SOUTH RIVER — A real piece of history — and a family’s heritage — has been reduced to rubble by fire.
For the Reiche and Ralston families, the log home claimed by a chimney fire on Wednesday, March 26 was more than simply a place to lay one’s head.
The home represented where they came from and Charles Reiche Junior was literally born and raised in the home on Mill Road near Deer Lake in Lount Township.
Charles is now wondering where he’s going to live as he comes to grips with the loss of his home, one that was built by his father and grandfather more than a century ago.
Charles was out bringing some wood in from the bush when the chimney fire started. He returned to find the house brimming with smoke and went to the source on the second floor.
There he found the chimney’s wall had been breached. Smoke and flames were spewing directly into the house.
“I thought I was doing a pretty good job getting it out, but then it got over to the wall and then down between the floor and ceiling. That’s when I thought I had better try and save some stuff and get out,” said Charles.
The fire in the century-old structure didn’t give him much time, allowing only for three quick trips into the house.
“It’s funny what you grab,” said Charles.
On his third trip in he knew it would be his last one.
“The fire was rolling right across the ceiling and it was getting pretty hot,” said Charles.
Two of his sisters, Lynn Heittola and Shirley Ralston, live on the old homestead and watched as their birthplace was consumed by flames.
Shirley, Charles, Lynn and Brian were born to Charles and Beatrice Reiche in the home with the assistance of midwives.
Charles Junior, the second oldest, wouldn’t give his age but did say that he recently started collecting a government pension cheque.
Shirley’s daughter Sherry Ralston prides herself on being the family historian.
She says the home was the second built on the property by her great-grandfather Henry Reiche. He had started the homestead in 1881 on a free-land grant after immigrating from Germany.
A stonemason by trade, Henry started the structure as a summer kitchen, one that the family eventually turned into a home. The walls at the front of the house were completely built from stone and as a testament to his proficiency they still stand after the fire.
The main section of the house was built from hand-hewed 12 inch by 12 inch timbers crafted by Henry and Charles Senior.
“There was a lot of history that went up in smoke,” said Sherry.
Besides losing the home itself, plenty of antique German furniture brought over by Sherry’s great-grandfather was also destroyed.
Chalres knows he will never be able to replace the home that his father and grandfather constructed — for more than one reason.
“I don’t think it’s possible to even find logs like that anymore. If I were to try and build something like it the logs would only be half the size,” said Charles. And then there are the emotional accents. “There’s no replacing the memories and stuff, but I do suppose you have your memories for a while.”
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