Fire destroys LaHarpe home

LAHARPE — The nightmares continue to pile on local resident Judy Burkholder.
Just two days after burying her husband’s ashes, Burkholder’s home at 1001 S. Main St. in LaHarpe was destroyed by a fire Saturday evening.
Burkholder wasn’t home when the fire started. She was with family in Missouri, hoping to find some refuge from the mounting stress that she thought had culminated with her husband, Charles Burkholder Sr.’s, death June 14.
“We’d just gotten the grave stone set at the cemetery, so we buried his ashes on Thursday,” Burkholder told the Register.
She awoke Saturday morning to find her vehicle, and a concessions trailer she and her family operates, vandalized.
“Somebody smeared mustard all over them,” she said. “We were able to wash it off, but my sons said, ‘Let’s just get out of town for a while.”
The family went to Joplin — their plans were to watch a Three Dog Night concert at the Down Stream Casino on Sunday — when Burkholder received a call from her brother, Larry Trester, shortly after 10:30 Saturday night.
“He wasn’t sure if I was home in the fire,” Burkholder said. “That’s how I found out about it.”
Neighbors reported hearing what sounded like an explosion before seeing Burkholder’s front porch engulfed in flames.
Members of the LaHarpe Volunteer Fire Department battled the fire in vain through the night as the fire eventually burned into the roof.
The house was a total loss, with charred walls and debris all that was left by Sunday morning.
Burkholder had spent the past few years fixing up the property, adding a new front porch and building a deck on the back. She had also repainted much of the house.
“It was just getting it the way I wanted it,” she said.
Even worse, Burkholder lost her husband’s prized collection of Hot Wheels collectible cars.
“We lost all of our memories in that fire,” Burkholder said, fighting back tears. “I don’t know how much more I can take.”
Burkholder has insurance, and the Neosho Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross provided emergency assistance on Sunday.
She also is leaning on nearby relatives for support.
“I don’t know what I’d do without them,” she said. “I’m still not sure what I’m going to do next.”
Investigators with the State Fire Marshal’s office were scheduled to be at the Burkholder home today, although she wasn’t sure if the steady rain would postpone the visit.
A cause has not been identified.