Fire victim looks forward to rebuilding and moving back home

For a woman who typically loves working in her garden, spending this summer in a third-floor apartment has been challenging for Moose Jaw's Peggy Anne Hill.
"I don't want to stay inside," she told the Times-Herald on Wednesday. "It's just not me."
Hill is staying in a downtown apartment until crews finish demolishing her old home and she has a chance to build a new one.
During Monday's meeting, council approved Hill's discretionary use application to build a single-detached dwelling at 152 Ominica St. W., which is the location of her previous home. Her home was severely damaged during the fire that destroyed the neighbouring former Moose Jaw YWCA building on May 14.
Hill was watching TV in her room the night of the fire when she saw smoke coming through the window. When she went outside to investigate, she said there was fire on the ground.
Soon after leaving the home, Hill said she heard some bricks from the burning YWCA crash onto her home.
"I get a pain in my chest when I think about what happened."
Although her house remained standing after the blaze, Hill said fire burned through the attic and one of the suites. Water damage from the firefighting also caused lots of property damage.
Although some items inside were salvageable, many things were destroyed.
Hill added she had just planted her garden prior to the fire and, between foot traffic from the firefighting and YWCA demolition, most of her garden never took root.
However, she said some beets eventually came up, and she made pickled beets accordingly. She added there are also a few peas and beans to harvest this year (although much less than normal).
On Wednesday, a demolition company started tearing down the remains of Hill's house and cleaning up her yard.
Once that is complete, Hill plans to either get a modular home or build a bungalow on top of the existing basement (which she said provides extra space for when family visits).
In the meantime, Hill said she is comfortable in the apartment that is her temporary accommodations, although she misses the house where she lived since 1963.
"(The apartment) is nice, but I don't like it. It's just not home."

Carter Haydu can be reached at 691-1265.