Community is a powerful idea.

It becomes even more powerful when its members pull together in a common cause.

A determined group of local farmers, truckers, and volunteers from the Cherry Fork and North Adams communities did just that.

In a spontaneous tribute to honor the memory of their friend and neighbor, Stephen D. Wamsley of Cherry Fork, the group descended on the Wamsley farm on Wednesday, Oct. 7 to assist the Wamsley family in their unfinished farm work.

Bringing with them dozens of volunteers and a caravan of combines, tractors, wagons, and semi-trailers, they went to work harvesting Wamsley’s soybean crop.

In less than five hours the volunteers had harvested all 240 acres of soybeans, accomplishing weeks of work in just a short time.

Wamsley, 53 died unexpectedly on Sept. 28 at Mercy Clermont Hospital. He was a lifetime resident and farmer in the Cherry Fork area. He was also the owner of Wamsley Trucking and Excavating.

The farmers who pitched in to this miraculous effort are not quoted in this story as most of them wished to remain anonymous, just doing their part to help a fellow farm family in need.

Nathan Davis, a recent graduate of North Adams High School, posted this on his Facebook page.

“Last week a local farmer passed away. Today farmers from around the community teamed up to make sure his family got their crops in. I’m extremely blessed and thankful to have been apart of it today. Every time I drove past in the tractor or when a different tractor came up to me in the combine it gave me butterflies to see so many people come together to help a family in need. So many amazing people in a small community. I’d like to think each and every person who came out today to lend a hand. Also would like to thank the Wamsley family for letting us help today. Adams County is such a great and wonderful community more then people know. Everyone is like family.”

The following post that also appeared on Facebook mayhave best summed up the day’s efforts.

“Today I am very proud to be from Adams County. We may just live in small town USA, but I drove past the farm of the late Steve Wamsley and what I saw gave me chills. Several local farmers pulled together to run his beans today! I’m not sure how many but there are at least 10 combines in the fields getting his harvest taken care of. Then I get up to the grain elevator to unload and everyone is letting his loads go straight on the pit to dump. This is how a small town pulls together when something tragic happens, and it makes me smile to know there are still some good people out there. I would also like to say thank you to all the combine operators, truck drivers, and the folks at Winchester Ag Service for taking care of everything for the family. (Plus anyone else that had a hand in coordinating the giant job) God bless small town USA!

A drone camera photographs the harvesting of the Wamsley farm soybean crop.
https://www.peoplesdefender.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_Farmers1.jpgA drone camera photographs the harvesting of the Wamsley farm soybean crop. Submitted photo

Dozens of volunteers turned up for the spontaneous community effort.
https://www.peoplesdefender.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_Farmers2.jpgDozens of volunteers turned up for the spontaneous community effort. Submitted photo
Neighbors united in common cause

By Patricia Beech

pbeech@civitasmedia.com

Reach Patricia Beech at 937-544-2391 or at pbeech@civitasmedia.com