SOUTH WAYNE — Most of the community was at church when the fire broke out on Jan. 25 at Pilgrim’s Pantry, an Amish Mennonite-owned bulk food store and bakery that’s become a welcome oasis for travelers and locals alike along Wis. 11 for over two decades.
Loretta Hostetler, who co-owns the store with her husband, Larry, was in the building, upstairs, when she saw noticed smoke and ran to tell her husband. But the fire was moving fast and it was clearly time for the Hostetlers to leave. Smoke had started billowing out of the second story of the 50 foot-by 50- foot structure where the fire originated; and smoke was rolling across the highway when emergency crews first arrived
Soon enough, though, South Wayne firefighters responded, along with many other area departments from Green and Lafayette Counties; and together they knocked the fire down by about 11:30 p.m. Their church family responded too — they came directly from services and started helping with the cleanup.
No one was hurt but the building and some of its stock sustained serious smoke and water damage and is “inoperable” for the foreseeable future. South Wayne fire officials haven’t placed a cost estimate on the damage, she said, and the exact cause of the fire is still being investigated.
“We’re salvaging everything we can,” she said, adding that there was a historical library and other beloved things on the second floor that were destroyed.
There was no insurance on the building or its contents to cushion the blow, either.
But it’s a strong sense of community and the support of the faithful in their congregation — Jordan Creek Amish Mennonite Church — that Hostetler said is helping them get through the loss and re-open the store someday. While publicity is not something their faith community seeks, and they don’t like photography, people just couldn’t be prevented from helping.
“The community at large has been absolutely wonderful,” said Hostetler. “We didn’t ask for anything but people have offered help from all over.”
A fund has been established to help them at Woodford Bank in South Wayne. People from Illinois and Wisconsin are giving to it and helping in other ways large and small, she said.
Fire departments responding to the fire, officials said, included: Gratiot, Browntown, Monroe Rural, Woodford Argyle, Monroe R.I.T; and ambulances from Green County and Argyle 204.
“SWFD would like to thank all the departments that came and helped,” South Wayne fire officials said in a statement.
The Hostetler’s would like to thank them too, along with the community. They prefer not focus on the tragedy but on the “good news” of people coming together.
“Lord willing we’ll be rebuilding,” said Hostetler. “God gets all the glory.”
