“And we had a perfect coon hunt.”

But that was before Dewey Gay answered his cell phone Sunday morning and learned that his home made mostly of wood that he built himself was on fire.

“I’m still shocked. I just can't hardly believe it happened,” said Gay Tuesday, looking over the burned pile of rubble that used to be his home on Pea Ridge Rd. in the White Lily community of Pulaski County.

Fire investigators say there's been several suspicious fires in the area of late. At least one was ruled arson. A team of investigators will visit the site Wednesday and Gay told firefighters he's not sure if some of his prized possessions burned up in the fire or were stolen. He's just glad he wasn't home when everything went up in smoke.

“If I would've been in it, I wouldn't have made it out.”

Gay says he does have insurance but it will be not be enough to replace everything. Of course any amount of insurance won't replace heirlooms, some of which were 100 years old.

“It had my grandpa and grandma's pictures that were in frames that were 100 some years old.”

His insurance company will give him a new place to live for now but he really just wants to stay right here.

“I’m going to build this one back. Only place I got, have to build it back"