Local Efforts Support Milford Fire Victims
By LARISSA RYAN
MILFORD
Friday, July 18 began in ashes in the Village of Milford. A fire had raged through four buildings located in the heart of the village, destroying a home, an abandoned building, and two central businesses within the community—the Milford Corner Store and Sybil’s Yarn Shop. Since then, residents of Milford, Cooperstown and the surrounding areas have rallied together to provide support in the aftermath of the devastating blaze.
Children have raised money at a lemonade stand to help the families recover, and a GoFundMe page organized by Kate Joslyn has raised almost $5,000.00 to date.
Dog Wild Pet Supply, 4785 State Route 28, Cooperstown, will host a fund-raising event behind the store on Saturday, August 9, featuring music, lawn games, face painting and a silent auction.
The Greater Milford Historical Association is selling T-shirts to support the Milford Fire Department and Emergency Squad, and Paul Singh is selling “Milford Strong” signs out of his Apple Food Store, 3634 State Route 28, Milford, the proceeds of which go to support victims of the fire.
On Saturday, August 16 at 8 p.m., the Stoddard Hollow String Band will perform at The Elm Inn, 104 East Main Street, Milford, as a benefit for fire victims.
And on Sunday, August 17, the Cooperstown and Charlotte Valley Railroad is holding a Milford Fire Benefit Train. All donations will go to the Milford Fire Victims Fund, which is being managed by the Milford Methodist Church. To learn more, visit https://www.cooperstowntrain.com/milford-fire-benefit-train/.
Rigby Handcraft, 43 Pioneer Street, Cooperstown, has also put together a fundraiser to support Jeanetta Osterhoudt, the owner of Sybil’s Yarn Shop, as she works to rebuild her business.
“We are doing a fundraiser for Sybil’s Yarn Shop, which burned down in the Milford fire, and we have been accepting donations from community members,” said Rigby Handcraft owner Emilie Rigby.
“We have more than enough—thank you!—but we are going to be reselling donated items at a low cost on Saturday, August 16 from 6-9 p.m. at the Cooperstown Farmers’ Market building,” Rigby said.
Donations include hundreds of pounds of both yarn and fabric, according to Rigby.
“We have hundreds of needlework kits, and an entire tub of embroidery floss. We’ve got a bunch of big-ticket items: spinning wheels, looms, about 10 sewing machines. It’s been incredible. So many books, patterns, things like that. You can pretty much start whatever craft you want,” Rigby said.
During the sale, craft items will be sold at thrift-store prices. Some of the bigger ticket items will be raffled off.
“You can buy raffle tickets at Rigby Handcraft starting on Wednesday, August 6,” Rigby said. “There’s a Facebook event for the sale itself. Just look up ‘Fundraiser for Sybil’s Yarn Shop.’ We have updates there and pictures of a lot of the items getting donated.”
Rigby said her goal is to give Osterhoudt as much “no strings attached” money as possible, to show her how much she, and Sybil’s Yarn Shop, mean to the community.
“It’s where I hung out a lot for the last five years,” Rigby said of the store. “I moved here in 2020 after living elsewhere for a decade. It’s been a beautiful meeting place for people, and I’ve taken a couple of classes there. I go and just pick Jeanetta’s brain on what it’s like to run a business and she’s always been there for advice or commiseration. So yeah, she’s almost a mentor.
“Whatever we can make is awesome,” Rigby said of the upcoming sale. “We would love help setting up the sale, and taking down after the sale. But mostly, tell people to come to the sale.”
The Cooperstown Farmers’ Market is located at 101 Main Street, in Pioneer Alley.
Updates on current Milford fire relief efforts can be found at https://www.facebook.com/groups/milfordnystrong.
