Pam Duncan on tue 16 nov 99
------------------
A dear friend and potter, Terry Achten, of Waupaca, WI lost both his home =
and
studio to a devastating fire this past weekend. Terry has been a potter for
many years, participating in the local arts community in Waupaca. He was =
very
active in teaching local high school art students who showed extra interest =
in
pottery, by taking them under his wing and tutoring them in his spare time.
Like many of us, Terry earned an income outside of his pottery, as a =
carpenter,
but his true love was in his studio. Luckily no one in his family was =
injured
by the fire Saturday night. It is believed that the fire started as a van =
fire,
then spread to his small barn/studio. From there it leapt the 12 foot span =
to
his house. His son smelled smoke and woke the family up and they were =
able to
get out of the house safely. The volunteer fire department tried to save =
the
house, but it was lost, as was his barn/studio along with the van. Gone is =
all
his pottery equipment, wheels, slab roller, 3 kilns, pug mill and years of
collecting materials. Also gone are his carpentry tools, most in the van, =
but
also many things in the barn. Terry was preparing for his annual Holiday =
sale
and completely lost his stock of pots. Some of the Wisconsin potters may =
know
Terry, and I just wanted to let them know of the situation.
I personally would like to do something to help out Terry, Barb and their
children. If any one has any ideas of where to start, please e-mail me. =
Any
words of encouragement will be forwarded to the Achtens. Thanks.
Pam in WI a sad morning, and at the same time, a thankful =
morning
Mark & Pauline Donaldson-Drzazga on wed 17 nov 99
------------------
Dear Clayarters,
especially to those like Terry Achten (email from Pam Duncan) who have been
baptised by fire. We moved in to Mole Cottage in October 94, and in July 95 =
our
Studio burnt to the ground. I wont go into details, but we were not insured =
for
the contents, over 25 years worth of tools and etc up in smoke. Pauline was =
in
tears, my reaction (always the same to stressful situations) was to laugh. =
Two
days later I was working out of the Coach House ( a tenth of the size of the
burnt out Studio) to replace orders and try to save our livelihood. After =
six
weeks I had finished the lost orders and went into a very black mood (for =
five
days, also very usual for me), and Pauline helped me through this patch as =
she
had gotten over hers.
My only words of consolation to anyone baptized this way is to thank your =
lucky
stars there was no loss of life. Studios and homes are just stuff=21 =
Persevere,
get your head down and work your way out of the bloody awful situation. If =
you
sit around feeling sorry for yourself , then you are going to be a pain in =
the
arse to everybody around you. I really do feel very touched when I hear of =
burn
outs, (I was only just today scanning in the photos for our Archives =
files,to be
on the net early 2000, of the fire, and the rebuilding, at least we had the
building insured, and subsequent exhibition), but you will pull through if =
you
have a mind to.
Happy potting Marek http://www.moley.uk.com
carrie or peter jacobson on wed 17 nov 99
Hi Pam, I am sorry to hear about your friend, who lost all to a fire. I'd
be happy to send some $, or would be happy to send a pot or two. If we all
sent pots, he could still have a sale, and probably make more than we could
give him.
Any other ideas?
How about an address for him?
Carrie Jacobson
Carrie Jacobson
Pawcatuck, CT
mailto:jacobson@brainiac.com
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