This past weekend the owners of McConnell Hotel decided to have a “Block Party” for most of Saturday to help raise some money and bring a little closure to the community.

After the building was gutted by a devastating fire last month, the building was demolished and since then people had been asking about what would become of the bricks.

“Since so many people expressed interest in getting some of the bricks we were thinking about doing a block party,” owner Guy Seiferd said. “It will allow folks to come and get some bricks in exchange for donations.”

The donations Seiferd mentioned will go directly to the local fire department for building and equipment improvements.

Many of the bricks were still in great shape but could not be considered structural anymore.

“The extreme heat and large fall means they could be substantially compromised so do not take bricks for construction projects,” Ellie Seiferd said. “They are pretty and have a ton of character so they would be great for a facade, walkway, or other decorative uses.”

The event was a huge success as a steady stream of residents came to get their piece of McConnell history before the bricks get cleaned up and taken away for good.

“The event went pretty great,” Guy said. “People stopped by and collected a few thousand bricks and we raised $600 for the fire department.”

It was also a way for the Seiferds to get closure themselves before getting back into their regular routine.

“A lot of folks wanted us to do it again Sunday,” Guy said. “But we really needed to get back to our real jobs, which is our knife business (the Seiferds own and operate SURVIVE! A knife manufacturer in Kellogg).

According to Guy the final cleanup of the McConnell Hotel site will begin as soon as possible.