Pontotoc, Miss.-This small town is nearly 900 miles from Ortonville, but distance doesn’t matter when helping hands are needed.
Some local citizens came to the rescue when former Ortonville residents Jerry and Frances (Frick) Baldwin lost their home and everything in it in an explosion.
Jerry Baldwin, 79, was changing a line on a gas furnace when the explosion occurred March 14, caused by a propane leak from the kitchen stove. He was alone at the time and stunned by the force of the explosion. One of the three Baldwin sons was at a nearby shop. Upon hearing the explosion, he and a friend rushed to the flame-engulfed home and pulled Baldwin out of the fire. Baldwin suffered first and second-degree burns, spared from worse burns or possible death by heavy coveralls he was wearing.
The home burned to the ground and the Baldwins were uninsured.
‘We lost everything,? said Frances Baldwin, who was raised in Ortonville and lived here for a year after she and Jerry were married before moving in 1956? first to Arkansas for a couple of years and then to Mississippi.
When Frances? sister, Ortonville resident Eileen Bradley, heard the news, she began making plans to help. Last month, Bradley and her son, Rod, grandson Jason and great-grandson Hunter, all residents of Ortonville, drove to Pontotoc to help. They were joined by Sandy Bradley of Hadley Township; Doug Bradley of Otisville; and Andy Barton of North Branch. Former Ortonville resident Gary Conis, who lives in Tennessee, also made the trip.
Upon arrival, they began rebuilding the Baldwin home? from the basement up.
‘They have an awful lot of friends,? said Eileen Bradley. ‘We’ve all contributed what we could. I just want to thank everyone who has helped.?
The Baldwins? family and friends from Michigan stayed for a week and a half. Although unable to completely finish the home, it was enclosed when they left and they plan to make a return trip soon.
‘I was shocked they could get the house up as quickly as they did,? said Frances Baldwin, who is currently living in a fifth wheel trailer with her husband, who is recovering. ‘They did a lot. I’m really grateful to them for coming down here and helping us. We’re hopeful to get in there before too long.?