Almost 60 Good Samaritans have stepped together and showed us just how strong a community can be when working together after they decided to harvest the field of their sick neighbor.
63-year-old Larry Yockey is a struggling fourth-generation farmer who found himself in an impossible position after being diagnosed with stage 4 skin cancer.
With over 1,200 acres of wheat to harvest, the man from Ritzville, Washington, wasn’t sure how to handle the yield that would normally take three weeks of his time.
That’s when selfless neighbors stepped in and offered to get the job done so that the 63-year-old could relax and spend more time with his family.
“Farmers don’t quit.
They don’t retire. They’re tough. Even when told they’re quite sick, they still lace up their boots, throw on that ball cap, and go out and farm as long as their bodies will allow. Day in and day out. They know no different. It’s their land, their livelihood, it’s what they care for, and it’s everything to them,” Miles Pfaff, one of Larry’s neighbors, wrote in a touching Facebook post.
“But there comes a time when farmers do quit. They quit what they’re doing, put aside their own obligations, their weekends when one of their own needs help.
They donate their time, their diesel, and their equipment. They do whatever it takes to ensure a fellow farmer can finish his harvest and get the crops in. The crops he’s worked all year, tirelessly for.
“And when this happens, we call it a Harvest Bee. And it’s not just the farmers, it’s the local volunteer firemen with their fire trucks, the chemical company with their dust defeating water trucks, and their mechanics with their service rigs. It’s rare sight. A tangible, palpable feeling and environment. And it’s living, breathing proof that community, compassion, and goodwill still exist.
“Here’s to the farmers who put their life on hold today. Those who didn’t think twice when asked to help. And likely never will.”
In an interview with CBS, another local farmer pitched in to express that he was “glad to be here and help where I can and where I’m needed.”
Strong when united, the local community managed to finish the entire harvest in just six hours, relieving the 63-year-old cancer patient of weeks of hard work.
“It’s not describable the gratitude I have for what’s going on,” Larry, who was left speechless by the people’s kindness, said.
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