Volunteers clean up farm fields

CELINA - More than 100 volunteers showed up early Monday morning to help clear fields littered with debris from the Memorial Day tornado.

The Mercer County Soil and Water Conservation District led the charge for the cleanup after calling some local farmers to see if they needed help. Terry Wurster was one of those in need of help.

The lifelong farmer, 65, said he and his brother Jerry had plans to begin cleaning up their more than 200 acres of fields on State Route 197. Terry Wurster said he isn't one to ask for help, but when he got the call asking if he needed it, he agreed. He figured about eight people would show up. Instead, more than 70 volunteers, mostly strangers, arrived to help.

Frances Springer, a natural resources administrator with the Ohio Department of Agriculture and volunteer for the day, said they had a serious concern about debris getting caught in farming equipment. Producers have been anxious to get to work after weeks of ongoing rains. A weekend of warm, dry weather made Monday an opportune time to work before rain returns to the forecast on Wednesday.

Springer led one of five groups that went out to help pick up debris. The groups were made up of volunteers from the SWDC, Ag Solutions, Pheasants Forever and the Natural Resources Conservation Service. She added that her group initially consisted of about 40 people. However, another group had also shown up to lend a hand.

C-Town Wings co-owners Laura and Kerry Roberts closed their restaurant for the day to allow employees to be part of the cleanup effort. After a tornado hit the restaurant two years ago, Kerry Roberts said they wanted to "pay back the community." The Roberts, their daughter Jordan McGee and 32 other employees showed up to help clean up fields along State Route 197.

The crew arrived for work at around 9 a.m., and finished up around 4:30 p.m. Members helped clean three of the Wurster's four fields, combing through almost 150 acres of land. Springer's group alone carried away roughly six small dump truck loads of debris.

Laura Roberts said their group picked up a lot of metal and roofing material, their most surprising finds included a swing set and a trampoline.

Springer said the fields were largely littered with 4x4 boards, nails, personal items and building debris. While the most surprising object she found was a horseshoe, she said the most memorable thing she found wasn't material.

"The coolest thing we found was people making the best out of a bad situation," she said. "It was nice to see everybody out."

Springer said that many of the farmers they had helped were over the moon and overwhelmed at the show of support.

Thanks to their hard work, Terry Wurster said he can hopefully get some work done in the fields.

"I am so grateful to all the people that came, even though I didn't get to thank each of them personally," the farmer said. "Without them, it wouldn't have even been a dream."

- Daily Standard staff writer Tom Standard contributed to this report.

Correction:

C-Town Wings co-owner Julia Roberts was misidentified in the article. The error was made in reporting.

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