Grateful for response to Kansas wildfires

The largest wildfire in our state’s history began nearly one month ago. I remain humbled by the incredible determination of southwest Kansans to rebuild in the face of great adversity.

This tendency of Kansans to pull themselves up by their bootstraps is not a surprise. What has been a surprise to me is the generous outpouring of support from all over the country.

As soon as the need became apparent, farmers and ranchers from around the nation sent help.

Social media is full of images of truck convoys hitting the highways full of equipment, fencing supplies and bale after bale of hay. They are decked out in American flags and have police escorts. They are cheered as they pass through towns on the way to the devastation. The drivers often have tears in their eyes.

Rose Hartschuh of Bucyrus, Ohio, helped organize assistance from people from about half of Ohio’s 88 counties. They came with 30 truckloads of supplies and dozens of volunteers.

College and high school students from around the country skipped spring break trips and came to the scorched plains to put up fencing.

Eight-year-old Peyton Bonham paid for two miles of fence by selling 864 cookies and collecting donations.

The Four Leaf Clover 4-H club in Meade County has set up a rescue operation for orphaned calves whose mothers were lost in the fires.

Thirteen-year-old Bryce Talberg from Foley, Minn., took time off school and from his job milking at a nearby dairy to travel 800 miles with a group bringing aid. He met Harry Walker, a Kansan who lost 5,000 bales of hay and 25 miles of fencing. Bryce gave Walker the $265 in wages he had saved this month.

The Kansas Livestock Association, which has done a great job coordinating the aid, says that as of April 3, its foundation had received $1.58 million for wildfire relief efforts from 2,251 individuals, companies and organizations in 46 states, the District of Columbia and two Canadian provinces.

The Kansas media has done a great job covering the fires and the rebuilding, but I am frustrated with the lack of national media coverage on this generous support for those trying to rebuild.

I hope the reason for this amazing story remaining untold is not because of this ignorant characterization of rural Americans.

Thank you to the hundreds, if not thousands, of farming and ranching Americans from all over the country who have come to our aid. We are so grateful.

The America some view as idealistic, where we take care of our neighbors in need, is not a thing of the past. It is in those trucks hauling hay. It is the secret ingredient in Peyton Bonham’s cookies. It is the best of our nation, and this ideal America is alive and well in farm country today.

This story was originally published April 9, 2017 at 5:03 AM with the headline "Grateful for response to Kansas wildfires."