Ten months ago was April 12 and as I write this, in one minute (6:54 p.m.), it will be the exact time we got the call to look out our window.
This is what we saw.
Never could I have imagined how our lives would change in the next few minutes and hours. Everything we had worked for, our feed store business, the newly opened Quarterfield Market (one week) and farm shop all burned to the ground along with a storage room of our and the Hostetters personal stuff, memorbilia and irreplaceable family treasures. Our life was now devided in two distinct seasons; before the fire and after the fire.
Within 15 minutes it was totally engulfed.
Today, February 12, our farmer’s market opened in the newly built barn. It wasn’t planned this way and there was a push all week by everyone involoved to make this happen. Orignially we were told the market would be done by Christmas, then New Years, then the end of January but dealing with contractor’s schedule, permits, subs and weather it was the way it turned out.
Tonight we realized what a peaceful, stress-free day it had been. We had stressed and worked so hard for ten months leading up to this day. And then it happened. There were no more deadlines to be pushed back, no more construction decisions, no more what ifs and how longs. We actually received our occupancy permission yesterday at 2 p.m. We were pushing and stressing down to the wire. The market opened this morning at 9 a.m. and all day there was a steady stream of vendors and happy shoppers. Jill and Lauren were very excited and pleased with how the day went. It was fun. It was relaxing. It was stress-free. The weather was perfect, the sun was shining.
Ten months to the day. The reward has been worth the labor. Quarterfield Market was the last of our rebuild and it feels like we are moving forward. We lost so much but received so much more. By the way, it is a terrible way to get new buildings!!! We give God thanks and praise for how he has provided during a dark season of our life. We thank each who reached out with caring arms and gave us the encouragement to keep going. Many supported us with gifts of money. It was invaluable. The raw wound has healed and we are so happy to be at ten months to the day on this side of the tragedy.
We were alerted to the fire at 6:54 p.m. on April 12, a Saturday night. It was a night we will never forget and crawled into bed at 2 a.m. on Sunday morning full of grief and exhaustion, mixed with lots of questions about the future and a sinking feeling of total helplessness. Sunday morning we realized it was not just a bad dream but a horrible stark reality. A stinky, acidity, smoky smell lingered in the air and the view from the kitchen window was witness to the stark reality of the overwhelming task before us. A firetruck had spent the night and was still maning the smoking ruins.
Our retail store-the main room.Looking in the front door of the store.
There was no way we could drag ourselves to church. We were physically and emotionally drained and needed to be just us-a family in grieving. In the afternoon an amazing thing happened; cars and pickups started pouring in filled with caring friends and neighbors wanting to help.
For the next two weeks there were 25-45 people each day sorting through the ruins, picking up trash, cleaning and drying photos and personal items.
We had a storage room where Jill and I were storing household items and keepsakes as they were in the process of moving to Powhatan.
Track loaders, dump trucks, and excavators arrived. The farm shop and baler were also destroyed but most of the tools were salvagable and had to be moved to another building.
The burned up round baler that was in the shop. They had just finished maintanence on it earlier in the afternoon and had it ready for this year’s hay season.Only a handful of treasurers were spared. An old milk can from Gene’s home in Denbigh.On the left is a quilt made by my Grandmother Heatwole (Fannie Belle Heatwole) and on the right by my mother (Fannie Showalter Heatwole). I had put them in plastic totes to “protect” them in storage.A bed spread made by my mother from scraps of material from my “homemade” dresses as I was growing up!!!We had to build a new space for the pressure tank for our well water system.The shop with the burned out storage area on the left.
An existing warehouse had to be readied to serve as new storage for the feed store. There was so much to do and so many willing hands to do it.
Repairing the dock.
Mealtrain was set up to provide food and for one full month I did not fix a meal. Many people benefited from those wonderful, delicious meals delivered with love. Go-Fund-Me and private donations provided the necessary funds to keep us surviving. Our church had a community barbecue fundraiser. We needed so much and so much was given. Boxes and boxes arrived from Amazon with office supplies and equipment. One Amazon driver said, “I have never delivered so many boxes to one place”. Local businesses helped us get our new office set up and flooring put in. Another got our water restored, another replaced an electric pole and another removed some trees.
A team of fifteen students came from Liberty University for a Saturday workday. After a hard day of work, a full belly of food and relaxing on the lawn they enjoyed a hay ride.
People were truly the arms of Jesus holding us up and helping us get back on our feet. The community of Powhatan and beyond truly was amazing.
A friend and former pastor came from Pennsylvania to sit with us. It was what our weary souls needed. Thank you Tim.
The transformation has been amazing. It is now been a month and the ruins are cleaned up. We have felt a strong mandate from the community to rebuild. Social media buzzed with a desire to see us rebuild and to pledge to help that happen.
Our feed store reopened in five days in a revamped version. The Farmer’s Market relaunched yesterday, exactly one month from the fire, in an outdoor tent setting.
An Old Hickory storage shed came in two days after the fire. It has become our new office and sales for feed, lawn and wildlife seeds, fertilizer, lime, shavings, hay and straw.
Our vendors from our Farmer’s Market, that had been open for only one week, gathered on our lawn several days after the fire and the mandate from them was clear. They were solidly behind us and wanted to be a part of a relaunching. A blog post about the relaunching will be coming soon. After the fire, channel 8 and channel 12 (local news stations) came out and interviewed us. One reporter said, “We heard about the fire and began to look at social media. We saw the support of the local community and noted that something special was going on and wanted to cover it.”
Relaunch Day-May 10: The market is set up and ready for business.
It was an amazing Relaunch day with absolutely perfect weather, lots of excitement and crowds of people. Until a permanent facility can be built, the market will be open Thursday and Fridays 8 am – 5 pm and Saturdays 8 -12 noon weather permiting.
We can never express our thanks adquately. Caring and sharing is never about public praise and so we are refraining from publicly naming people or businesses. You know who you are. May God bless you and please accept our humble and grateful thanks
This puzzle piece that was found among the ruins seems a fitting ending to this post. I had a puzzle library of over 500 puzzles that people could check out. The fire was furious and almost nothing survived it’s consuming fury. But the few finds were surprising and this puzzle piece was one of them. A fragile thin piece of cardboard, charred black, but still intack. I just wonder how! Sometimes it takes more than a fire to bring total ruin. From the ashes, we will rise.
The following verse is a comforting promise from God….good can come out of bad…. joy and beauty where they are ashes.
“To bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.” This verse is often interpreted as a promise from God to replace sorrow and despair with joy and beauty.” Isaiah 61:3
I am a country gal who enjoys writing, gardening, baking and my family. My husband and I own a retail feed store and it keeps us active and busy. We love living in the country and on our beef farm. We retail natural, Angus, dry-aged beef in our store and a local "natural" store.
My writings, called "From A Grandma's Perspective" are mostly inspired from our five delightful grandchildren. These along with "Life Perspective" can read on our web page at www.hffinc.com under the "Who We Are" tab.
By the way, I love hearing from people who read my blog!!!
