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Bevier mayor reflects on Pear Tree, museum loss
Posted: 11.29.2012 at 10:00 PM
Monisha Bruner

Monisha Bruner is a news reporter with KTVO.

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Pear Tree and Black Diamond Museum Thursday night.
Photo

BEVIER, MO. -- Around 6 p.m. Thursday crews knocked down the remains of what were once a well known restaurant and a local museum.

An overnight fire shattered The Pear Tree restaurant and The Black Diamond Museum to just brick and rubble.

Flames from the fire could be seen for miles.

Around 2 p.m. Thursday the side of the building that once said Pear Tree came crashing to the ground under its own weight.

And, you could still see smoke rising from the ashes as the smell of the burning rubble filled the air.

More than 12 hours later fire crews were still on the scene.

Bevier Mayor Bill Cosby said the important thing is no one was injured.

“We’re glad nobody got hurt,” Cosby said. “The Bevier Fire Department, the Macon Rural Fire Department and the Callao Fire Department (did) a tremendous job last night.”

Cosby said both historical buildings meant a great deal to the community.

“The Pear Tree has basically been an anchor business in Bevier for many years,” Cosby said. “I know it’s been well over 20 years it’s been in the community. There’s a lot of tourism because of it. The historical Black Diamond Society had a lot of historical items that was deep in the roots of Bevier…just a lot of irreplaceable items are now gone.”

KTVO spoke with Bevier Fire Chief David Coleman who said the fire is still under investigation, but because of the extent of the damage, the cause of the fire will likely go on the books as undetermined.

Cosby said the community will come together to help.

“Anything that the community can do to help Al and Mike Abbadess we’re more than willing to do whatever we can do," he said.

He also said the people of Bevier and surrounding communities worked at the Pear Tree, and the jobs will be sadly missed.

Cosby praised the firefighters for all their hard work.

“They fought it for all they could fight,” Cosby said. “They were basically up against a Goliath. The main thing is no one was hurt or killed and hopefully we can move forward and rebuild.”

You can find a link to the previous story HERE.

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