Forget Me Not shop and firefighters in Paeroa on February 23. Photo / Kathy Bland
Paeroa is showing how resilient its community-minded business people really are after a fire ripped through in late February.
Forget Me Not op shop owner Sue Turner has already secured a new shop at 80 Normanby Rd Paeroa and plans to reopen tentatively on March 28.
She says she's been "heavily overwhelmed" by donations from the community of goods and has kitted out a new site with all that she needs after purchasing from an op shop that was closing down in Matamata.
"I'm not prepared to lay down because a lot of people appreciate the help we give the people through the shop," said Turner.
Clothing and items are sold at low cost or sometimes given free to needy recipients including low-income families, the local kaumātua group, the RSA, local kindergartens and even staff of rest homes who buy clothes because Turner says they feel sorry for the residents they're caring for.
"I tell them, fill a bag for $5. So long as I cover the monthly overheads of the shop I'm not all about profit. For me, it's an occupation and I love the job."
Sue thanked Paeroa, Waihi, Ngatea, and Te Aroha fire service crews for their great efforts in putting out the fire on February 23 and everyone for all the messages and support offered.
Vast amounts of items were donated by the community and Turner says her five-bedroom house is more like an apartment now it's storing so many clothes.
Friends have been helping with cleaning donated items and preparing for the new store's opening later this month.
Another Paeroa business owner, Wendy Mikkelsen, says she has picked up the pieces in her life a lot in the last few years.
She and late husband Stephen have owned businesses in Paeroa for 18 years and she describes the fire as "overwhelming" in its ferocity and speed.
Since Stephen's death, Wendy and her son Jon are now among the business owners whose livelihoods have been impacted by the fire and she wants customers to know Jon is still in business and needs clients to keep in contact so they can carry on.
The destruction at their family business Mikkelsen Gallery and Advance Insurance left her once again calling on her faith, and the attitude that's helped her through before.
"I've got two questions that I never ask myself. One is 'why?' because if you do you are saying you are entitled never to suffer and everyone does suffer. The other is I never ask 'what's next?'.
"You just have to deal with the reality of now, and get through it at the time."
The gallery had 15 artists' works exhibited including pottery, sculptures, metalwork chandeliers, replica sailing ships, and paintings all from artists around the Paeroa and wider Coromandel area. Much of it was smoke-damaged or unable to be saved in its entirety.
"It was such a privilege to receive these works and the artists were all so kind, they said the main thing was nobody was hurt. Jon and I were trying to run and resue the art during the fire, but I had spinal surgery recently and can't run very fast, I felt like a mad chook," she said.
Jon attempted to quell the flames with a fire extinguisher but Wendy says it was out of control quickly.
Wendy says after husband Stephen's death, her son had worked throughout the difficult period of Covid lockdowns and even his dad's funeral to keep the business afloat.
"I'm very proud and grateful for Jon, how he's stepped up to the job and is now a qualified broker. We just want people to know he's still working and they can contact him even though we aren't able to work from the shop."
Advance Insurance' Jon Mikkelsen can be contacted on 021 027 92 448.