More than five years since the Holiday Farm Fire swept through the McKenzie River Corridor, affected businesses are still struggling to pay rebuilding expenses.
Now, one Blue River proprietor is trying a brick-by-brick approach.
Meyer’s General Store & Liquor Shop was not only a store to acquire groceries and beer; it was also a gathering place for locals, earning it the title of “unofficial city hall” in the unincorporated community that lies along Highway 126 about 40 miles east of Eugene.
The Holiday Farm Fire burned it to the foundations on Labor Day 2020. Since then, owner Melanie Stanley has tried to get it rebuilt and open again, but financing is tough to come by.
“We can't get traditional financing because the business doesn't have income,” Stanley told KLCC. “We can't get some of the private financing that would be available because we don't know what the projected income is gonna be. We can't get construction loans because we don't have an income right now that would be able to pay an interest-only payment of upwards of $5,000 a month.”
Other brick-and-mortar stores are seeing setbacks in rebounding from the Holiday Farm Fire, said Stanley. Besides the financial challenges, the local permitting process combined with supply chain disruptions, inflation, and high demand for trade workers has slowed down work on restoring the economic base in the McKenzie River area.
“We're kind of stuck in this cyclical space where we are just sitting and spinning,” said Stanley. “Our original goal was to be reopened by the five-year anniversary in September, and that has long passed. So we're just trying to get something restarted to be able to get back in some kind of forward progress.”
Stanley now hopes to raise money by letting people buy paving stones for the store’s walkways at a $100 minimum, with their names engraved on them. Stanley said this idea came from talking to a neighbor.
“I said, ‘I don't know, I mean is somebody gonna buy a paver?’ and she's like ‘I mean, I would! Other people would too!’ We thought about it, we kind of mulled it over and I talked to my sister and to my niece, and they were like, ‘Why not?’”
The paving stones would be set inside the new store’s walkways, so visitors can see who helped cover the rebuilding expenses. One to two larger sizes of stones might be explored for higher prices, though logistics are still being reviewed.
And for those wanting a cheaper way to support efforts, Stanley is also weighing a $25 t-shirt that would say, “I HELPED REBUILD MEYERS GENERAL STORE.”
“This would fulfill another goal, to make the community feel like they have a stake in the rebuild,” said Stanley.
The campaign will roll out on Meyer’s General Stores’ Facebook page ahead of the Christmas holiday.
Much of the rebuilding around Blue River has been homes and essential services, including a new fire station, post office, library and health clinic. Real estate prices continue to do well, given the town’s proximity to recreational areas and cities like Eugene and Springfield.
Copyright 2025, KLCC.
