book Club and former resident of the Big Book Curve community, said the first Big Book Club was owned by the club's members and was located across the street and a few block closer to East Prairie than the building that burned Sunday.

Mince said he doesn't recall what year the club first opened. "I'd say in the mid '80s," he said. "I hate to see it go. They did a lot of good for the community for years."

As the Big Book Club was a not-for-profit organization, proceeds were donated to a variety of causes.

"There for several years, in the early '90s and back up in there, they were the biggest contributor in Mississippi County for donations and stuff," Mince said.

Mince said donations were made to cancer drives, to buy bulletproof vests for the sheriff's department, to give bicycles to children, to supply eyeglasses to the needy, "just about anything anybody wanted."

Gene Ditto, mayor of East Prairie, said the World War II monuments located in downtown East Prairie are there in part because of the Big Book Club. "That Club had helped to raise the money for that," he said.

"I'm sure they'll build back," Mince said of the club. "I hope."