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Memories of fire ravaged cafe shared to socials

By Brian Hagen

06/07/2024

Credit: Jackson Co Sheriff

(KAIR)--Memories are being shared to social media following a fire that gutted the long standing Whiting Cafe.

The Kansas Explorers Club, a project of the Kansas Sampler Foundation, took to social media Friday morning to remember owner, Rosa Thomas, and what the group calls "her delicious pies and big personality."

In the post, the group shares a memory of a years-ago effort, headed by the Kansas Sampler Foundation, to cleanup, and remodel, the cafe, which drew nearly 100 volunteers to support the work.

According to a social media post made Friday morning by Thomas, the fire happened Friday morning, leaving the cafe's, in her words, "insides gone."

Thomas closes her short post by saying, "I'll miss you all."

Jackson County Sheriff Tim Morse, in a release, says the fire was reported shortly before 4:40 Friday morning, with multiple calls received by his office reporting the fire at the cafe, located at 309 Whiting Avenue.

Whiting, Netawaka, Holton, and Horton Fire Departments all responded to the blaze, along with Jackson County EMS, according to Morse, who says the battle with the blaze ended when the fire was brought under control around 7:25 Friday morning, just 3-hours short of when it was first reported.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation, with the State Fire Marshal's Office on the scene of the fire Friday morning.

According to Morse, the cafe, which had been in business for nearly 40-years, appears to be a total loss.