Simonson family rebuilding with the help of faith and community

[January 24, 2009]  Everything where they live is new: a new building, all new furniture and new appliances. Everything this family uses is new, including most of their clothing. The only problem is nothing is theirs save their clothing, because the Simonson family lives at our new Hampton Inn. They have been living there since the Dec 19, 2008, fire that destroyed their home and their business in a conflagration that will be remembered by the family, as well as by the community, for the rest of their lives.

Just a month after the great downtown fire destroyed their business and their home, Mike and Kathy Simonson graciously took the time to  speak about how things are going in their lives.

Kathy wanted to first say thank you to everyone. "I want to talk about all we have been through and to initiate a huge thank you to the community," she said. "From the smallest things to the biggest, the love and outreach from so many has just been awesome. In one of the worst of economic times, people have been so generous that it has almost been unreal."

The fire that swept through their building has caused the Simonson family to have to start completely over. One of the very few things they were able to save from the debris of their home was a baby book of memories.

In one of those incongruities that often follow a disaster, one thing out of all that they owned came through the fire unscathed. "Anastin (their daughter) had an inner tube that she used in the pool. Everything around it was gone. The rug it laid on was turned into ashes, but that inner tube was still all right," Mike explained. And now, their daughter uses it at the Hampton Inn's pool.

When Kathy was asked what were some of the hardest losses that the family suffered, she answered as would many moms: "The pictures: All the pictures are gone. We called the photography company to see if they kept our wedding pictures on file, but they didn't. The 'I love you, Mommy' books, too, were special." Kathy mentioned another loss that would ring home with most: "All those little things like mementos and just little things that we got from somewhere that meant something to us, are all gone, too."

Kathy said that there are days and times when the disaster still comes back heavily into their thoughts. "Sometimes it can be quite depressing. The people, their prayers, their support has really helped us."

The family also wanted to thank everyone involved that night in trying to save their home and business. "The firemen and everyone else who tried to help, they were just phenomenal," said Kathy.

Despite those phenomenal efforts, the family lost everything that night except the clothes on their backs.

Mike and Kathy both recalled the events of that night.

"Mike was on a painting job in Havana, and Anastin and I went to spend a night with my mom," Kathy said. "Brandon, (Kathy's son) had been picked up from junior high by his dad. I almost didn't go to my mother's, but we did. I made Mike take our dog with him because no one was going to be home. I'm not sure what would have happened if we had been inside when the fire started."

Kathy was first called by her 19-year-old daughter, Ashton, that something was wrong. Ashton had been called by friends saying there was a fire at the building.

"At first I just thought it was the alarm that went off again," Kathy said. "We had problems with it going off from time to time, and that is what I thought it was. Later, when I found out there was a fire, I still thought that maybe something had happened, but I settled down about halfway back to town and thought maybe there would be some smoke damage and maybe some drywall would have to be replaced, but I never dreamed that everything would be lost."

Mike had a similar thought process when he was called. "I thought it was the alarm at first," he said. "Then as I drove back, I kept getting calls about the building on fire. Later I looked and there were 62 missed calls on my phone. You know, I would have thought we were in one of the safest buildings in town -- all brick buildings around us. I just didn't imagine this could happen."

By the time they arrived back in Lincoln, it was obvious that this was no false alarm or small fire. By then the entire building was engulfed in flames.

With everything lost, Mike and Kathy are still busy. Mike has created a mobile sample vehicle that he can use to carry around some samples to show clients. Mark Shew, who has the spec home out on Woodlawn Road by Jake's Furnishings, has graciously offered to let them use the home as a business location until things can get settled.

Both Mike and Kathy wanted to thank everyone at the Hamptons for their kindness.

But, the children are beginning to miss a sense of a home life.

As the Simonson family works to rebuild their lives, it is obvious their faith in God and this community are helping them get through these times.

Kathy summed up her feelings: "We feel so blessed for this community that comes together and embraces those in their time of need. We can't say thank you enough."

Mike added, "No matter what happened, we are all safe and together, and we can keep experiencing life together."

Young Anastin finished the interview saying, "Thank you, everybody."

[By MIKE FAK]