Posted: 2/8/05
Blaze destroys Wiebke Fur Company
 This is how the Wiebke Fur Company in Eitzen looked the morning after a fire destroyed the business at 218 North Portland on Wednesday night, February 2. Photo by David Heiller |
Fire guts Eitzen landmark February 2
By David Heiller
Argus News Editor
The owners of Wiebke Fur in Eitzen hope to have a new building open this spring after fire destroyed their business last week.
Jason Wiebke, who is in partnership with his brother, Dan, and their father, Tom, said that they would like to have something up by the end of April or first part of May in time for the morel mushroom season. It will be located at the site of the old building at 218 North Portland Avenue.
The Wiebke family was still in the early stages of taking in the scope of the devastating fire when Jason made those comments to The Argus on February 4.
The fire was discovered at about 10:00 p.m. on Wednesday night, February 2. Edna Meyer, who lives next to Wiebke Fur Company, became alarmed when her house filled with smoke. She called Tom and Judy Wiebke, who live across the street. Judy and a friend had walked past the building 15 minutes earlier and had not seen any smoke. Judy and Tom ran over to the building and opened the door. Thick smoke filled the room. They couldnít enter, so Judy ran back home and called 9-1-1.
When firefighters arrived, smoke was coming out all over the structure.
ìShortly after everybody got here the roof came down,î fire fighter Keith Meyer said the next day while standing guard over the ruined building.
They concentrated on saving the homes of Edna Meyer to the north of the building and the Keith Myhre home on the south side of it.
Caledonia, Spring Grove, New Albin, and Houston Fire Departments were called for mutual aid. Veismann Trucking and Caledonia Haulers also hauled in tankers of water.
No cause of the fire had been determined as of February 7. Jason Wiebke said that their insurance company was sending an expert to determine that.
Firemen and the Wiebkes were able to salvage a few things. Once the fire opened up through the roof, the smoke cleared, Jason said. Firemen then set up up an assembly line and passed out about 30 guns that were in a fireproof vault. They got out some personal items, and the last of the ginseng crop. Jason tossed a computer out the window too.
All the furs in the building were lost. Partially burned bales of them could be seen amid the charred wood and twisted metal of the gutted building.
Jason said that about a quarter of Wiebke Furís business was the sale of sporting goods like guns, ammunition, optics, and trapping equipment. Some of the ammunition exploded during the fire, but no one was injured.
ìMost of it was geared for business, so we had a pretty good inventory of fur that we lost,î he said.
Busy time of year
This is a busy time of year for the selling furs, Jason said. They collect most fur from late October through December. The primary fur is raccoon, with lesser amounts of muskrat and red fox. Some beaver is still being trapped. They buy from local trappers, and also broker a lot of furs from other fur buyers in the upper midwest.
ìThe worst tragedy was my father had a decoy collection that he had collected for years and years. We lost every one,î Jason said.
They have a pretty good grasp on the value of the inventory and furs, Jason said. ìBut a lot of the things you donít think of.î That included a lot of things of sentimental value, like those duck decoys.
Wiebke Fur also has a store at 110 Rose Street in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Dan Wiebke manages it, and it will continue to operate.
ìWe very fortunate compared to most businesses,î Jason said. ìWe still have the capacity to operate our business through our La Crosse Store.î
Jason said he and his family were grateful for the support they have received from friends. He especially thanked the fire departments that responded and kept the fire from spreading to nearby homes. He also thanked Dave Nelson of Caledonia, who has loaned them a construction office that they are now operating out of on their Eitzen property.
Judy echoed those sentiments. ìWeíre so fortunate that Eitzen has such a well-trained fire department,î she said. ìIt was an extremely dangerous situation. Weíre thankful that no one was hurt.î
The family will be relieved when the fire marshal makes a ruling so that the debris can be removed, Judy said. Itís hard to look at the ruined building across the street, she said. ìIt will be good for the family when they can get rid of everything thatís left.î
Judy agreed with her son that the business will probably be rebuilt. Their biggest resource might be a human one. ìTom has unlimited amounts of information in his head,î Judy said. ìThey wonít quit.î
That will be good news to fur sellers, sportsmen, and citizens of Eitzen. John Burrichter, who stopped to look at the building the next morning, said it was a big loss for Eitzen. ìBrought a lot of people to town,î he commented.
About Wiebke Fur
Four generations of Wiebkes have operated the business. Tom took it over from his father, Junior, and grandfather, Henry in the 1960s. Judy isnít sure when it began, but it goes back as far as anyone can remember. They used to operate it in the Wiebke Produce building. Tom moved the fur part of the business to the old creamery building in the late 1960s. Tom then sold the produce part of the business.
Tom expanded the fur company into an international operation. Wiebke Fur does not tan the furs, but sends them to tanneries. Their primary buyers are Greeks who manufacture coats to sell in Russia, Jason said.
They sell many furs to Taiwan and China too, which is a switch from their old markets of Italy and Canada, Judy added. She said they received a phone call from a European buyer on February 3 who had heard ìthrough the grapevineî about the fire.
The Eitzen facility has four full-time employees and about a dozen seasonal workers.
Caledonia Argus
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E-Mail: editor.argus@ecm-inc.com