Volunteers pitch in to help farmer/banker with harvest

Send a link to a friend  Share

[September 26, 2015]  LINCOLN - It is often common practice in the farming community for farmers to help out their neighbors in time of need. Monday morning Logan County farmer and Town and Country banker, Rick Harbarger, lay in a hospital bed in Springfield after having gone through a triple bypass heart surgery last Wednesday.

Meanwhile, his farmer friends gathered at his farm just west of Lawrence Curves off Elkhart Blacktop. The goal for the day was to take out around 130 acres of corn before noon, according to one of the organizers, Gary McKay. McKay explained how the day came about, "Rick called me and wanted to know if I would help open up some fields for him. Of course a couple of the other neighbors saw me over here and wanted to know what was going on and they offered to help."

Once the word was out that Rick had had surgery, everybody wanted to help. "Everybody's happy and willing to help," said McKay. Bill Benner of Elkhart agreed, "Word of mouth, friends of Rick's, several guys didn't even know about it (Rick's surgery) but guys just wanted to get here to help. It wasn't that anybody asked them to be here, it's just that once the word got out, everyone genuinely wanted to be here."

Benner noted that there would still be some more corn and the beans to get out, but basically this day would "take a chunk out of it and take the pressure of Rick."

Along with organizers McKay and Benner, Jason Byrne was also one of the first to arrive Monday morning at Empty Pocket Farms, the name Rick and his wife, Vickie chose for their farm when they were first married. Vickie, who also arrived at the farm early, had nothing but praise for Byrne and called him a "workaholic" and a "sweetheart." Byrne also works for Rick during the busy times of the year.

The father and son teams of Bart and Max Rhodes, and Nubs (Danny) and Nibs (Nathaniel) Gieseke also took time out of their day to offer their services. Nearby neighbor Larry Bobell even brought his John Deere over to help combine corn. In the midst of all this, Marvin Beard arrived from Patterson Bros. Gas-Oil to fuel up the big tank, having rearranged his schedule to get to Empty Pocket Farms early.

Gary McKay's brother, Glen, also pitched in to help while Steve Urish and Tom Croft from Elkhart Fertilizer rounded out the early morning crew that supported the efforts of four combines complemented by tractors with grain carts running through the field. Semis parked by the bins completed the impressive operation, all of which had Vickie a little overwhelmed with emotion.

As the volunteer team gathered for a group photo before going to the field, tears began to stream down her face as she tried to get a picture with her phone to send to Rick in the hospital.

About Rick's stint, no pun intended, in the hospital, here's how that came about. One day about a month ago after cleaning out a grain bin on a hot 95 degree day, Rick went home not feeling well. Vickie knew something was not right when he was white as a ghost, but tough guy Rick assured his wife that evening he was fine. The next day, however, Rick decided to go to the doctor while Vickie was babysitting grandkids. That was the beginning of tests, which at first came back fine. Shortly thereafter Rick was having some chest pains so the doctor scheduled a stress test and Rick flunked it, according to Vickie. She said the doctors sent him home with nitro at first and from there the doctors decided to do cardiac catheterization to determine the amount of blockage. They initially planned on doing a stint but they quickly learned the stint would not work since tests found he had 100 percent, 99 percent and 90 percent blockages in the three main arteries.

Upon learning that Rick would have a triple bypass heart surgery in his near future the couple experienced all the things you would expect. "Then there was every emotion," said Vickie. "This became really real in a hurry." Vickie candidly admitted that they were both "anxious about farming, anxious about work and anxious about the children." Vickie and Rick have been married nearly 40 years and in addition to being a life-long farmer, Rick is Vice President, Ag Loan Officer of Town and Country Bank in Lincoln. They also have two married children and four grandchildren.

[to top of second column]

 

Always a team going through this journey of life together, Vickie said, "So then we went through the whole gamut of, oh my goodness, there is so much I need to tell you and so many tears that followed. All natural and normal but at the same time so overwhelming."

As the weeks went by and Rick waited for surgery, Vickie admitted the couple had a lot of time to think and grow increasingly anxious. Finally last Wednesday, Rick had successful open heart surgery but not before one more moment that made the man nervous. As Vickie drove him to the hospital at 5:30 a.m. the morning of the surgery, she recalled, "Rick is not doing well and I know he's not. He's white as a ghost and he had his hand over his heart and he's kinda leaning over towards the driver, me. He's saying all the sentimental things that go with this day....of how much he loves me...things I need to know....things about our children...and heartfelt sentimental things." As Vickie herself grew more anxious she knew she just had to get him to the hospital. She admits she ran a red light on North Grand and even missed a turn and had to circle back around towards the hospital, where she almost missed the turn again.

When they finally arrived safely at the parking lot, she asked an anxious-looking Rick, "Are you scared of the surgery?" He said, "No, Vickie. No really I think I'm not afraid of heart surgery anymore because I think if I was going to die today you would have killed my ___on the way here." They both started laughing hard at that moment and like she says, "That's how we started our journey into heart surgery." Walking into admissions they were both laughing and the security guard even said, "You two are happy." Rick answered cheerfully, "Well, I am getting a triple bypass today," which prompted the surprised security guard to say, "You're taking it really well." You know they do say "laughter is the best medicine."
 


And if anyone knows Rick and Vickie personally, you know they both have a fun-loving sense of humor. Now nearly a week later, Rick is doing well from the surgery and is still in the hospital. The doctors have anticipated a 10-day stay which means for now the only harvest of his crop he will see is in pictures and on video.

Vickie said that Jason and Gary had started harvest last week and took pictures for Rick to see as he recovered from surgery. "They started harvesting in the bottom and they sent pictures and one was a little video. I'm telling you that was his happiest moment in the hospital. He took that phone and he watched that video. He was between this great big Harbarger smile and tears running down his cheeks," she said smiling. "He's overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and caring."

Finally at the end of the workday, it was Elkhart Grain providing lunch to the volunteer crew. That lunch featured Randy Twyford's BBQ, and incidentally Elkhart Grain is offering lunch to its customers on Mondays during Harvest. Good people doing good things all the way around Logan County.

[Teena Lowery]

Back to top