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• Landmark Erin Corners Bar burns
• Benefit to aid Baldwin accident victims

New Richmond fire officials are still trying to determine the cause of a fire that gutted much of the historic Erin Corners Bar early Sunday morning.

The tavern, located at the corner of county highways G and T in the town of Erin Prairie, sustained flame, smoke and water damage during a night of heavy sleet, snow, rain and occasional lightning and thunder.

Bar owner Mary Michels said that lightning may well have been the cause of the fire, although there is no official cause yet.

Michels, who lives next door to the bar in a mobile home (which was not damaged), said Monday morning that she closed the bar early Saturday night because the weather was so bad.

Jackie Mitchell, town of Erin Prairie clerk, said that some witnesses told her they had driven past the bar at 11:30 p.m. Saturday and that everything was fine.

Michels said that she was at home, watching television when someone began banging on the door to inform her of the fire. But by the time Michels called 911, the fire had already been reported.

Fire Chief James Vander Wyst said the first call came in at 1:15 a.m. Sunday.

Firefighters battled the fire and the elements, as a spring snowstorm -- together with heavy east winds -- fanned the flames.

Michels said that while it wasn't completely destroyed, the bar is heavily damaged, including the roof, which allowed a lot more water damage inside the building until a tarp could be stretched across it.

She said her insurance adjusters were coming Tuesday to assess the extent of the damage.

For more, see the May 2 issue of the New Richmond News.

A spaghetti supper will be held Sunday in Baldwin to help offset medical expenses for a father and son who have been hospitalized since a March 27 traffic accident.

Jeremy Freeland, 22, and his 14-month-old son, Jeric, were both seriously injured when a pick-up truck collided with the car they were riding in at the intersection of County Roads N and T in Rush River Township. Jeremy's wife, 21-year-old Michelle E. Freeland, was killed as a result of the accident.

The driver of the pick-up, 46-year-old Timothy Moulton of Menomonie, received minor injuries, along with 18-year-old Adam Moulton, who was a passenger in the truck.

Proceeds from the spaghetti dinner and raffle will be used to pay medical expenses for the the Freelands, who reports state are still being treated at Twin City hospitals. Jeremy works at the St. Croix County jail. Michelle was a full-time mother and a home assembly person for a plastics company.

The benefit dinner will be held Sunday at the Baldwin American Legion Hall from 12-5 p.m. Meals will be served for $5 a person.