Lost to history: Loyal downtown property owner reflects on fire’s impact

By Valorie Brecht “Even when you’ve been gone a long time, you still have all the memories. It really is a big loss for the community.”

Bill Mills is the owner of the southernmost building that was destroyed in the recent fire, at 228/226 N. Main St. The structure housed the Loyal Food Pantry downstairs and the Dennis and Marci Augustine family rented the apartment upstairs.

“The big thing is nobody was hurt. It was a catastrophic loss. But a lot of the community rallied around the cause. Now, we’re moving forward and every day we get a little more done,” Bill said.

He added that he was thankful for all the efforts of the people of Loyal and many neighboring towns who have done so much to respond to the fire. He was especially appreciative of the fire and police personnel, volunteers, community members who brought in equipment to respond to a dangerous situation, and all those who donated or otherwise supported the displaced families.

“That’s the type of community I remember growing up in when I lived in Loyal during the 50s and 60s. The building has been destroyed but the community spirit and Loyal service to volunteer and help others are very much alive and well,” Bill said.

The 228/226 N. Main property has a history as a mainstay in the Loyal business community. Bill inherited the property from his father, Glen Mills. Prior to the Mills family owning it, Clyde Grambsch owned the building and Byron Zepplin sold furniture out of it. It also served as a funeral home.

The lower level of the building was divided into two sides, with two entrances. The Loyal Historical Society’s collection of Irban Aumann’s glass plate photos identifies the north section of the building as the Nichols Building, used as a furniture store and funeral home — it was not uncommon for those businesses to be housed together in those days — and the south section of the building as the “Mills Building,” serving as an appliance store.

Glen Mills moved to Loyal in 1956. Glen owned and operated Mills’ Clothing and Footwear Store from January 1956 to 1986. When Glen first came to town, he rented the building at 236 N. Main St. — one of the other buildings destroyed in the blaze — for a short time. He then moved into the 228/226 N. Main building and rented that space before buying it outright. The family lived in the upstairs while Glen ran the store downstairs.

After Glen retired in 1986, “he couldn’t really sell the business or the building at that point, because the business wasn’t doing well. So he kept the building, but the downstairs sat vacant and he continued to live upstairs,” explained Bill.

After Glen passed away in November 1991, Bill inherited the building. In 1992, the building was gutted and renovated to make it suitable for the public library. The architect drew up the plans to make sure it was compliant with government regulations for a public building, including the Americans with Disabilities Act, which was signed into law in 1990. Henry “Shorty” Aumann and his company and Herb and Bob Langfeldt, along with other local contractors, completed much of the renovations. Painting and maintenance services for many years were volunteered by Paul Gloudeman and the Hoffman brothers, Arthur and Walter. The library moved into the space in May 1993 and was there until July 2004, when it moved to its current location.

The lower level of the building was partially vacant until February 2010, when the Loyal Food Pantry moved in (prior

Please see Lost to history, page 3

Shown is the view from Main Street of the buildings that were destroyed in the fire Sept. 12-13. A portion of the building farthest to the right remains standing, but it sustained heavy damage. The view is as of August 2023, courtesy of Google Maps.

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

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to that the pantry had been in a church). The food pantry at first took up only the north side of that level.

“I rented the other side for a while to an insurance company and then to a company that sold books, but neither stayed very long. Then when the book company left, the food pantry took over the entire first floor,” said Bill.

The food pantry stayed there until the fire of Sept. 12-13, 2024, and has now moved to 132 N. Main St.

For his part, Bill was in fourth grade when his family moved to Loyal, and he graduated from Loyal High School in 1965. From there, he went to UW-Madison and lived in Illinois and now Maryland. However, he has always stayed connected to his roots, coming back to visit once or twice a year. For a number of summers, when his kids were young, Bill would come back to Loyal to visit and he and his family would stay in the upstairs of the building. Following that the upstairs apartment was rented out.

“It’s only been rented to a few tenants,” said Bill. “The Augustines had been there since October 2008.”

Bill was happy to see the library and the food pantry use the space, as he likes to see places that support the community.

“I wanted to give back to the community and see it used for those purposes,” he said.

Hearing about the fire two weeks ago came as a shock. “I could hardly believe it. I didn’t think it was going to happen,” said Bill. “Dennis (Sr.) works nights, so he was sleeping when the smoke alarms went off. He and his wife got their keys and cell phones and left. It wasn’t that bad at that point; we were hoping it would get put out and not reach our building. So it was a lot of surprise and hope that it didn’t spread.”

He cautioned Dennis to stay safe and was glad to hear no one was hurt.

Bill watched the night unfold through pictures from his relatives, the Andereggs, back in Loyal. As the hours stretched on, the fire spread and the building sustained more and more damage.

Bill traveled to Loyal last week to see the site for himself and assess the situation. He talked to the city clerk, police officers and the fire chief, who were all were hoping to get the debris removed sooner rather than later. They will likely be coordinating with a company from Eau Claire that is licensed and qualified to remove debris like this.

Bill is hopeful for future restoration, although no plans have been set yet.

“I sure hope something could be rebuilt. There are a number of vacancies on that side of the street already. But I want to keep in touch with the city — if there was another way to best serve the city in that spot, I would like to do that. I would like to see it rebuilt and put to good use if it can be done, but it’s too early to tell.”

He hopes to work with the City of Loyal and the other affected property owners to determine next steps. There could possibly be Main Street revitalization grant dollars or incentives available from state and federal funding opportunities.

Bill will return to the area Oct. 3, as that is when the gas oven where the fire originated will be removed from the site and sent away for testing to determine the exact cause. After that, the site will likely be cleared for debris removal.

Other buildings lost The building at 230 N. Main St. was used as several grocery stores, including IGA and Davel’s Grocery Store. Most recently, Debi (Schoonover) Suda and her family purchased the building and dubbed it The Loyal House, established in 2019. They renovated the building into The Fitness Room on the first floor and two apartments upstairs. The gym opened for members on June 1, 2020.

Teresa Hall and Larry Eggman lived in the front apartment upstairs since 2019. The other apartment was used when Debi, who now lives in Minnesota, and her family would come back to visit Loyal and they would stay there. They had just gotten it completely finished this past July.

The TRG was unable to reach Debi prior to deadline, but she did issue a statement on her website, which reads: “As the owner of The Fitness Room and The Loyal House, I am saddened to inform you of the loss of our amazing TFR business and beautiful TLH building. Due to an unfortunate neighboring fire, both the business and the building are a total loss. My heart is heavy for my members, my manager, my tenants, my neighbors, my community and my invaluable Loyal family. But I am most anguished for my daughters, Alexandra and Mackenzie, and my husband, Dean, for the time and energy and the heart and soul that they put into The Loyal House and The Fitness Room right alongside me - immeasurable.

“The Loyal House, this newly renovated magnificent building, was so much more than brick and mortar. Wishing I could breathe life back into it – I will miss this beauty. The Fitness Room continued to flourish every year, and I am so proud of what has been accomplished. We will see what the future holds for The Fitness Room.

“To my TFR members, I genuinely thank you for your endless support and encouragement over these past years, truly the pleasure has been all mine.”

Jason and Leah Bernick, the owners of the building at 232 N. Main St. where the fire originated, could not be reached for comment. That building used to be Matt Beaver’s clothing store between the mid-1940s to sometime in the 1950s. Most recently, it served as a laundromat with an apartment in the back and upstairs.

VALORIE BRECHT/STAFF PHOTO