Nice story of the real salt of the earth doing the right thing. Great seeing some American values still hold. When a fellow farmer died in an accident in his fields two years ago, Arthur Green was among dozens of farmers who gathered to bring in his final harvest. On Wednesday many of those same farmers gathered at Green's Racine County homestead to do the same for him. Green, 64, was killed on Friday when heavy winds toppled a 51-foot auger onto him as he worked on his Yorkville dairy farm. A longtime member of the Racine County Fair Board and active in Four H., Green was well-known and respected among farmers in his county and beyond. "Art would be the first guy to help anybody," Kansasville farmer Eugene Mills said as he and others awaited their assignments outside the Green family's modest home on Highway C. "We all know that this could happen to any one of us." Green's family is still struggling to come to grips with the tragedy. His daughter Val wept in the arms of Karen Birchanich, a family friend and one of the wives who gathered to feed the workers after the harvest. Son Pete sat with his wife and small son in an all-terrain vehicle watching as an auger poured corn into the bed of a truck deep in his family's fields. By days end, the army of semis is expected to transport some 35,000 bushels of grain to nearby DeYoung's grain company, who closed for the day so he could take in the Green family's crops exclusively. "It is wonderful to see," Pete Green said before breaking down. Green's widow, Rose, was watching from inside the farmhouse, said her sister-in-law Diane Fliess, who visited her with a small group of women early in the morning. "She is so grateful, so touched," said Fliess, whose son and husband were in the fields. "This is devastating. Her heart is broken," she said. "But this isn't anything Rose wouldn't do for anyone else." Arthur Green's brother-in-law Randy Vosberg of East Troy, called the gathering "a sign of respect for someone who gave so much to the community." "He had a lot of friends," said Vosberg. "And this is their way of giving back." Farmers bring in final harvest for friend who died in accident
This is America and not the first time farmers have banded together after a death, barn fire or tornado. Several million dollars worth of machinery and labor to help out a grieving family. ..................................................................................... "You know what's really neat? Seeing all those farmers — some green, some red — coming together in the same field," "Throughout the morning, donations of food poured in, and the farmers' wives, daughters and female friends assembled a feast to feed the crews when they returned from the field. The contributions went beyond food. A local company donated all of the fuel for the day. And the nearby grain company, DeLong, closed itself to other farms Wednesday so it could focus exclusively on the Greens' crop." .......................................................................... late update: 'So grateful, so touched' Throughout the morning, donations of food poured in, and the farmers' wives, daughters and female friends assembled a feast to feed the crews when they returned from the field. The contributions went beyond food. A local company donated all of the fuel for the day. And the nearby grain company, DeLong, closed itself to other farms Wednesday so it could focus exclusively on the Greens' crop. It was a deeply emotional day for Green's widow, Rose, and her children. His daughter Val wept in the arms of Karen Birchanich, a family friend, as the farmers headed into the fields, and another, Anita, watched as the farm vehicles crisscrossed the fields. Rose Green, who watched the work from the family's home, "is so grateful, so touched," said her sister-in-law Diane Fliess, whose husband and son were working in the fields. "She is just devastated. Her heart is broken," she said. Pete Green sat with his wife and small son in an all-terrain vehicle watching as an auger poured corn into the bed of a truck driven by Weis. "It is wonderful to see," Pete Green said before breaking down in tears. Arthur Green's brother-in-law, Randy Vosberg of East Troy, called the gathering "a sign of respect for someone who gave so much to the community." "He had a lot of friends," Vosberg said. "And this is their way of giving back." There is a friendly rivalry among farmers when it comes to their preference for farm machinery. On many farms, you're likely to find loyalty either to green John Deere or red Case/International Harvester. Both were represented on the Green family farm Wednesday. "You know what's really neat? Seeing all those farmers — some green, some red — coming together in the same field," Birchanich told Fliess as the women watched the progress from the family's backyard. "Look at this, Diane," she said, "Can't you just feel Art here?"
