HOLDINGFORD — For over a century, the Holdingford Mill has been there for its customers and community — first producing flour and later mixing feed — but a fire claimed it in a single night. For Jeff and Sue Burg, who have owned the mill since 2016 but worked there 30 years before that, the loss of the main building is an incalculable, historic loss. But thanks to the support they have received so far, the Burgs plan to rebuild a more efficient and viable business for whoever succeeds them.
“This was tearing a Band-Aid off quickly,” Jeff said. “I’d much rather have it torn off quickly and be done than have to worry about it. It’s a terrible thing, but it could turn out to be a blessing for the community.”
The Burgs’ long night started when they received a call from a relative at 7:45 p.m. Feb. 15, saying there might be a fire at the mill. Jeff and Sue live on their farm about 5 miles from Holdingford; when they got within 3 miles, they could already see the glow.
“Sue was crying in the car,” Jeff said. “I knew that, if there was ever a fire in a feed mill, that the odds of it being able to be put out are very, very slim.”
The Holdingford Mill dates to 1895, when it was built by German immigrant Gehardt Abeln. The mill was then moved from its location on the South Two River to its current location in 1910, allowing for a larger building and local electricity. That 1910 building was still a part of the mill and was the area that was on fire.
“We came around the corner, and it was totally engulfed,” Jeff said.
The Stearns County Emergency Communications Center organization received several calls about the Holdingford Mill fire around the same time the Burgs were contacted; callers reported flames and sounds like explosions coming from the mill, according to a Stearns County Sheriff’s Office press release. The Holdingford Fire Department requested assistance and received help from the fire departments of Avon, Albany, Bowlus, Freeport, Melrose, Sartell, St. Joseph, St. Stephen and Upsala. The SCSO and the Avon and Albany police departments were also on the scene, along with the Mayo Clinic Ambulance Service, Xcel Energy and, Geise Tiling & Excavating.
After advising firefighters at the front of the mill, Jeff ran to the back, where firefighting crews were trying to get into the warehouse.
“I was able to jimmy a door open in the back,” Jeff said. “They got in the warehouse and stopped it (the fire) dead right there. … Because they saved that, we’re still in business today.”
As people gathered downtown, the city of Holdingford put out a notice at 8:30 p.m. via Facebook to ask residents to conserve water for the sake of the firefighting operation.
Nobody was at the mill when the fire started, and no injuries were reported. However, the wooden building and its foundations were a total loss.
“It’s literally like losing a child,” Jeff said. “As devastating as that would be, this was 41 years of my life, … and it just becomes part of your life. Obviously, I loved it, or I wouldn’t be here.”
The cause of the fire is undetermined, but in Jeff’s opinion, it was likely an electrical issue. As of writing, the insurance claim for the building is being processed.
It was March 5, several weeks after the fire, when the site was finally cleared for cleanup and the Burgs could find out the extent of their losses.
The mill’s feed ingredients were superheated, charred and ruined in their tanks. Cattle will not eat feed that smells and tastes like smoke, although it can be spread on fields as fertilizer. There is a chance the tanks can be restored, but if they cannot be, they will need to be scrapped.
One of the most personal losses was the mill’s statue of St. Isidore the Farmer, which the Burgs took in and restored from an area church nearly a decade ago. The statue stood in a grotto near the mill’s office entrance. While the pedestal was recovered, it is unclear what happened to the statue itself during the fire.
“It still brings tears to my eyes,” Jeff said. “We got a thinking-of-you card in the mail two nights ago, and it was from a local person here. … There had to have been 30 people asking about St. Isidore, but she, in her letter, said, ‘If you can find St. Isidore, (my husband and I) want to pay for the restoration, and if you can’t find him, we’re going to find a new one for you, and he will have a prominent place in the new office.’”
Fortunately, plenty of the business was saved from the blaze. Between the inventory in the mill’s warehouse and the corn stored in their mostly-untouched bins, Jeff estimates about $900,000 worth of product was preserved, and he was also able to save the office’s computers with the business records.
“It’s shocking, what made it and what didn’t,” Jeff said. “There are certain things that are irreplaceable, like 1950s pictures of my parents before they were married; they were on my office wall. We got them yesterday. They fell down (and) got a little burnt, but you can still see them.”
The Holdingford Mill is able to sell inventory today, albeit on a smaller scale than before, and Famo Feeds in Freeport is handling bulk orders. That is far from the only support the Burgs have received, though; on the first day after the fire, Jeff was approached by two local businesses who offered to put his employees on their payroll so they could still be paid while working with the mill.
“People I know who really don’t have extra money lying around have been sending money,” Jeff said. “I don’t think my guys have bought lunch yet; it’s been three weeks, and somebody just brought lunch again today for everybody. … The community has just been unbelievable.”
The Burgs are planning to rebuild, this time with a larger warehouse made of steel as well as an expanded space for the office and a display area, something the old building did not have. Jeff and Sue plan to retire in about 10 years; while they loved the building, they are grateful they will not have to sell it along with its issues — or, worse, see the whole business go unsold and fade away.
“We love the business so much that we want to work,” Jeff said. “Hopefully, it stays a feed mill in the future, but it could be anything with a large display area (and) a larger warehouse. We’re beyond grieving now and are looking to the future, and we can definitely help the community.”
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