Nappanee Advance-News, Volume 131, Number 5, Nappanee, Elkhart County, 31 January 2008 — Page 2

Advance News • Thursday, January 31, 2008

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Elizabeth Chupp Jan. 20, 2008 MILFORD Elizabeth Chupp, 84, of Milford died Sunday, Jan. 20 at 3 a.m. at the home of her nephew, Allen Schwartz. She is survived by brothers: William (Mary) Chupp of Bremen and Edward (Alta) Chupp of Nappanee; sisters: Lydia Hochstetler of Nappanee and Edna Schwartz of Nappanee; and many nieces and nephews. Visitation was Monday, Jan. 21 after 10:30 a.m. at the Lavem Schwartz residence, 10485 W 1350 N. Funeral services were Tuesday, Jan. 22 at 9:30 a.m. at the Lavem Schwartz residence. Burial was at Weldy Cemetery. The Thompson-Lengacher & Yoder Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements. Lydia Mae Hochstetler Jan. 23, 2008 NAPPANEE Lydia Mae Hochstetler, 91, of Nappanee, died Wednesday, Jan. 23 at 10:50 p.m. at LuAnn Nursing Home in Nappanee. i She is survived by daughters: Sharon Sue Borkholder of Hamilton, Mont., Kathryn (Raymond) Schmucker of McClure, Penn., Inez Marie (Olen Jr.) Christner of Shipshewana, Barbara Ann (Harvey) Kemp of Goshen, Rosetta (Floyd) Helmuth of Nappanee and Mary Lynn (Ronald) Miller of Bremen; a son: Homer (Connie) Hochstetler of Crete, 111.; brothers: William (Mary) Chupp of Bremen and Edward (Alta) Chupp of Nappanee; sister: Edna Schwartz of Nappanee; 45 grandchildren; and 64 great grandchildren. . Visitation was after 3 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 24 and all day Friday, Jan. 25 at the Ronald Miller residence, 1184 E. 3rd Rd., Bremen. Funeral services were Saturday, Jan. 26 at 9:30 a.m. at the Ronald Miller residence. Burial was at Weldy Cemetery. The Thompson-Lengacher & Yoder Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.

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fully-stocked and, other than the smoke tinge, it is as if there had never been a fire. The Millers also own the building that burned, as well as the former Crystal Video store, now vacant, which sits on the other side of the butcher shop. GRABER'S FLOORING STUDIO Arden and Evidene Graber, who own Graber's Flooring Studio, plan to move their business into the former Crystal Video store. While they are not sure whether this will be a temporary or permanent location, they are glad to simply have a place to restart. "The location is so close to where we were, it'll make it easier for our customers to find us," Arden Graber said. the couple has received numerous offers, from storage space to office space to equipment and supplies. Evidene commented on what she describes as Nappanee's "if-there's-anything-I-can-do" attitude. "The community has given us so many options," she said. "We can't take everybody up on their offer, and we don't want anybody to feel

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bad about that." They have already made plans to forward their existing phone number to the building so customers can continue to contact them. HEROIC RESCUE According to Russell Miller, when the fire broke out it did not even cross his mind to think of losing his building. His first thought, he said, were the lives that could be in danger. "Wow," he said in reflection. Then, after a pause, "Coming up there and hoping all the tenant people were OK, that was the main thing." Firefighters did have to rescue one tenant, Alvie Truex, who had helped evacuate the other residents but became trapped. Miller led the rescue team into the burning building and showed them an alternate way out. Due to severe asthma, Truex could not escape down the staircase, which was thickly engulfed in smoke. "He really didn't want to come back down the stairs through the smoke," Miller said. Firefighters led Truex to an old 10 foot by 8 foot courtyard between buildings. "(Firefighter) Abbott Martin

Community

Lechlitner, Lopez are Sweetheart queen, king

By Steve SMar Correspondent NAPPANEE, Seniors Mackenzie Lechlitner and David Lopez were chosen Sweetheart Queen and King of North Wood High School during pre-game festivities preceding the boys' varsity basketball game against Warsaw on Jan. 25. Lechlitner, the daughter of Phil and Mindy Lechlitner, plays soccer and basketball and is active in the youth group at Nappanee Missionary Church (NMC), having just returned from a somewhat harrowing missionary trip to Kenya. Lopez, the son of Sam and Colleen Russell, is a star member of team and is the senior class president among numerous other activities. Other senior queen candidates included Michelle Anthony, daughter of Kevin and Deb Anthony and Monica Lengacher, daughter of Jamie and Jolinda Lengacher. Senior king candidates were Robby Bums, son of Chuck and Darla Bums and Michael Griggs, son of Mike and Kim Griggs. Members of the court included juniors Lindsay Mast, daughter of Jim and Patty Mast and her escort Luke Miller, son of Lynn Miller and Donnie Miller; sophomores Katie Lengacher, daughter of Jack and Shelly Lengacher and her escort, Spencer Brown, son of Eric and Diane Brown; and freshmen Chloe Anglemyer, daughter of Kent and Diane Anglemyer and her escort Brandon Snodgrass, son of Tami Snodgrass. Taylor Davis, daughter of Nic and Bobbi Davis and Chase Duerksen, son of Brad and Maegen Duerksen, were the flower girl and crown bearer, respectively. Also on hand were last year's king and queen, Kelly Adams and Amanda Bechtel, to present the crowns to their successors. North Wood senior Ashlea Romano provided a beautiful song to serenade the winners following their coronation.

picked him up, set him in the window sill into the other apartments, then (Truex) walked down the stairs," Miller said. The entire building soon became engulfed, and firefighters battled 14 hours before the blaze was out. Another hero of the story, according to Evidene Graber, was Don Lehman of the Nappanee Fire Department, who had firefighters retrieve the store's sign from the front of the building before demolishing it. Firefighters had to tear down the front part of the store to access several hot spots, or areas that were still hot and could have reignited the fire. "I knew the building was going to have to come down, so I said, 'get the sign,'" Lehman said. Though approximately one million gallons of water were used, it was not enough to save the 99-year-old building. The fire was later ruled arson. That same day, police arrested two suspects, both from Nappanee. MARY'S PASTRIES UPDATE Approximately one month prior to the fire at Graber's, Mary's Pastries outside of town was also badly damaged in a weekend blaze. According

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a photo of Lemler. "She said that was the only regret,” Hochstetler-Pulliam said, "that he wasn't here to see her open this shop.” Sheila enjoys catering to customers of all agrfs. Not just a barber shop, His, Hers & More also employs a stylist and includes tanning beds for those wishing to combat the

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, ADVANCE NEWS PHOTO/MANDY MCFARLAND Trie building that once housed Graber's Flooring Studio now sits empty and charred. Firefighters had to demolish parts of the building to find remaining hot spots, or smoldering hot areas that could re-ignite a fire.

to owner Steven Hochstetler, plans are to rebuild, though a location has not yet been chosen. "We're looking at relocating to in Nappanee or rebuilding on the exact same spot," he said. It will be at least four to six

pallor of winter. The biggest aspect of her business Sheila emphasizes, is a friendly atmosphere, where customers feel welcome. "My customers are my family members," she said. The Losees are not new to the barbershop scene, having owned one in Bourbon several years ago. However downtown construction a few years ago made it difficult for them to remain in business.

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DAT PHOTO » David Lopez escorts Mackenzie Lechlitner down the aisle during the Sweetheart coronation. The coronation took place between the Jan. 25 JV and varsity basketball games against Warsaw. Lopez was crowned sweetheart king and Lechlitner was crowned queen.

For three years, Sheila worked at a factory position. However, during that time she never gave up her passion for working as a barber. Then, immediatley following the Oct. 18 tornado, the building downtown became available, and she and Jewell decided not to pass up the opportunity. According to Sheila, Nappanee is the perfect location for her barbershop. "It's been booming since we opened," she said. "It was time for another barbershop. When I was a kid, there were four barbershops in this town." Sheila studied at a barber school in Fort Wayne, where she was the only female student. "She wanted to do hair, but she didn’t want to be a beautician," Hochstetler-Pulliam said. Sheila also cuts hair for funeral homes in Nappanee and Plymouth. "It's one of the last things I can do for my customers," she said. Jewell works as a custodian at Nappanee Elementary School and plans to perform maintenance on the barbershop where needed. Advance News Subscriptions s2l a year • 773-3127

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months before the family knows for sure what they will be able to do, Hochstetler said. In the meantime, production has paused due to a lack of adequate space. "It's just going to be a while," Hochstetler said.