Both the house and the greenhouse were completely destroyed. Maggie woke up to find the house on fire, and the couple was fortunate to get out before the entire building was engulfed.
“David and Maggie are obviously very grateful to have woken up in time to flee the house,” Vicky Neufeld said, “as there was obviously not time for anything but a call to 911, grab a computer and a pile of laundry. They will be grieving the loss of many treasured items. Pictures of parents now passed, items handed down, art projects and journals that cannot be replaced.”
The house was the old Boissevain Baptist Church, moved out to the Turtle Mountains and the home of the couple and their four children for the last 26 years. The fire department said a few trees were burned in the direct vicinity, but other buildings and the larger forested area were not damaged. The department remained at the scene for six hours. Fortunately, the couple have been able to set up living quarters in their straw bale guesthouse on their property. However, as Vicky said, it is a guesthouse and is rented out for much of the summer to large and small groups and is a source of income. Therefore, they are looking at alternate accommodations.
They were also in the process of building a retirement home there. The move-in time has been pressed forward.
“They will be pushing to get their new house livable by wintertime. Initially, they had hoped for fall of 2019. Now, the timeline is fall of 2018. If anyone in the community can find time to help with the build, they can let the family know. They will be organizing work parties as they sort out their priorities.”
A GoFundMe page has been set up for donations, which received more than $6,000 of a $7,500 goal from 60 donors by Thursday afternoon. As Vicky said, there are unexpected expenses and it is better to give money than items right now as they can be overwhelmed by clutter. A fundraiser for the family has been planned for June 10 at Whitewater Mennonite Church. The soup and pie lunch will begin at 12:30pm.
Vicky said all of the help already has been overwhelming.
“The response has been amazing,” she said. “David and Maggie were telling me the very first morning a camper was offered for them to use as long as they needed, shoes were supplied for Maggie when they came to town in bare feet on their way to Brandon to get cell phones, prescriptions were looked after, meals and food were supplied, hugs and well wishes and lunch at a church benefit was quickly organized, friends came out to sort through the rubble on a cold, miserable rainy day to find anything worthy of saving. The list continues. It’s appreciated, the family is grateful and it’s all very humbling. We are blessed to live in a small, caring community.”
by PAUL RAYNER, Recorder staff
