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March 6, 2010

Wendell August destroyed by blaze

Official vows to rebuild landmark forge

By Patrick Cooley

GROVE CITY — A Saturday afternoon blaze turned a Grove City landmark and Mercer County tourist attraction into a blackened shell despite efforts from numerous fire departments.

Heavy smoke could be seen from miles away after a fire started in the Madison Avenue workshop of historic Wendell August Forge, which makes handcrafted metal gifts.

The call came in at 1:35 p.m., according to a Mercer County 911 dispatcher, and dozens of firefighters were still on the scene hours after the fire, while smoke continued to pour out of the building. No injuries were reported.

North Madison Avenue was completely closed off on Saturday, as were several adjacent roads. The forge parking lot was filled with people who lived nearby, and many expressed their dismay.

Robert McCandless and his son Cody said they were driving home on state Route 173 Saturday afternoon, and could see smoke from the fire nearly seven miles away.

“We were out about halfway to Sandy Lake,” Cody said.

“We could see this gray/beige smoke, and maybe seven or eight minutes after that, when we got onto Princeton Road (just a few blocks away from the forge) we started to see billows of black smoke,” McCandless said.

The two said once they got a little closer, about 2 p.m., they saw the roof of the forge, was engulfed in flames.

Will Knecht, president of the company that owns the forge -- established in 1923 in Brockway, Pa., and moved to Grove City in 1932 -- said they plan to rebuild.

Knecht was upbeat as he talked to reporters in the parking lot while firefighters worked on keeping the fire under control.

“It was a landmark,” he said, “and it will be a landmark once again.”

Knecht, describing himself as a man of faith, said he doesn’t always understand the Lord’s plan, but “He knows what He’s doing, and we will rebuild.”

He said Wendell August’s other stores will remain open.

Knecht and firefighters said something caught fire in the workshop, and flames spread through the rest of the building. Customers and employees had to be evacuated.

Grove City Fire Chief Jeff Badger was not available for comment Saturday.

“All of the equipment is pretty much gone,” said Ed Hodge of Grove City, a forge craftsman for 25 years.

Hodge said he was at his home working on his car when he heard about the fire and came to help.

“I hope we rebuild,” he said.

That sentiment was echoed by many people standing on the sidewalks around the forge, watching firefighters battle the blaze.

“It’s something you think is going to be there forever and you want your kids to see it,” said Jessica Pienkoski, who lives in Pittsburgh and was visiting the area with her husband, Craig.

Mrs. Pienkoski said she grew up in the area, and toured the forge many times.

“We came up here in the summer, and we wanted (Craig’s) parents to see it,” she said.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the forge is the only remaining company of its kind in the U.S. The Grove City forge made customized pieces made for some of the most well-known companies in the world, such as Walt Disney, Hershey and Coca-Cola, as well as ashtrays for the German airship Hindenburg.

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