Pekin students fundraise for Ollie couple who lost house to fire

OLLIE — Keith and Elaine Blair were moved to tears upon learning that a group of Pekin High School students were fundraising on their behalf.

The couple, who live west of Ollie, lost their home to a fire in December, and were only able to salvage a few precious belongings before it burned down. Pekin High School students Mackinzie Vannoy and Kaleigh Adrian spearheaded a fundraising campaign for the Blairs, which included working for tips at Pizza Ranch, putting out donation boxes in the area, and helping with a freewill donation dinner to benefit the couple in Hedrick.

The girls were able to raise $800 for Keith and Elaine, and they presented the money to the couple on Tuesday, March 21.

Vannoy and Adrian chose to do this fundraiser as part of a project for Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA). They documented their efforts and created a large posterboard titled “Pekin FCCLA Supports Family Fire Victims,” which they will present at a competition this weekend. The competition is part of FCCLA’s “STAR Events,” which stands for Students Taking Action with Recognition.

Vannoy said she approached Adrian about organizing a fundraiser for the Blairs because Vannoy has a personal connection to fire victims. Her grandmother, Vicki Vannoy, lost her home in Farson to a fire last June.

“I knew I would be interested in a project like this, and I figured Kaleigh would also be interested, so we decided to do one together,” Vannoy said. “It is a lot of work.”

The first fundraiser the girls organized was a tip night at the Ottumwa Pizza Ranch on Feb. 15, where the girls and five other members of Pekin’s FCCLA bused tables and cleaned the floor. Customers that day donated about $180 for the fundraiser.

In February, the civic center in Hedrick hosted a freewill dinner to benefit the Blairs, where Vannoy, Adrian other FCCLA members donated their time. The next fundraiser was part of Pekin’s “Hat Week” from Feb. 27 to March 3, where students could donate in exchange for being able to wear a hat in school. Vannoy and Adrian put out donation boxes, too, one in Ottumwa and a couple in Richland.

Keith said learning about these fundraisers “put a lump in our throats.”

“Most young people think about themselves first, but these two girls, and the girl who donated her essay money, are brought up different,” Keith said.

Day of the fire

The fire that destroyed the Blairs’ home occurred on the morning of Dec. 23. Elaine said she heard something “pop” near the back bedroom. Keith came to look and saw tiles pop off the bathroom wall because they were melting. He went outside to investigate and was shocked to see smoke and flames rising from the breaker box and spreading up the east wall.

Keith said it was a bitterly cold day, so he told Elaine to wait in the car to stay warm. He went back inside to try to salvage a few things.

“We had Christmas presents in the spare bedroom, so I went back to get them,” Keith said.

Fire departments from Ollie, Richland, Hedrick, Brighton and Packwood arrived on the scene to put out the fire, but the house could not be saved. The firefighters were able to get some photographs from the home before it burned.

“When you’ve been married 57 years, it’s kind of hard to start over,” Keith said.

The couple built the home 35 years ago. After the fire, they lived with a granddaughter in Centerville, and today they reside in a building they remodeled on their property. Elaine used to run an aronia berry business from that building, so it already had all the necessities like heat and water.

“At 80 years old, you don’t want to go into debt to build another house,” Keith said.

Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com