South Royalton
Edward and Jeanette Digby continued down Broad Brook Road to access their driveway from the opposite end, unaware of the physical destruction and emotional pain that awaited.
However, they soon learned the worst: the 1860s farmhouse that was first occupied by Jeanette Digby’s great grandmother had been reduced to rubble, three dogs were dead, and their anniversary week was in ruins.
“I don’t know where to begin, and I don’t know where to end,” Ed Digby said as he surveyed the damage.
Nearly all that was left of the home was a pile of twisted metal and charred logs.
“I’ve got a hell of a mess to clean up,” he said, “and not a whole lot of money to do it.”
Over the winter, the Digbys suffered a chimney fire, but fortunately their belongings were unharmed and the home escaped serious damage.
But they haven’t had homeowners insurance since.
“It breaks my heart,” a weeping Jeanette Digby said of the destruction.
“And the dogs …” she said before trailing off.
The couple lost their own two pets, as well as a third dog they were watching for their son.
Several antiques that had been passed down in the family for decades also were inside. Among them, a copper bathtub and butter churner.
“It is all irreplaceable stuff,” she said, holding out hope that some things could be salvaged.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation. A message left for the Vermont State Police fire investigator on the case wasn’t immediately returned.
The Digbys don’t yet know what caused the fire, but said they have two ideas. The neighbors said strong thunderstorms came through the area Monday evening and a lightning strike could be to blame.
Ed Digby said he also wasn’t ruling out a deliberately set fire.
The Digbys left home around 6 p.m. on Monday night and went to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center to visit their son, 35-year-old Jasper Digby, who was involved in a single-vehicle crash in South Royalton over the weekend. They returned home around 10 p.m.
When they left the house, Jeanette Digby said the front door was shut. When fire officials arrived, they told the Digbys that the front door was wide open, Jeanette Digby said, calling the detail suspicious.
In the meantime, the Digbys will reside in their nearby vacant rental property — once they can get the electricity turned back on. They said a former tenant racked up a bill and never paid it, so they are forced to come up with the remaining balance.
For now, they are staying in an aging camper on their property.
The Red Cross has offered to set them up with temporary housing, but Ed Digby said “there are people out there who need it more.”
They aren’t sure what the future has in store. Ed Digby, an employee at Dartmouth Printing Co., said he will sell his 4-year-old steer — as well as any other belongings of value — to help him and his wife move forward. Jeanette Digby has spent many years volunteering, and for the past four years has been active at Praise Chapel’s food pantry in Hartford.
Ed Digby said he hopes one day he and his wife, who will celebrate their 38th wedding anniversary on Friday, can settle back down in a home on the foundation where her family residence once stood.
For now, the Digbys are holding on tight to the memories. Several people stopped by their land on Tuesday afternoon to offer a hug and share a recollection about the Digby home.
“All the life history’s right there in a pile of ashes …” Ed Digby said. “And you can never replace it.”
Jordan Cuddemi can be reached at jcuddemi@vnews.com or 603-727-3248.