Community supports Walnut Creek Amish Flea Market with a sweet fundraiser
On Aug. 21 fire ripped through the Walnut Creek Amish Flea Market. Colleagues at Best of Ohio’s Amish Country quickly jumped in to create a fundraiser to help the market recover.
Disaster struck in Amish Country on Wednesday, Aug. 21 when lightning set the 50,000-square-foot Walnut Creek Amish Flea Market ablaze, completely destroying the center building while doing major smoke and water damage to much of the other four buildings and the vendors’ merchandise inside.
It didn’t take long for community members to jump into action to do what they could in the recovery process. Mere hours after the disaster, people were approaching co-owners Betty Zimmerman and Januery Tango with meals, aiding in clean-up and doing whatever they could to lend a hand.
“Everyone in the community has reached out to help,” Tango said. “They have dropped off meals for the clean-up crews, they have offered so many kind words, and their presence and willingness to aid in any way they can has been so amazing I can barely grasp it all.”
As a way to help in the reconstruction process of the market, several local businesses are rallying around their friends and colleagues and offering a fundraiser.
Tango’s colleagues at Best of Ohio’s Amish Country, consisting of a group of seven businesses working together to promote tourism in the area, came up with an idea to help offset clean-up and rebuilding costs at the market.
Coblentz Chocolate Company has designed a limited-edition box of chocolates, which will be available for purchase by Oct. 15.
According to Jason Coblentz, general manager at Coblentz Chocolate Company, the box will include two-dozen assorted caramels, meltaways, creams, peanut butter cups and clusters.
All of the proceeds will go to help the many vendors who struggled through the loss after the fire.
“We want to encourage the Walnut Creek Amish Flea Market and assist with any uninsured needs,” Coblentz said. “In a time when our hearts are heavy with the loss at the flea market, our community reaches out to support those who have sustained a loss. We invite everyone to be part of our community and help one of our neighbors.”
Coblentz said supporting the flea market through chocolate is like “doing good while enjoying one of life’s pleasures.”
Special-edition chocolates may be purchased at any of the BOAC members’ shops: Coblentz Chocolate Company, Lehman’s, Amish Door, the Amish and Mennonite Heritage Center, Homestead Furniture and Heini’s Cheese Chalet. Chocolates also may be purchased online at www.coblentzchocolates.com and shipped as a business or personal gift.
“We have a lot of good hearts in our community who are ready to help those who suffer and find themselves in need,” Coblentz said. “The flea market has been a big part of our community for a long time, and they are part of our family of businesses here. We took a look at several different options as far as fundraisers, and this one really seemed like a good fit.”
While the flea market will remain closed for the remainder of 2019, Tango said the rebuilding is already planned, and the market will reopen in 2020.
“It has been hard on all of us, but the way people have responded and offered to help has been an incredible inspiration,” Tango said. “That really helps us to keep going and to continue working toward reopening in the spring of 2020.”
Tango said while that is the hope, the process of rebuilding takes time and they will not reopen until they are sure everything is done right and in place to make both the vendors and visitors’ experience there a great one.
With the fire now more than a month in the past, Tango said they have had ample time to assess the damage. The center blue building was a complete loss, but fire walls and four different area fire departments contained the fire to that building. However, each of the other four connected buildings will need work.
The purple building to the rear will need a wall replaced that was adjacent to the blue building and will need a deep clean. The red building to the east, where winds drove the flames, will need completely gutted and redone. The green building to the west and the orange building that houses the cafeteria and information booth will need a deep cleaning.
Tango said the vendors have been eager to see things get underway, but they have been understanding and have done what they can to help.
“It was one of those freak accidents, and they all understand that,” Tango said. “The majority of them are eager to come back and start fresh again, which is encouraging.”
All of the work and effort has helped the flea market owners realize how blessed they are.
“I knew we were part of a good community,” Tango said. “But until this happened, I never realized just how wonderful it is. It’s comforting to know that so many people care.”