LUDLOW, Vt. – At the base of Okemo Mountain Road, where it intersects with Route 103, a charming retail plaza is home to several businesses and restaurants, the Ludlow Post Office, a pharmacy, and the Okemo Valley Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center.
Called Okemo Marketplace, the shopping center was recently featured in national news coverage following the massive area flooding and mudslides in July. The mountain quite literally came down, swept across Route 103, and filled the marketplace parking lot with mud and debris, damaging every establishment in the plaza, forcing some to close for months.
Peggy Campney, co-owner of Green Mountain Fireplace Specialties (GMFS), recalled watching in horror the footage captured on her in-store security camera, of water and mud flooding into the showroom located at 57 Pond Street.
Campney and her husband Arnie first opened shop on Main Street in Ludlow in December 2018. Peggy described the storefront as a “tiny space” and, after some location scouting, they moved GMFS to the new, larger spot in November 2019.
“Arnie worked as a mason,” said Peggy, “and owned a masonry company for a long time. He did a lot of fireplaces on the mountain, and at the resorts, and we decided to open a showroom.” Peggy’s professional experience includes construction management and health care risk management. She has a degree in accounting, and studied interior design at New York Institute of Art and Design. According to the GMFS website, “Peggy has been Arnie’s partner in business and life for almost 20 years.”
Peggy reflected, “We’re a small, family-run business. We employ about 10 people, and not all of them are family,” she laughed. The couple’s two sons live in Rutland, and work for GMFS.
The Campneys reside in Mendon, Vt., but the day of the flood, Peggy was on her way home from Boston, and said she “barely made it back.” The roads into Ludlow were closed, and it was two days before they were able to access their store. The damage they found was devastating.
During clean up efforts, Peggy reported that strangers came by to offer their help, or a sandwich, or to bring them a case of water.
A born and bred Vermonter, Peggy admits she still has some residual anxiety from the July mudslide. She was at the shop on Monday, Dec. 18, while heavy rain and flood warnings were once again in the news. While keeping a wary eye on the hillside, she said, “When I see the forecast, and I come in, and the streets are flooded, culverts are flooding again…yes, I still have some PTSD and nightmares.”
The team at GMFS appreciate their “great neighbors in the plaza,” and enjoy being part of the Ludlow community.
“I wouldn’t move,” Peggy stated. “Vermont-strong, right?”
The store held a soft opening in late November, and their current plan is to get through the busy holiday season, then organize a grand opening celebration in January 2024.