On Friday morning Oct. 3, I was in the Granite Hall Store talking to a couple from Ohio, when the unimaginable happened–unknown to me, old wiring caused the back wall and ceiling upstairs to catch on fire. My neighbor, Elaine Davenport (the first angel), stopped and told me our building was on fire and to “Call 911!”
From that moment on, we were blessed by so many angels in the community.
The customer, Dennis Polter, rushed upstairs and finding a fire extinguisher, sprayed the fire, then went outside and grabbed a hose–the onlookers nicknamed him “Donny Angel”. His wife, Mary, ran across the street to get my husband, Eric, who later told me, “It’s difficult to describe how it feels to see smoke pouring out of the head of a family member, but that’s how I felt when I saw Granite Hall on fire.”
The fire department arrived in about five minutes–thank goodness Gil Jaeger is retired! They all did an amazing and professional job putting out the fire and saving the historic building. The firemen knew just how to vent the fire out the roof and were careful to do as little interior damage as possible. The Fire Marshal gave them high praise– we can be so proud of our volunteer fire departments. How lucky we are to be protected by them!
Since that day we’ve had an incredible outpouring of village support, calls, offers of help, and helping with inventory, cleaning, taking pictures, cooking and even cashiering! Julia Lane and Fred Gosbee of Castlebay, along with the help of Becky Recor and many others, put together a special evening benefit of “Sweets and Songs” to celebrate Granite Hall’s survival; so many wonderful desserts, music and supportive neighbors filled the Little Brown Church and we were filled with gratitude and love.
Our “close call” sale to clear out the inventory before beginning reconstruction was a great success and again, the community amazed us with their overwhelming response.
Our heartfelt thanks go out to the many who’ve touched us–our hearts are overflowing with your love and support. What a great village to live in.
Sarah and Eric Herndon
Round Pond