Not many businesses possess the resiliency to bounce back from disaster like a dozen downtown Marshall retail operators showed this past winter.

But resiliency and determination is now paying off for these businesses victimized by fire last October at the building located next to City Hall. That resiliency started way back on Oct. 15 when Marshall, Ghent and Lynd firefighters responded swiftly to the call of smoke inside the building. It continued afterwards when city employees and other local businesses offered to help Dan Vogt, the building’s owner, and the tenants displaced by the fire.

Vogt said a “long struggle” followed during the next seven months. The space that contained the Perfect Styles salon had to be completely gutted and then renovated. The whole main floor had to be rewired. Carpets had to be ripped out and replaced.

Most of the tenants are finally moving back into the location this spring and back in business.

And now we learned in today’s front page feature that after the fire, the owners of Perfect Styles and their stylists were invited by the owners of Hairstyles by Darrel to work out of their shop just around the corner from the damaged building on Third Street. “They gave me a hug and said here are some scissors and capes, make yourself at home,” Lisa Myhrberg said.

Their story becomes even more inspiring with the news Myhrberg and Brenda Olsen are taking over the Hairstyles by Darrel building. “I’m 76 now, so it’s time to sell,” Darrell Hooghem told the Independent.

Meanwhile, Vogt is grateful that business is getting back to normal for downtown Marshall.

“It was really amazing,” he said. “It shows a little bit about Marshall.”

We agree.