The world famous Straw Market, which has been in its current location since 1974, was set ablaze by an arsonist on September 4th, 2001. Though the fire destroyed the building, making it uninhabitable, there were no injuries or loss of life.

In memory of the event and giving thanks for being spared, members of the Straw Vendors Advancement Association attended a church service at the Voice of Deliverance Church this past weekend.

President of the Straw Vendors Advancement Association, Rev. Celestine Eneas brought remarks at the service saying, “we send our children to private school, we send them to university. Catch this, let me tell you how important straw vendors are, we produce politicians, we produce preachers, we produce doctors, we produce nurses, any sector of life. The first woman that sat in the Central Bank, that’s a straw vendor’s daughter. So we are a proud set of people.”

Pastor of the Voice of Deliverance Church, Chief Apostle Leon Wallace told straw vendors those in attendance, “the straw market fire could have wound up in disaster. We were in St. Mary’s, Georgia, I was sitting in Pastor Moore’s house when the news came that the Straw Market burn down. I told them it was a fake news, didn’t realize it was happening for real. But no lives were lost, let’s tell the Lord thank you for that.”