BRADFORD COUNTY, Pa. — "I'm glad that we have it back to where we can keep people employed to keep working here and to keep our family together," said Shannon Fitzgerald, C.C. Allis and Sons Co-Owner.
For Shannon Fitzgerald, a few charred beams are all that remain as her family's business works to rebuild its decades-old sawmill, which burned to the ground in an accidental fire last spring.
"We have so many people out there right now that rely on our shavings and our lumber and our sawdust that we can't provide for right now," said Fitzgerald. "If we can't provide for them, then we are not helping out the community, and that's what we've always been for."
New walls surround the spot where C.C. Allis and Sons Supervisor Glenn Camp says the fire started.
"It's actually right inside this little room, it was," said Camp.
Now the mill is well on its way to being rebuilt. Camp says all thanks to community support.
"It's been here all their lives, so they've actually wanted to see it come back, and people just wanted it in general to come back because it was so used to being here in the community."
Camp and Fitzgerald expect the project to be completed sometime in June.
Then, they can return to supplying the many who have helped keep them in business for more than two centuries.
"It's been good because actually, every time you see somebody, they ask you are you rebuilding, and you tell him yeah, we are working on it. Oh, that's good. Can't wait to see you back," said Camp.
"Being here 200 years, it's heartwarming to know that we are stable enough and have a community. That's supportive enough that we are able to come back," added Fitzgerald.
The next steps are to finish the roof inside of the building and restore some of the original saws that were not destroyed in the fire.