Cindy Wehmeyer is the secretary of Trinity Lutheran Church in Orchard Farm as well as the wife and mom of a proud farming family. Back when the water was blocking roads, she had to commute to work by boat. Cindy, her husband Greg and their daugther, Gwen, are the human faces of the stark reality the flood left behind. Gwen said recently:

“Sometimes, I catch myself going back to flood pictures. In a very odd way, I find myself reminiscing on what I really experienced: the rotten-gut wrenching stomach aches at various sites, the heart ache in my parents’ eyes, the tears when Mom cried, the trips to Lowe’s with Dad to get lumber for blocking things up, while remembering what we needed, because he was too exhausted to function, multiple trips with a truck and trailer to haul the house and sheds out, while placing our life and decisions on one 24-hour river forecast, talks with Dad how the rivers ran and functioned, the boat rides over roads we drove over the day before, absence from graduate school for a month with minimal care simply because my family and our farm come first, and a very tear filled airplane ride back to Oklahoma. Today, I called Dad to see what he was doing. He was combining what little corn we had this year, while expressing his eagerness to ‘get it out and just be done with this year.’

Farmers like dad, just can’t give up when the going gets tough. There are still insurance claims to deal with, sheds to put back in order, to somehow find the house again, to harvest, and clean up from what Mother Nature previously placed in our laps.

Sometimes, my heart gets incredibly heavy when I look back and see what actually happened, but it truly shows the resilience and passion farmers have and give every day. It takes a special kind of stubborn and love to do what they do. I’m so very blessed to be a Farmer’s daughter.”
—Gwen Wehmeyer