For all the bad news in the press of late, the village of Boyd Wisconsin has something to celebrate: Gerry Gully’s new feed mill warehouse is going up, replacing the one that burned in April on the same site. With a new foundation poured by Area Wide Concrete, building materials from Hixwood Metal and construction services provided by Gingerich & Sons LLC of Mondovi, Wisconsin, along with excavating work done by Ryan Westaby, the modern replacement of the former 118-year-old mill that burned on April 27 of this year is projected for a completion date sometime in September. We caught up with Gully on the mill site Friday as the new construction was fast advancing.

“Insurance has been good so far,” Gully said of the funds needed to rebuild. “If it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t be building.” The soon to be brand new 30 by 100 foot wood frame building covered in gray and white sheet metal will complement a 200 foot warehouse that firefighters were able to save from the April blaze. The mill’s street address was initially misreported to the fire department this past April, and the flames took out a mixing tower that will not be replaced in the new structure. Local Boyd Fire Chief Ron Patten said in April that the tower had acted as a chimney funnel, sucking air upward and accelerating the destruction. Across the railroad tracks, remnants of the April 27 fire could be seen, with charcoaled wood pieces and old nails strewn along the opposite side of the tracks. Still, for all that’s happened recently, Gully was decidedly upbeat.

“Thirty feet on the east side is going to be the office,” he said, with three large doors facing south and a partition wall between sections. “The 70 feet on the west side is going to be the warehouse.” Gully reported that the materials for the project had cost $42,000, with a total estimated cost of $100,000 for the project when finished. Volunteer help was made use of to help frame the new building on Monday and Tuesday, with more expertise needed as things quickly pressed onward and upward. Rudy Gingerich is the construction foreman for the project, Gully said. So what will the new warehouse carry?

“We’re going to have seed in it for sure,” Gully said, including grass seed and corn seed, along with some pet food as well. “I can always change it as time goes on,” he said. “We’ll see.” Gully also had nice words to say for Hixwood Metal southeast of Stanley, where he bought the material for the project. The wood and sheet metal being used is really nice. “You can tell it isn’t a cheap product,” he said of the local firm.

Although there will be no grand opening during the present coronavirus situation, Gully said there may be something once the pandemic is over. Included in the new mill design, meanwhile, will be some parking space in front of the building, along with a ramp from the old warehouse that was saved in April to the new building on the fire site.

For those looking to purchase their feed or seed from Gully’s mill, the phone number is still the same as before: 715-667-3898. The new building is still under construction, but the old warehouse is already back in business.