By Claudia Loucks
Geneseo Current
After the storm comes the cleanup. Many area farm grounds were littered with remnants of destruction in the aftermath of the severe storms and tornadoes that tore through Geneseo at the end of March and the first of April.
Members of the Geneseo High School FFA Chapter offered their help in cleaning up debris at the Baum Farms and surrounding farm grounds.
Renee Lock, Ag teacher at GHS and FFA Chapter advisor, said several FFA members “were eager to help out and support community members that were affected during the two days of storms. Even a week after the storm, there were large amounts of insulation and pieces of severe debris lying around. The FFA members walked in a line picking up the debris from the hay field to ensure no livestock ingested the pieces…It was awesome to see the FFA Chapter come together in a time like this and help everyone out.”
Dan and Emily Baum expressed their appreciation for the neighborhood help they received in cleanup up after the storms on March 31…”Many hands made a huge difference in a short amount of time that Friday evening. We also especially appreciate the Geneseo FFA Chapter members and advisor, Miss Lock, who helped clan up insulation, from the shed that was damaged in our field the evening of April 6. They made a daunting job disappear in an evening!”
In addition to FFA members, several neighbors helped cleaned up farm grounds both to the west and to the east of Geneseo, at the farms of Roger Abell, Karen Dilenbeck, Roger Pobanz, Joel Francque, Tim Yager, Barb Hoogerwerf and Ross Reiling. Some members of the GHS track team also helped with the cleanup.
Joy Dwyer, whose husband John and other members of her family helped with the cleanup both west and east of Geneseo, said, “It was just awesome to see how area farmers, friends, businessmen and youth were willing to give of their time to help others, and many used their own equipment to get the job done.”
