Benefit aims to help couple start over after blaze

On December 25 Donna and Leroy Misener of Rib Lake celebrated Christmas with their family members and loved ones at the family home on North Harper Lake.

On December 26, their home of more than 50 years burned to the ground.

Donna and Leroy woke up to the blaze and escaped the house in just the clothes they were wearing with Donna suffering severe burns.

With no phone to call for help, Leroy, age 89, had to wait hours until it was light enough to go down the road to a neighbor’s house to try and get help. Through the night, Leroy and Donna had to huddle around the burning wreckage of a lifetime of memories as their home burned in order to stay warm.

When Leroy was able to get help, firefighters came, but by then it was a total loss. The fire was found to be from an electrical cord to a space heater that ignited a curtain.

The couple lost everything. The chimney was all that remained standing when the flames finally settled.

Donna spent a month in the burn unit in Madison, slowly recovering from her injuries. She continues to be on the mend, and while the physical injuries are healing, the loss continues.

It is impossible to truly measure the loss of a lifetime of memories, photos, documents and antiques that had been handed down from Donna’s mother.

“The fire has devastated us. A total loss. I personally think about all the old photos that are now gone,” said Doug Misener, the couple’s son speaking on behalf of the family.

“That’s hard for all of us. Not just my parents but the whole family, So many memories there, dating back to the early 70s. The kids, grandkids, family and friends all have great memories in that home. From the many holiday meals we shared together, to summer fun days at the lake, fishing and swimming, and grilling food on the deck,” Doug said.

“It was more that just a house, it was home for all of us,” he said.

In the days following the fire, the community and their family members rallied in support of the couple. Friends who are snowbirds are allowing them to stay at their house in the short term.

Donna and Leroy plan to rebuild their home. “We will rebuild and create new memories there, but we will always hold dear in our hearts the place we called home for 50 years,” Doug said.

“They are basically starting over,” said Robin Quednow, the couple’s niece.

Quednow, along with her sister, Sandi, are organizing a fundraising benefit for Donna and Leroy from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., on Saturday, March 23 at Marilyn’s at 148 S. Whelen Ave. in Medford.

The event will help raise funds to help them get a new start to purchase the necessities they need to live and basics such as furniture, clothing and other items.

The fundraiser event will include music along with basket raffles as well as a variety of vendors in the banquet room upstairs, who are donating to help raise funds for the event.

Quednow praised all those who have been willing to pitch in and help support the efforts to get Donna and Leroy into a new home and a fresh start.

“We just want to thank the local businesses for their donations in helping our basket raffle,” Quednow said.

In addition to the fundraiser benefit, Quednow has created a GoFundMe page at https://www.gofundme.com/f/everything-lost-after-adevastating- fire where people may make donations.

For those who wish to make cash donations, a charitable fundraising account has been set up at Forward Bank in Rib Lake.