Family photo of Joe Dameron and his wife.
CURRYVILLE, MO. -- This past month, the town of Curryville, Missouri demonstrated the biggest act of kindness you could ask for. When a family's farm was at stake, their community stepped up and carried the load. We sat down with the Dameron family Saturday as they shared their story of a community's overwhelming support for one another.
"Between my uncle, my dad and Phil, those were the three guys that made the farm turn over every year," said Melissa Woodside, the daughter of Joe Dameron.
It wasn't until last year when things started to go down hill for the Dameron family. Melissa's uncle Mike died in March of 2009. A little more than a year later, both Melissa's dad Joe and family friend Phil Schaper died unexpectedly.
"Within a year and a half, we lost all three of them and were left with about 1,600 acres worth of crops in the ground that we weren't sure how we were going to get them out," said Woodside.
The answer couldn't have come soon enough.
"In about ten days after my dad died, we have a tremendous outpouring from the community," said Woodside.
"Once I made two phone calls, people just started coming in, and Denny pretty much organized the combines, what fields to go to and when," said Bob Niemeyer, a friend of the Dameron family. "Everything just fell into place. It was the right thing to do at the right time."
"It was pretty hard. It gets emotional when you think about it, but we came in and started to get things lined up," said Dennis Curry, a family friend. "There was at least 30 men out there helping to do this."
"There was five combines out here at one time and then people brought in trucks and train carts. It took about two and a half days to get it out which is really good," said Niemeyer.
"In that time, they managed to get all the crops out and delivered to the elevators and where they needed to go," said Woodside. "If these guys hadn't showed up, my brother and cousin would still be out there trying to get it all done," said Woodside.
"I know if we needed help, Joe would've been there to help us any way he could," said Curry. "All of them were just really good people. They're going to be missed."
"You hear about people doing things like this for somebody that's in need, but you don't expect it to ever happen to you," said Woodside.
"Joe was really well liked, and I think you could've asked anybody and they'd've been there in a snap of your fingers," said Niemeyer.
"There's just no way to truly express our gratitude to these men, because they would say they were just doing what they felt needed to be done and they would say this is just what you do for your neighbor. But to us, it was much more than that. To us, it was a lifeline that we needed at the time," said Woodside.
Saturday would have been Joe Dameron's 68th birthday.
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