Major fires, two years apart spurred Salidans into a spate of brick construction that eventually saved the town from more devastating damage. A couple of brick yards were in operation before the 1886 fire, but within a year after the 1888 conflagration, there were at least four in production. Clay, sand and water are stirred into a stiff mud before it is packed into molds. It was repetitive, back-wrenching work, but it was lucrative for many years. The...