Through it all, there really was the luck of the Irish

They always talk about the luck of the Irish. Today, however, is a day we look back on a day when the luck ran out. The Shamrock Tavern, which in its heyday would have been packed from morning to night on March 17, burned down Aug. 1, 2010. And it was more than just a building that is gone, leaving an open spot still on Hester Street. It was the home of thousands of memories for many people in this town. The local bar was a place for many to hang out, from businessmen to politicians to the regular Joe. It was close to the old rec center and after games, the men and women would just walk across the street for a pitcher of beer or two. It was a place where guys would stop in after work for a couple of beers. And more times than not the old payphone would ring as somebody's wife was looking for their husband. When the phone rang, nobody wanted to pick it up. St. Patrick's Day was always special for the Schaffer family. It was Christmas and New Year's Eve rolled into one. I remember many times heading over to the Shamrock first thing in the morning on St. Patrick's Day to do a story. There was a time we printed the Reflector in town and did not go to press until after 11 a.m. That gave us time to get our story and photos for a story that day. And the early-morning crowd was always fun. Most of them were third-shifters stopping in after work. Some of them would take the day off and see just how much fun they could have and how long they could last. I talked to Huron County Treasurer Kathleen Schaffer in 2011 — the first St. Patrick's Day in decades without a celebration. The Schaffer family owned the business for 65 years. Losing the Shamrock Tavern was like losing a family member. "I think Thursday is going to be a long day for us," Schaffer said at the time. "It just won't be normal. Not what we are used to." The fire that destroyed Shamrock Tavern and Cameo Pizza ranked as the second biggest local story of 2010. The Uptown Norwalk building that houses the Shamrock, Cameo, Pat's Barber Shop and an upstairs apartment caused an estimated $240,000 in damage. Thanks to a Good Samaritan, however, the tenant in the upstairs apartment escaped without serious injuries. It wasn't all bad luck on that day. Melanie Boose is a lucky woman She lived in the upstairs apartment of the building and was taking a shower when the fire was reported at 6:43 p.m. Norwalk resident Eric Klypchak, who was dropping off DVDs around the corner at Norwalk Public Library, smelled smoke. After hurrying to the scene, he and three Cameo employees threw rocks at the upstairs window to alert Boose of the danger. "The bathroom is located next to the apartment entrance. She (Boose) exited the bathroom to discover smoke and fire in the hallway and stairs and could not exit that way," Capt. Tom Frey said in his report. "Traveling the length of the apartment, she exited a side door that took her to the flat roof of Cameo Pizza and onto the flat roof of the barbershop. Upon our arrival, we immediately laddered the barbershop and got her to safety," Frey said. Norwalk Fire Chief Doug Coletta said Boose was in "imminent danger" when his crew arrived. "We needed to get her off the roof right away, so we laddered the building, got up there and got her down and then we pulled hoses," Coletta said. Boose, when reached by cell phone after the fire, was very emotional as she expressed her gratitude for "everyone's" generosity. Her voice cracked and she had to stop several times to collect herself. "I feel very lucky to live in a close-knit community like Norwalk," said Boose, who declined to discuss the fire. So while we feel sad today with the loss of the Shamrock Tavern, we have to feel good that nobody was injured. Maybe it really was the luck of the Irish. Happy St. Patrick's Day, wherever you celebrate. Joe Centers is Reflector managing editor. He can be reached at jcenters@norwalkreflector.com.