Fire levels Gordonsville florist

By Sandy James
Review Staff Writer
Published: May 15, 2008

The familiar Colonial Florist and Antiques building next to the railroad underpass in Gordonsville is reduced to a heap of bricks and charred wood after a devastating fire Friday morning.
A call around 4 a.m. brought firefighters from Gordonsville, Barboursville, Orange and Trevilians to the two-story brick building that was already fully ablaze.
With violent storms raging through the area Thursday night and Friday morning, firefighters felt lightning was the most likely cause of the early morning fire. Investigation is pending.
By mid-day, what was left of the building had to be knocked down.
Gordonsville firefighter, L. L. Coiner, Jr., said, “There was fire still burning that could not be reached, so the insurance company gave the okay to bulldoze the building.”
Orange fire chief Buckshot Clements said, “We couldn’t get inside. The fire started in the front of the building and it got a good head start on us.”
Clements grew up in Gordonsville and has fond memories of the building.
“It was a Gulf gas station and Frank Ryan’s lunch counter,” he said.
“It was a nice little restaurant. On Fridays he would have a steak dinner. He had the best ice cream in town. It was Elliot’s ice cream and you could get a cone for a nickel,” Clements said.
Coiner said the building was a favorite gathering place for Gordonsville businessmen.
“There were about 20 men from around town that ate lunch there every day. The meals were fantastic and the prices were cheap,” Coiner said.
He recalled having lunch there with Don Shula when he was coach at the University of Virginia in 1958.
Mae Taylor recalled the small glass bottles of soft drinks and the ice cream served at Ryan’s and the long table where the men from town would have lunch and discuss current events.
“Sometimes they would argue over politics, and someone would get offended and not come back for days,” she said.
Current owner Donna Graves has operated Colonial Florist in the building since 1975.
According to the owner’s father, Otto Sherwood, the building was a livery stable during the Civil War. Since then, it has served as a tractor dealership, a car dealership, a restaurant and a residence.
The couple who lived in the upstairs apartment lost everything they owned. They are thankful to still have each other and said they are amazed at the generosity and support offered to them by the community.
Sunflower’s Shop, on the south side of the building was also destroyed.
The Colonial Florist staff worked out of a nearby garage Friday and Saturday to fill orders for Mother’s Day and for a funeral.
Graves could not be reached for comment, because she is still working in the garage, without a phone, to fill funeral orders, but a staff member is still taking phone orders at the original Colonial Florist number of 832-3611.
Graves will not make definite plans until investigations and assessments are completed, but she is currently looking for local quarters where business will continue.

Things are not nearly as bad for Zamma Corporation.
Zamma is located at 14468 Litchfield Drive in Lee Industrial Park. The company produces pre-finished profile molding for home improvement and commercial construction markets.
It took nearly four hours to contain a fire at Zamma last Wednesday night. The call came in around 6:30 p.m.
Units from Orange, Gordonsville, Barboursville and a ladder truck from Culpeper responded to a fire that started in ducts that carry sawdust from machines out of the building.
One machine malfunctioned and caught a small duct on fire and the fire spread through the larger ducts.
Orange Chief Buckshot Clements said the firemen were wary because it was a dust fire and dust can be explosive.
“We put dry chemicals in to start with. Then we opened trap doors and applied foam. The mechanical ‘man-lifts’ worked well and the firefighters rode them up to the trap doors. Zamma was a hard job and the men did a great job. It was time consuming and tedious work,” Clements said.
“There was no major damage from our standpoint. They will have to take down some pipes,” said Clements.
Zamma president Peter Spielman said the damage could be repaired for around $15,000 and contractors will work through the weekend to repair the ducts.
“We appreciate very much the prompt response and efforts of all the fire departments that responded,” said Spielman.