Ron and Carolyn Howe stand in front of their new home, which is located right where their old home stood. It was destroyed by a fire a year and a half ago, during Winnebago’s Bago Fun Fest.

When Ron and Carolyn Howe’s Winnebago home went up in flames, they lost their home, possessions, and beloved cat, Elizabeth, within the space of an hour.

Then, a ‘small town’ with a ‘big heart’ stepped in to prove its mantra.

Now, a year and a half later, the Howes’ new home is, truly, the house that ‘Bago built – along with a few other contractors from across the county.

“It’s been a strenuous year, but we had a lot of help along the way,” explains Ron. “Our faith was a big part of it, and our family, and the community.” 

The new modular house which the Howes have called home since Dec. 1  stands precisely where their previous home was located before disaster struck two summers ago.

Ironically, when a raging fire consumed their house on Friday, June 17, 2022, the Howes were out celebrating the very town which would help them through the tragedy.

It was the kick-off night of the annual Bago Fun Fest – the first which had occurred since the pandemic struck in 2020. The Howes were out on the town, enjoying the festivities, when they got the call.

Thanks to a neighbor’s trail camera, they were later able to pinpoint the timeline of that horrible evening.

“It was 10:38 p.m. when the trail cams picked us up leaving,” Ron recalls. “At 10:52 p.m. the fire call went in. Within less than half an hour, this thing was a-blazing.” 

The Winnebago Fire Department rushed to the scene and was soon joined by the Blue Earth Fire Department, the Delavan Fire Department and Winnebago Ambulance.

“When police officers arrived, the house and garage were fully engulfed in flames,” the Faribault County Sheriff’s Office reported. “Fire crews remained on the scene throughout the night.” 

The Howes arrived to watch their home burn from a garage they owned down the street.

Ron, a former firefighter, recalls, “It was surreal. But, as a firefighter, I knew they were doing the best job they could. There’s nothing worse than watching a fellow firefighter’s possessions burn.” 

In fact, Ron says he was most preoccupied by the fate of Elizabeth, the Howes’ cat, who did not survive the fire. She was later found curled up in her favorite spot in the basement.

“If I could have anything back, it would be our cat still alive,” Ron admits.

A fellow firefighter later brought the Howes a photo collage memorializing Elizabeth, knowing she was missed by her owners.

He, and the other emergency personnel at the scene that evening, put in an exhausting night before returning home in the wee hours of the morning on Saturday, June 18.

Though the fire may have been extinguished, the Howes were left with a scene of devastation to contend with that weekend.

“(The house) was completely destroyed,” Ron says.

Following the fire, the remains of the house stood stark on Second Street – a charred skeleton where the garage stood, singed and misshapen vehicles in the driveway and a gaping hole in the house’s roof.  

“We salvaged a few things,” Ron says. “It was goofy how the pictures survived.” 

He explains how the family photo albums were actually stored in the part of the house which was most heavily damaged. Later, when the Howes were digging through the rubble, they unearthed a hard, black block that used to be an album.

“Then, we pulled it apart, and all these pictures popped out,” Ron recalls.

Carolyn also found a keepsake from her grandmother after the original house had been demolished, and the site was a gaping hole in the ground.

“I saw something blue in the hole. I said it looked like Grandma’s blue crystal bird, and it was,” she says.

However, most of the couple’s possessions were a loss, either due to the blaze itself or due to the three feet of standing water left in the basement.

“50,000 gallons of water went into the house when they were putting out the fire,” Carolyn explains.

The Howes spent the rest of the weekend in a flurry, and later found themselves in a state of shock on Monday, June 20.

“Saturday and Sunday, we were in survival mode,” Ron remembers. “On Monday, everybody went back to work, except me. Then it hit me. It’s like a death in the family.”  

However, it was time for Winnebago to prove that it protects its own, and the community did so in full-force.

The Howes’ most pressing need was to put a roof over their heads, and Winnebago’s Lutheran Church of Our Savior rose to the occasion by offering the couple its parsonage until they were able to rebuild.

‘It was a blessing,” Ron says.

In fact, the generous community inundated the Howes with many offers of places to stay, from a lake home owned by local Heidi Stevermer to a placement offered by St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Vernon Center.

It was also at this time that a community member, Maggie Hassing, set up a benefit account for the couple at First Financial Bank in Winnebago where the Howes’ well-wishers could deposit donations.

What started as a nest egg soon grew into a $50,000 testament to the town’s generosity.

Winnebago, a tiny town that likes to celebrate, then scheduled a benefit on Aug. 5 to support the Howes in their time of need. The event, held at the Municipal Center, drew at least 800 well-wishers.

“It was a constant stream,” Ron remembers. “I spent so much time out there shaking hands and crying. It was humbling.” 

That afternoon, Ron was presented with a new firefighter’s coat and hat, and the couple was also presented with the staggering donation to help them rebuild their home.

Rebuild is what the Howes did, as they had no interest in living anywhere other than their idyllic spot on the north end of town, across from a picturesque pond.

“We had to come home,” Carolyn explains.

Preparing the site for their new modular home took some time, and it took a veritable village of local contractors.

Ron says, “Our biggest goal was to use all Faribault County contractors.” 

The couple succeeded, for the most part, only venturing out of Faribault County to purchase appliances from Dan’s Appliance, in Fairmont.

When it came to preparing what was, essentially, a large hole for the new house to be placed in, Winnebago’s Weerts Construction performed the demolition work in September of 2022.

The following June, Osmundson Construction, also of Winnebago, completed the groundwork, and the blockwork for the foundation was laid by Minnesota Lake’s Harris Masonry.

Meanwhile, the Howes worked with Hinrichsen Construction, of Blue Earth, to order and customize their new modular home, which was delivered and placed on Aug. 17 last summer. Then Winnebago’s Owen Construction arrived to help secure the house to its foundation.

There was still plenty of work to go around. Tom Krumholz was hired out of Winnebago to work on the roof, Nate Coxworth wrapped up the siding, Blue Earth’s Meyer Plumbing & Heating worked on the plumbing, Bookem Drywall, out of Wells, did the drywall and Eastvold Construction, of Winnebago, insulated the basement. Additionally, Anderson Electric offered to trench in the power for free.

After an exhausting few months, the Howes report the house is nearly complete, apart from a few finishing touches to be done when the weather warms up – landscaping work by local Josh More, plus the construction of a deck and porch.

For now, though, the couple is snug in the house for the winter. Although they are still living among some plastic totes, their new home is already festive for Christmas with a tree in the living room and seasonal knickknacks scattered around the kitchen and dining room.

The Howes are happy to be home, and couldn’t imagine living anywhere other than Winnebago.

“It’s a small community – everyone helps everyone,” Carolyn explains. “It’s a friendly place.” 

“I’ve lived here all my life. Where else would we go?” Ron adds. “The whole town is like our family.”