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REMARKS ON CONWAY’S 2017 TORNADO

John and Jan Maggs, Pumpkin Hollow

A year ago tonight, before finishing the craft beer that had delayed the trip to our office in the barn and probably saved our lives, Jan and I walked outside to assess whether the trees around us had survived the powerful wind we had just heard while we sat in darkness in our kitchen. We couldn’t see our favorite maple tree, and when I aimed my flashlight towards the barn, we discovered that it had been transformed into a pile of rubble. Our business, inventory, family heirlooms, kids’ belongings, and the overage of life’s essentials, were scattered about, and were being drenched by rain. Three decades of work to preserve and improve Jabez Newhall’s barn in Conway’s historic center had just ended.

We had a sleepless night, punctuated by visits from Conway’s heroic first responders, and when we rose on Sunday morning, our future stretched before us, as uncertain as it had been in our youth.

While we tried to assess the damage, a small army of friends, neighbors, and family began to appear. They came to help, and this outpouring of community is perhaps the most vivid and overwhelming memory we have of those first hours. Over the next few days, others came as well. We were offered space in a nearby hay barn, to which much of what could be salvaged was taken. As we recall those first few days, these are the things that we remember, and we’ll never be able to summon words to express the extent of our gratitude to all who came to our aid. Our thoughts soon shifted to the future.

Two things became obvious to us:

First, we would continue in business, although it would certainly take time to recover. Much of our inventory was lost, and most of what remained needed repairing – and we no longer had space to make those repairs.

Second, we felt an obligation to replace Jabez Newhall’s iconic barn with a structure of similar significance. Within a few days, with the help of friends whose knowledge of these things is greater than ours, we had begun to make plans for the barn that is now rising in Pumpkin Hollow. It would be no replica, but a new structure, built to 21st-century standards, but with a visual and structural connection to Pumpkin Hollow’s 18th-century past.

As you might correctly assume, the new barn comes at a huge cost. Fortunately, our insurers have agreed to underwrite most of the cost of building. What the future holds for us in terms of its operation is less certain. Time will tell.

After an initial series of administrative delays, the project is now moving quite quickly towards completion. We are looking forward to holding our inaugural show in the new barn on May 5th & 6th. All are, of course, welcome, but we also plan to hold an open house for non-antiquing Conway residents during the summer. The date of this event will be announced on our website (www.jmaggs.com) and in local media. Jan and I are looking forward to sharing the new home of our business with the residents of Conway and beyond.

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