Following the wildfire which hit the Amish in the “middle of nowhere”, a non-Amish father and son found they could relate to the community’s loss. ...
Kilgore, Neb. - Wildfires across Nebraska's Sandhills are leaving many ranchers scrambling to find ways to feed their cattle. At the same time, support is coming from those who understand the loss firsthand.
Rick and Triston Stewart of Chadron are among those stepping in to help. The father and son recently delivered two loads — about 60 bales of hay — to an Amish family south of Kilgore whose home and feed supply were devastated by the Anderson Bridge Fire.
The Stewarts, it turns out, were driven in no small part by their own experience of loss – from an “opposite” weather phenomenon of sorts – a massive blizzard which struck their part of the country a dozen years ago:
“In the October blizzard of 2013 we lost a lot of cattle,” Rick Stewart said.
The Stewarts lost about 10 percent of their herd during that storm. In the aftermath, donations from others helped them recover — something Rick Stewart said he never forgot.
“Some people donated, and I’ve always wanted to pay that back,” he said.
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Rick Stewart of Chadron, Nebraska and his son Triston donated about 60 bales of hay to an Amish family hit hard by the fires. Image: News Channel Nebraska.
The Stewarts heard about what happened to the Amish in the Kilgore settlement – one of whom had a newly-built home burn down, in addition to losing cattle and hay.
How did they find out? It turns out that a group of Amish had been putting new siding on their home. They informed the Stewarts of their co-religionists’ misfortune.
They actually live about two hours away, so they’re not exactly neighbors. But the drive to help was there ....
Help is being organized for those hit by the fires. And of course the impact of the Anderson Bridge Fire – not to mention the three other, larger fires which burned concurrently – goes well beyond the state’s small Amish community.
According to the report, the Anderson Bridge Fire Relief Fund “will prioritize those directly affected in Cherry County, with additional consideration for others impacted by wildfires in the area and neighboring communities.” It will also provide support to local fire and emergency response teams.
If you’d like to make a donation, that can be done at the website of the Sandhills Area Foundation, or by mailing a check to Sandhills Area Foundation, 103 N. Cherry St., Valentine, NE 69201. They ask you to note “Fire relief” in the memo line.