The day after Frank Majchrowski’s funeral, a fleet of combines, trucks and tractors converged on his farm near Weirdale, Sask., to get the last of his family’s crop harvested.
The harvest bee was a chance for Majchrowski’s friends and neighbours to pay their respects to a loved member of the community, and to help his brother, Bert, 74, who was facing harvest alone for the first time in 52 years.
Frank’s ATV collided with a combine on Sept. 27, killing him instantly.
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“Frankie was a super guy, everybody liked him a lot. Same thing with Bert, it was just a show of how much respect people had for them around here,” said David Gondek, one of the farmers who helped bring in the harvest.
The Gondeks are longtime friends of the Majchrowskis.
During a visit to Bert and his wife Margaret’s house the day after Frank’s death, Gondek told them not to worry about their fields. Harvest would be taken care of.
He had no idea the community would come together as quickly and willingly as it did.
Word of mouth spread after Gondek’s father mentioned to a few friends the plan to help the Majchrowskis. Soon Gondek was inundated with phone calls from people offering to pitch in.
Many who came to help on the morning of Oct. 2 had to travel for hours.
“It was pretty nice of everybody to quit doing their own harvesting and take the day off to move up to Weirdale to take the crop off for Bert,” said Gondek.
Twelve combines, four semi-trucks and four tractors got the Majchrowski brothers’ 400 acres of wheat and canola harvested in about 3 hours.
“It wasn’t lots, but, you know, it meant lots to them,” said Gondek.
Margaret Majchrowski, Frank’s sister-in-law, said she was overwhelmed by the kindness of her friends and neighbours.
“It just makes your heart bleed to know that people are there to support you like that,” she said.
She added the family is still struggling to cope with their grief.
“It’s going to take a long time but we’re just going to work on it, we have to accept it. I told my husband that we’re fortunate we have each other and each day is precious.”
Pictures of the harvest bee can seen on Facebook atwww.facebook.com/album.php?aid=74392&id=1600943761&ref=mf.
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