One of the last rake makers in America saw his shop mysteriously burned to the ground in Maine, and now he is desperately trying to rebuild during the height of blueberry season.
Ike Hubbard, 84, of Jonesport, has sold blueberry rakes, a tool to gather the fruit in fields, to farmers and harvesters across the country for decades.
He is one of the last in the country to make blueberry rakes, a handheld tool that is swept through bushes to pick the berries.
But on June 29, his small shop went up in flames and burned to the ground, leaving him and his three employees without a job during a very busy blueberry season, which runs from June to August.
No one was hurt, but Hubbard lost his business of 40 years and has an estimated $100,000 in damages, between lost wages, destroyed equipment, and having to cancel orders, he told the Bangor Daily News.
‘I’m the rake manufacturer of the United States, to be honest with you,’ he told the outlet. ‘Everything that’s got a berry on it, I build a rake for.’
The loss comes after Hubbard spent the past year in and out of the hospital. He had just gone back to his beloved work and is now facing another setback.
‘That’s my life,’ he told the outlet.
He lost at least $80,000 in equipment, some of which he had made himself, and about $8,000 in finished orders that were waiting to be shipped out.
Ike Hubbard, 84, of Jonesport, lost his blueberry rake business in a mysterious fire on June 29
His workshop went up in flames, destroying his business of 40 years. It is one of the last blueberry rake manufacturers in the country
He also didn’t have insurance coverage on the workshop, leaving him with the massive repair bill during his busiest time of year.
The Maine native is hoping to be able to reopen by fall, and said his employees are ready to work the second the new shop opens.
However, his employee, Debbie Salisbury, who started a GoFundMe, believes it could be much longer before the shop can reopen.
‘That’s all he wants to do is build rakes,’ Salisbury told the Bangor Daily News. ‘He’s very eager, and we’re all working as a team to make it happen.’
Salisbury is hoping to raise money in three phases, with the first one focusing on emergency wage support, cleanup, salvage, equipment assessment, and immediate fire-related losses, she wrote on the fundraiser, which has garnered $2,175 so far.
She is hoping to raise $25,000 in the first phase.
The second phase will focus on rebuilding the shop, for which a current estimate is unknown.
Phase three will focus on getting new tools and machines, which she estimated will cost up to $40,000. They would need a welding machine, a water-cooled welding system, a milling machine and more.
A blueberry rake is a tool that helps gather berries off the bushes
His shop before the fire burned it down. He is hoping to rebuild his shop and get it reopen by Fall
Hubbard had to cancel several orders and lost $8,000 of already finished ones in the fire
His employees started a GoFundMe to help raise money to help the elderly man rebuild
He was also working on a blueberry rake that wouldn’t require a harvester to bend over, and he sold other types of rakes as well.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Hubbard for comment.
