AMISH VOLUNTEERS HELPING REBUILD AFTER IKE!!!

[Daanyeer]

Source: http://www.statesman.com/news/content/n ... 7&cxcat=52

By Cindy Horswell

HOUSTON CHRONICLE


Sunday, February 22, 2009

HOUSTON — Except for her sunglasses and cell phone, the woman in the white cap and long flowing skirt looked like a pioneer from another era as she swung a hammer to secure barbed wire to a fence post.

She is among the Amish volunteers who have traveled to the Gulf Coast to rebuild hundreds of miles of fence torn down by Hurricane Ike on Texas cattle ranches.

The storm surge submerged an estimated 600 square miles in Jefferson and Chambers counties, leaving dead cows hanging from tree limbs as high as 20 feet, authorities said.

About 1,500 of the 20,000 cows were found dead along roadways, and 2,500 more are missing. The rest had to float and scramble for their lives, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said.

When the saltwater finally receded, cattle with various brands were discovered roaming down roads and onto people's property. Cowboys, with the aid of helicopters, corralled the cattle, but ranchers cannot return the cattle to their pastures until the fences are restored. Many ranchers have resorted to selling their herds or renting pasture land elsewhere.

"This could break some of our ranchers," said Tyler Fitzgerald, an agricultural extension agent in Chambers County. Not only do ranchers have to bear the cost of rebuilding their fences, he said, but also of supplying food and fresh water because the saltwater killed most of the grass and ruined water supplies.

That is why Fellowship of Christian Farmers organized the relief effort: "Building fences in Texas until the cows come home."

Among the volunteers answering the call have been groups of Amish who learned of the ranchers' plight from their community newsletter in Elkhart and LaGrange counties in Indiana. That's the area that President Barack Obama last week singled out as having the nation's highest unemployment rate.

Many of the 35 Amish volunteers helped out, though they are facing their own financial crises at home. Many have been laid off or had their hours slashed at factories that make recreational vehicles.

Leonard Bontrager, 21, of LaGrange said that he was laid off from his factory job six months ago. "Don't have anything to do at home. So came here," he said.

"Lot of people are out of work," said Kevin Hochstetler, 28, who was wondering how much longer he will keep his factory job. But he came to help Texas ranchers "to return a favor" because other volunteers helped his town after a powerful tornado hit in 2007.

The Amish each paid $250 to travel to Chambers County on trains and buses, though horse-and-buggy is their usual mode of transportation. They slept here on cots separated in an old school building; ranchers supplied their food and fencing materials. New replacements will come until the job is done.

Jean Lagow, who with her twin sister raises cattle on a 7,000-acre spread in Chambers County, said ranchers are grateful for the hundred miles of fence that all the volunteers have erected since they started coming in January.

"What they can complete in a week," said one ranch hand, "would take others most of the summer to do."