We took a big punch to the jaw this week, along with a dagger to our heart.
All over Chico, all over Butte County and even all over the world, people awoke Wednesday to the sickening news that Bidwell Mansion — the 156-year-old iconic symbol of our town — had been destroyed by a fire.
Some got the news through a wake-up text. Others first saw it on the TV news or a Facebook page. People from all over the country called the Enterprise-Record because they refused to believe it “until I actually spoke with someone in Chico.”
Just hearing the news, and seeing the images, was a kick-in-the-gut enough. Those of us who went to the smoldering ruins can attest that seeing it in person is far more painful than any mere image could capture.
So we’ve been knocked down by the most painful of earthly blows. Again. From the Oroville Dam spillway to the Camp Fire and the Dixie Fire and the Park Fire to the Palermo school shooting and now this, we’ve climbed back onto our feet more times than Sylvester Stallone did in the entirety of “Rocky IV.” Dare I say if this were a fight, the referee would have stopped it six years ago.
But getting back on our feet is what we do, and that’s why I’m coming out swinging with both fists today. I was fully prepared to hammer the community with Rocky quotes until the spirit of “we must rebuild” was too overwhelming to resist.
Instead, I don’t have to. You beat me to the punch.
As we’ve learned far too often the past several years, the worst of times tend to bring out the best in us. That’s why, while smoke, ash and remnants of John Bidwell’s writings were still falling from our skies like so many knives to our hearts Wednesday evening, Chicoans were already standing together and saying, “We’re going to come back from this.”
We must rebuild the mansion, and we will. Our collective spirit will settle for nothing less.
Wednesday, it should be noted, marked exactly one week since Kasey Reynolds was named Chico’s mayor. This most definitely wasn’t what she had in mind for her first major speech when she stepped to a makeshift podium at Children’s Playground in a vigil for the mansion, still smoldering barely a hundred yards to the north.
She hit it out of the park with words every Chicoan needs to hear.
“Bidwell Mansion represented the enduring spirit of our city,” she said, fighting back tears that were as undeniable as the burned-out walls behind her. “It was a place where moments were made, history came alive and we were reminded of the strength and resilience of those who came before us.
“We must look forward, united in our determination to preserve the history and the spirit of Chico. … Let this tragedy remind us of the importance of community and the power of our resilience.”
Bingo.
Councilor Tom van Overbeek, a man with no shortage of experience in the world of construction costs and challenges, was equally determined when reached Thursday.
“There is strong sentiment to rebuild it, and I think it is important that we do. However, it will be a heavy lift,” he said. “We must find a way.”
Van Overbeek noted two big decision points: “Are the existing standing brick walls reusable, (and) will the state step up financially?”
Therein lies both our biggest challenge and, perhaps, our best opportunity.
The mansion is, remember, a State Parks-owned facility. Ultimately, the state will decide whether or not the mansion will be rebuilt, and so far, their position has understandably been along the lines of “it’s far too early to decide.”
Thus, I think it’s important that we never stop reminding the state of the importance of our iconic jewel. (Note to Gov. Gavin Newsom: Last time we checked, no one in Chico had heard anything from your office about this devastating loss of property owned by the very state you govern. If you truly want a moment that shows you understand the north state and actually listen to us, here it is. Yes, we’d welcome a visit.)
In the meantime, Chicoans aren’t waiting around. The North Valley Community Foundation — probably the state’s biggest heavyweight in making things happen financially north of Sacramento — came out fast and strong Wednesday, announcing the Bidwell Mansion Fund. Tri Counties Bank seeded the fund with a $50,000 donation, and within the next three days, there were another 85 individual donations — two-thirds of which came from outside of Chico, according to NVCF vice president David Little, which just goes to show the importance of the mansion to anyone it’s ever touched.
The foundation says its goal is to raise as much money as possible to “support efforts to rebuild or memorialize and commemorate Bidwell Mansion.” That’s good, because the form any “rebuild” actually ends up taking is yet another matter. With many priceless artifacts (including the portrait of John Bidwell) lost in the fire, it cannot be the same.
But it can — and must — be a facility that retains as much of the original mansion in spirit (and maybe even actual brick) as possible.
“Winston Churchill famously said; ‘We shape our buildings; afterwards, they shape us,’ ” van Overbeek said. “Losing Bidwell Mansion is causing me a feeling of being unmoored in some way from what makes Chico so special. We must rebuild it.”
Rebuild it we must.
John Bidwell put a mansion there. So can we.
Mike Wolcott is the editor of the Enterprise-Record. He can be reached at mwolcott@chicoer.com.