Spicers grateful to many after loss

by Mary Le Arneal
published 10/14/09

Scott and Kathy Spicer would like to replace the memory of Aug. 27, 2007, with a memory of Oct. 18, 2009, a day they are hosting an open house from 2 to 5 p.m. to thank the many people who have helped them since the fire that destroyed their home and all its contents in 2007. The Spicers look forward to sharing apple crisp with all who helped them rebuild their lives at 1731 County Road 13, north of Ames.

The North Bend Fire Department, American Red Cross, their German Mutual Insurance agent, friends, neighbors, strangers, some names they don’t even know, all helped in their recovery.

“There were a lot of good people who helped us,” Kathy Spicer said. “The first couple of weeks they carried us through.”

“We couldn’t have made it without them,” Scott Spicer added

The August fire was found to have started in electrical wiring in a false ceiling in the kitchen of their old home. The Spicers were on their way to appointments in Omaha when a neighbor saw the fire and called 9-1-1 and the Spicers.

Scott and Kathy were at the site until 11 p.m. that night, trying to salvage what they could. Bill and Lin Schwanabeck took the children to their home. With Kathy later joining them, they stayed for five weeks; Scott and the older boys camped out at the home site to watch over the animals. The Spicers were able to rent a house ten miles north of their old home from Sid and Ruth Ready where they stayed for 13 months.

Finally, the day after Thanksgiving 2008, they moved into their new home.
They had insurance that helped them out, but Kathy said they could have used more personal property insurance. They had the clothes on their back after the fire. The Red Cross gave them gift cards to buy essentials for the nine of them.

“Goodwill, Low Income Ministries, Wal-Mart, they knew us by first name,” Kathy said with a laugh. “You don’t realize how many things you have that you need to replace.”

Lost were boxes of memorabilia - Scott’s Desert Storm items, tools, baby pictures, things from their mothers and grandmothers. A few things were saved: wedding album, china, an heirloom salt and pepper shaker.

“You keep thinking of things that are gone,” Kathy said.

The 2,300 square foot house is bigger than their old house, without stairs, son Jacob adds, and with four doors. Their old house only had one working door, in kitchen.

The children are home schooled and all of their text were lost. Kathy said that the home schooled community has been very helpful in replacing items. Since the fire, daughter Nicole has graduated from high school and now has her own business as a seamstress out of the home.

“I have my own room, with a door,” Nicole said.

Son Joseph is set to graduate in 2010. Kathy said with study time lost after the fire they continued schooling during the summer months.

Kathy does admit that there have been some rough times for all of them since the fire and they have had some counseling. Jacob doesn’t leave home without a toy he had in his pocket the day of the fire. Two dogs, a cat and parakeet were lost in the fire, a hard loss for the children, and parents.

“Once we found our sense of humor, we knew we could get through it,” Kathy said. “But that took a while.”

The Spicer’s two older children came back to help the family; neighbor Cindy Sukut brought hot chocolate over to the men tent camping at the home site when the weather turned cold; Daryl Brodd gave them water for their animals; a man from Vacha Excavating dug a hole to bury their burnt out house and would not accept payment.

“So many people helped,” Kathy said. “The list could go on. Sometimes it was hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. It was the little pieces that helped us get to this point.”

The loses have been replaced by gains.

“The experience bonded our family together,” Scott said.

“Life is challenging as it is,” Kathy said. “You have to work hard. That first year was really rough. Everyone suffered in their own way. But we get stronger so we can help others.”

<<Back to the archives