NEDERLAND — I have been thinking about this column for several days—pretty much since Friday, when we gathered at the Train Cars in Nederland to honor the first anniversary of the fire that burned down Caribou Village Shopping Center. The moments were beautiful but sad.
It was amazing to see faces of people we haven’t seen much of, since the fire. Some of us walked into the burned space, now a dirt field, and looked around. Many of us hugged. I think all of us had some type of beverage from Jessie, who supported each of us during the tragedy and lived and breathed every part of the last year with us. Thank you Jessie.
I also was thankful to see Chris Kelley joining us. He also went through this entire experience with every one of us. Chris has reported this since the moment he arrived on scene. He has covered the press conferences, the meetings, the follow up; he is writing the Phoenix stories about every business that was in the center, week by week, he tells our stories.
Two weeks ago, he shared his personal story about the last year, which was heartfelt and eye opening to each of us as we read through it. I am so thankful for Chris Kelley, not only as a reporter, but as a friend and a caring community member who jumped into life in Nederland and never looked back. Thank you Chris.
As I thought through so much of the last year, I reframed the way I was looking at things a bit. I am so thankful for the Nederland Fire Department for their support the day of the fire. And the weeks, months and now year, following the fire.
Each and every one of you, I personally thank you for keeping the fire within the building and not letting it spread. I thank you for the emails and follow up that many of you have had with us, the business owners, and with the community regarding so many concerns we all had. And replying kindly, with thorough answers and explaining in detail how or why something was handled the way it was.
Chief Schmidtman, thank you for the Caribou Village post on Facebook Thursday night. I understand so much more now.
I thank the ATF for the letter to the editor they submitted to The Mountain-Ear. Along with what Chief Schmidtman posted online, the letter helped understand the process more. I thank you for keeping us in the loop and giving us hope that we will eventually have the answers we all await, so closure can be completed in our minds and hearts. Thank you.
Now, here are two poems that were read at the Carousel Friday afternoon. Thank you to Burt Rashbaum for this beautiful poetry— your words on the Carousel building and how “The Wood Wept.” This gave me an additional perspective and made me think back to Scott and then the firefighters who worked so hard to keep that building intact. Thank you for reading it to our little group.
As well, the beautiful poem written by Christine “Mejukah” Weeber, the day of the one-year anniversary. Indeed the
…Wurlitzer sets
the beat
for the spin..
Here are both poems, in their original format. Thank you, all of you. Each and every person around this town for your support Friday, your support over the last year and your continued support as we move forward, step by step.
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