A Sad Day in Cherry Grove

It was the first thing I saw this morning when I turned on my pc.  In case you haven't heard, there was a major fire over in Cherry Grove last night, over at the Ice Palace complex.  According to Edge Media, the blaze started around 1:30 a.m. and it took several fire departments from the main island to finally extinguish the last of the flames, but not before destroying much of the Grove Hotel, The Holly House, Kokomo and Carousel Guest House. The whole thing is eerily reminiscent of the November 2011 blaze that decimated much of the Pines, and one can't help but feel a sense of great sadness over it all.

For much of the gay community here on Long Island and far away, the news of this tragedy is devastating.  Fire Island, and Cherry Grove in particular, has been a staple of the community for years and years, and I (as my readers well know) and virtually every other PLU (people like us) has spent many a summer night dancing their butts off at the Ice Palace.  Preliminary reports say that there wasn't too much damage to the club itself, but with the hotel being completely gutted, who knows what to expect this summer.  

Most of my Facebook friends have been posting picture of themselves over the years at the Grove, and the Ice Palace, and so I think I'll share some of mine here.  Today was a sad day, but these memories will last a lifetime, and hopefully there are still more to come...