A Glance into Farm Life, Part II. Helping Our Fellow Farm Family

Community, friendship, helping your neighbor,  Caring

The magic of living in a small rural farm community is hard to explain unless you have experienced it for yourself.   For some, they were born and raised in that small town, and for others like me, we joined the community by marrying a hometown local.   When I started writing this blog, my thoughts took me back to when our daughters were growing up and how they couldn't wait to leave our small hometown after high school graduation to see the bright lights of the big city.  So off to college they went and what happened??  Well one came back right after college and the other one has a five year plan in place to get back around this area as well.  Why? Well, it is a nice place to live, good place to raise a family and the bonds of a small community are strong.
And if rural life is your cup of tea, then you understand how quickly news will spread, that you wave at everyone whether or not you know them and if someone in your community needs help - well you pitch in and help.   So let me share what Farmer Joe and I helped with last week-end.  A relative of  Farmer Joe & Farmer Jay was diagnosed with a brain tumor and then suffered a stroke after the surgery, so a few of us organized a fundraiser to help offset the huge medical costs that face this hard working farm & ranch family.


Friends & family wore these T-shirts  the night of the benefit

To help Cindy when she got out of the hospital a few renovations were needed on their house and many volunteered time, labor and materials to get the job done.  Here are pictures of what was accomplished. 

Adding a ramp for wheel chair access to Dan & Cindy's house



The room was packed full of people attending the benefit.

As I drifted around the room visiting with people that I knew, I kept hearing the same comment over and over.  "This is what small towns are all about, we care about each other and will come to the aid of our friends".

Some of the prizes (66 or so in all ) for the silent auction

Mel, the auctioneer, donated his services for the live auction

A picture show of the event. (click here if unable to view)







Watching the live auction



3 of the 4 girls are related to Cindy's family and 2 are my grand-angels

 And while Cindy and husband, Dan were not able to attend, their daughter, Stacy was all smiles at the event.

This is the fabric of rural America and many of the people attending were the farmers, ranchers and people involved in the Ag industry that care about their fellow friends and neighbors.  It was a good night and a total of $60,000 was raised! All I can say is I am honored to have been a small part of this event.

As always, thank you for stopping by and please send me a note if you have questions or comments at idahofarmwife@gmail.com . So as I sign off, I hope this blog puts a smile on your face and warm glow in your heart.  All my best, Gayle