By Jennifer Dorsett
Field Editor
Hurricane Laura caused some damage to several East Texas counties, but Louisiana suffered tremendous devastation.
Dangerous winds and heavy rain roared through Lake Charles and surrounding communities before the hurricane was downgraded to a tropical storm as it moved inland.
Laura left a massive trail of destruction in her wake, but Texas Farm Bureau (TFB) members were quick to mobilize to help their neighbors across the state line.
“The storm came through, and while, thank God it missed us, it could’ve been right here on my back doorstep,” Ronnie Brown, a Chambers County Farm Bureau member, said. “After Hurricanes Ike and Harvey, people donated hay and other supplies, and I had to pick some up for my own cattle once or twice. I just thought it was time to give back.”
In the nearby town of Winnie, M&J Fertilizer Company was coordinating donation efforts for agricultural supplies. Brown said in the week after the hurricane, area residents had already hauled about six loads of hay, fencing supplies and other items to Louisiana.
Brown, who is an agricultural aviation pilot and beef cattle rancher from Anahuac, said his son had hauled one load to Calcasieu Parish the weekend after the storm and was planning to take another load of hay that next weekend.
“It’s a mighty trying time when those things blow through,” he said. “There are people who lived there that have lost everything that still need to care for their animals. I’m glad I had the extra hay and the donation efforts worked out according to God’s great plan.”
Harris County Farm Bureau member Daniel Verhey wanted to make sure residents of smaller communities affected by the storm were not left out.
“I have a deer lease in that part of Louisiana [that was damaged], and the people in that community are just fantastic people. So many relief efforts are centered around the cities, but folks in rural communities need help, too. That’s why I went through Farm Bureau to help,” Verhey said. “I bought extra food when COVID-19 first hit us, so I had some extra supplies already on hand. Then, I stopped at Walmart and bought diapers, baby food, wipes and things of that nature, and I donated some cash.”
In Shelby County, Charles “Son” Windham was ready to go the Saturday morning after the hurricane. He headed to Vinton, a small town of about 3,200 residents, to help with cleanup efforts.
“I’ve worked relief efforts after Hurricanes Harvey, Imelda, Florence over in North Carolina, the tornadoes in Alto. If the Lord calls me to do something, I go do it,” Windham said. “And this is by far the worst I’ve ever seen in terms of natural disasters. It’s pretty overwhelming to drive down a street and see how many senior citizens are alone and who’ve lost everything.”
In the eight days he was in Louisiana, Windham helped cut down and remove damaged trees, many of which he said were hundreds of years old.
“This disaster is so bad because they had really old, huge trees in bad shape. The wind has really taken its toll here,” Windham said. “I’ve never seen so many monster trees down. This whole time we’ve been cutting away trees and branches that fell on houses and tore up fences, that sort of thing. When those old trees fall, they may take out two houses at once, so it’s pretty bad.”
He was also working with area churches that are raising donations for materials and tarps to put on homes that were damaged in the hurricane.
“We are trying our hardest to bring back normalcy to these people as fast as we can,” Windham said. “This is what life is all about—helping brothers and sisters we don’t know in their time of need.”
Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation also established a disaster relief fund to help farmers and ranchers with recovery efforts. Click here for more information about the relief fund.