Family mourns loss of animals
Fire destroys barn, damages historic house
By Kathleen Baglio Humphreys
Published: Thursday, Apr. 5, 2007
LYNDEBOROUGH — The fire that destroyed their antique barn and severely damaged their 1857 house was bad enough, but it is the death of many of their animals that has the Schmechel family mourning.
The blaze on Friday, March 30, killed 18 rare Old Gloucester piglets, two adult sows, five pet sheep, 24 chickens and a prize goat, as well as a friend’s horse that was boarded at the property, known as Bittersweet Farm. The baby pigs, which were to be shipped out the next day, represented 10 percent of the entire population of rare Old Gloucester pigs in the United States.
Some cows and a pig that were in outside pens survived.
“The material things can be replaced,” said Kathryn Schmechel. “We lost part of our family when we lost the animals. I know it is not a child, but part of who and what we are is those animals, and that is what brings us to tears every couple of hours. That is hard to get through.”
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The state fire marshal’s office has not released the cause of the fire but a heat lamp was being used in the barn to warm the piglets.
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