Clair Held owned the Held’s Shop n Save on April 18, 2001. On that day, a garbage man, picking up the town garbage, noticed flames coming out of the roof in the back of the store. Around 4 a.m. on a Tuesday morning, the family got calls from the neighbors. All they could do was watch the building burn.
Clair and his grandson were at camp. The State Police woke them at 5 am to come home, telling them the sad news. Of course they had KDKA on the radio and heard more news on it as a reporter was on-site.
The building was a complete loss. Clair wanted to rebuild for the town people. The family has had a store in North Apollo since 1936. His two daughters who worked with him decided to start planning and checking things out.
A new Shop n Save opened on August 15, 2002. The owners are Connie, Karen, and Scott, 3rd generation Helds. Of course Clair is there every day, straightening shelves and having coffee, talking to old friends, and putting in his 2 cents worth, according to his wife Pearl.
Apollo Area Historical Society 
I happened to be visiting my old homestead on 16th St. where my brother Ed still lives when this happened. I was staying in my old bedroom upstairs at the front when I smelled and saw smoke and called for him who was downstairs. I opened the window and saw that the smoke was coming from flames behind the firehall. We both went out onto the front porch and couldn’t tell precisely what was on fire. We saw a firetruck arrive from the highway from Apollo and Ed got dressed and rushed down to see what was happening. Great shock. Will never forget.
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