Above: Livingston Manor's Main Street sporting Christmas decorations on Wednesday, November 21, the day after a fire destroyed four beloved local businesses. Photo by Lisa Lyons, via the Morgan Outdoors Facebook page.
Like the Whos down in Whoville, the residents of Livingston Manor woke up on Wednesday morning determined to keep the holiday spirit alive in the face of loss.
Bright and early the day after an enormous propane-fueled fire destroyed the historic Hoos building in the center of Livingston Manor, a small crew of dedicated community members was installing wreaths on Main Street's lampposts. Down the street, what remained of the Hoos building lay in ruins. 
Above: The remains of the Hoos building slide into the Little Beaverkill on Wednesday, November 21. Photos by Manor Ink.
For Lisa Lyons, the owner of Morgan Outdoors on Main Street, the wreaths were the emblem of how the community will pull through this latest disaster.
"We find consolation in small places," she wrote on Facebook yesterday. "Like seeing Ken Fisk, with a helping from his son Kenny, bring a much-loved tradition to life on Main Street this morning."
The fire at the Hoos building began on Tuesday afternoon as an explosion that officials suspect was related to propane.
Above: Firefighters battle the flames at 2 Pearl Street in Livingston Manor on Tuesday afternoon. Photo by Nathaniel DePaul, for Livingston Manor Ink.
Eventually, the blaze destroyed four businesses: The Lazy Beagle, Willow and Brown, Moose-Be-Morning Cafe and Hot Corner Sports Collectibles.
A newly-renovated artists' space in the structure was also destroyed.
The owners of the businesses together make up a large chunk of the town's business community. David Walton, the co-owner of Willow and Brown, is also the president of the Livingston Manor Chamber of Commerce. Barry Foster, who owns Hot Corner Sports Collectibles, is the patriarch of the family that owns the building and was integral to a business-led renaissance of downtown Livingston Manor that began in 2000. The Hoos building, which the Fosters bought, was the first structure to get a facelift as part of that effort.
The fire is the latest in a series of disasters that have struck Livingston Manor in the past few years. In 2006, a flood swept away houses and killed a 15-year-old girl. In 2011, Tropical Storm Irene flooded businesses on Main Street. This past September, a flash flood damaged bridges and businesses on Main Street. During Hurricane Sandy last month, the rampant power outages across Sullivan County affected some Manor residents for over a week.
"It seems like everything," said Eric Ehlers. "It's surreal."
Ehlers is a Livingston Manor fire fighter who owns Fire & Ice Heating & Cooling & Plumbing. In September, he had to relocate his his Main Street office after it was damaged by the September flash flood. He was also one of the emergency responders on the scene at the Hoos fire on Tuesday.
The timing of the destruction of the Hoos building and the businesses is especially hard to take, said Ehlers, because it put over a dozen community members out of work right before the holidays.
"That's the biggest thing that I see out of it," he said. "It's a small town. There's not a lot of industry here. If you don't drive, especially, there aren't that many jobs."
The Lazy Beagle was "its own version of Cheers," said Chris Andreola, a former Livingston Manor Chamber of Commerce president who runs ADC Studio web design out of a Main Street office near the destroyed Hoos building.
"The town is basically having a public wake for the building," Andreola said on Wednesday. "Since 8 o'clock this morning, there has been a crowd out there. This is the nature of a building like this. It housed key institutions in the community. I think we're all still a bit in shock. I had plans to meet friends there at least two days during the holiday weekend."
"This is a hard one," said Carolyn Bivins, a graphic designer who manages the Manor's visitor's guide and website and mentors its student newspaper, Manor Ink. "This is a lot of livelihoods."
Before the fire, Bivins had organized a shop local get-together that was scheduled to meet at 10am on Saturday at the Moose-Be-Morning Cafe and end with lunch at the Lazy Beagle. Yesterday, Bivins said that the event was still on, though they've shifted their 10am meeting place to Main Street Farm, a foodie grocery and sandwich shop around the corner from the destroyed Hoos building.
"The Main Street merchants are very tight-knit," she said. "They're feeling the loss of their business partners in the chamber. I would just encourage people to not to stay away, but in fact to see the wonderful things we have."
Next week, Bivins said, the rebuilding will begin.
"As a community, I would like to put our heads together next week and see what can we do," she said.
In a post on its Facebook page this morning, the staff of the Lazy Beagle expressed gratitude for its neighbors and first responders:
Thanks so much, from the depths of our hearts, for your outpouring of support and for your tears. Knowing we had such a profound impact on our community gives us comfort. So Happy Thanksgiving, folks. Don't fight with your crazy family today - don't get mad at the football game - be grateful for each and every breath you take, be grateful for your crazy family, be grateful for your sucky football team. Be grateful for this day.
More coverage of the aftermath of the Livingston Manor fire:
Times Herald-Record: Manor landmark remembered
