Businesses pull hope from ashes

It was late afternoon Saturday, and Market of Choice bakery clerk Alex Holmes wasn't far from closing up shop.

Then the phone call came. Callahan's Siskiyou Lodge was burning, and Amber Hall and Ed Blews had no venue for their wedding. To top it off, they didn't even have a cake.

Holmes had never made a wedding cake before, but he was the baker in the kitchen with the most training. The clock ticked for Holmes to make the four-layer pastry.

"They had an hour, and Alex had never made a cake before," cake decorator Shannon Rodrigues said.

The up-and-coming cake artist pulled off the feat, beat the clock and sent the cake to the impromptu reception.

Across town, Darby Stricker got a similar phone call. Stricker is the general manager of the Windmill Inn and Suites. When she heard the landmark lodge burned down, and the couple was left with nowhere to hold a reception, Stricker hustled to organize an impromptu after party.

"We couldn't see a bride without a reception," Windmill Inn Assistant General Manager Rosemary Como said. "We just stepped in and did what we had to do."

Three inn employees pulled together chairs, sprinkled petals across the floor of the reception room and shuttled visitors from the ceremony in Lithia Park, where it was moved after the fire. Market of Choice donated food for the reception, and the Windmill Inn donated the services. Como said use of the room usually runs about $500 for an event. That's without any additional services. On top of the free reception, the inn let members of the wedding party stay the night.

The property attendants and shuttle drivers at the inn scrambled to pull of the event, and it worked. Como said the community pulled together to make the couple's wedding a success amid catastrophe. The Ashland Police Department issued a quick permit for the wedding in Lithia Park, and state troopers guided about 85 guests down to the park.

"Just everybody in the community pulled together to make this terrible day for the bride somewhat respectable," Como said.

Photo courtesy of David Gibb | dgibbphoto.com

Staff writer Alan Panebaker can be reached at 482-3456 x 227 or apanebaker@dailytidings.com.