The Calm After the Storm

After a devastating house fire, Felicia Horn and daughter, Kennedy, rebuilt

By Kelsey Rankin

When Felicia Horn brought her newborn daughter, Kennedy, home from the hospital in 2014, she planted a magnolia tree, affectionately named Maggie, in the yard of the only place she had ever truly called home.

Raised by her great-grandparents, Jack and Lil Mounts, Felicia grew up in their beautiful ranch-style home in the Town and Country neighborhood of Ashdown, Arkansas. Build in 1966, this house was the gathering place for Felicia’s family. It is where Felicia hosted sleepovers, experienced elaborate holiday traditions, and generally grew up. It was simply the place to be for Felicia and her friends and family.

Jack and Lil Mounts, Felicia’s great-grandparents, were the original owners of her home.  Here, they are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary.

Felicia has such fond childhood memories of growing up in her great-grandparents’ home.

In 2010, as a 22-year-old first-year teacher, Felicia bought the home from the family after Nanny Lil moved to a nursing home. Over the next eight years, Felicia would do renovation projects herself during summer breaks. The house “still looked like 1969: carpet in every room and wood paneling,” she recalled. “It was home, but it definitely needed an upgrade.” As a young teacher without a lot of money, she took pride in doing it herself. When her own daughter was born, Felicia knew she would raise her under the very roof where she was raised.

On July 15, 2021, Felicia was awakened by a phone call from her pastor. She thought it was a “butt-dial” and didn’t think anything of it, but when her grandfather Jim called immediately after, she knew something was wrong.

Luckily, neither Felicia nor Kennedy were home that night, because when Felicia answered the phone, her grandfather told her that her house was on fire. She got up to rush home, but Jim told her not to speed, saying, “It’s gone.” 

Lightning struck the big pine tree in front of Felicia’s home, which resulted in a house fire on July 15, 2021.

When Felicia arrived, the firefighters were already there, but as an older home, it went fast. The fire started during a storm that night in which lightning struck a tree close to the house. Within 30 minutes, “it was a total loss,” Felicia said. She was devastated and traumatized.

The people of small-town Ashdown, knowing multiple generations of the family, continually drove by to check on Felicia and Kennedy. The decision to rebuild on the same property was easy for Felicia; she wanted to be in this place. She purchased a fifth-wheel camper and placed it on the property, and that is where the pair lived throughout the rebuild. They were both happy to be able to live at home, even if Kennedy remembers that “hot and horrible” summer in the camper.

After the fire, Felicia and Kennedy lived in this RV for 13 months while their new home was being built.

As a single-income family, Felicia and Kennedy were only able to rebuild due to great homeowners insurance—and it was still difficult, with prices high due to COVID. Through the rebuilding process, Felicia’s friends, family, and church prayed over the home. It was “never in the plans to build a house . . . especially not at this point, with an eight-year-old daughter and with COVID prices,” she said. A friend, Jimmy Anderson, whom she met serving on the board of Harvest Texarkana, was the person who came to mind immediately after she decided to rebuild. Jimmy said yes to the project, and he worked with her on every step.

Jimmy Anderson, owner of Jimmy Anderson Construction, and his wife, Cassie, worked with Felicia very closely during her home rebuild.

Because this was such a treasured family home, Felicia wanted to incorporate something from the old house into the rebuild. It was difficult, but she found enough intact and salvageable bricks and asked Jimmy to help her use them. He came up with the idea to take the old 1960s bricks and create two columns between the kitchen and living area of the new home. This has become Felicia’s favorite part of the house. 

Felicia’s grandfather, “Papa” Jim Mounts (photographed with his wife, Paula), was the one who broke the bad news about the fire to Felicia.

Cody Cunningham, Felicia’s boyfriend, was one of the firefighters who helped her gather some of her family’s special items after the house fire.  He even dug through the ashes to find Felicia’s great-grandmother’s rings.

Felicia chose a modern farmhouse style for the new home. With the bricks paying homage to the past—to the home she grew up in, and the home she brought her baby home to—she felt it was time for a few upgrades in terms of appliances and stylistic elements. The home is exactly the same in square footage at 1700 square feet. It is still a three-bedroom/two-bath home. It still has a carport because Felicia has a nostalgic fondness for it. Felicia added a huge back porch—another place for large gatherings like the ones she was raised on. Even with the updates, it “still feels like home,” she said.

Felicia was gracious enough to let FSLM tour her new home, so we took the opportunity to turn it into an unplanned “Exquisite Interiors.”

One special element, though touched by the fire, luckily survived. Maggie the magnolia tree, through a lot of work and pruning, held strong and remains in the yard today. Felicia and eight-year-old Kennedy love driving past her every day down their driveway. Trees symbolize life, and just like this precious family, Maggie stands tall and strong.