Special Delivery: Crews, 10 combines bring in 558 acres of wheat for Hennings family

Ten combines and crews from several farms turned out Tuesday to harvest 558 acres of wheat for Harold Hennings and his family. The crews accomplished in one day what normally takes Scott and Harold Hennings 15 days to do under normal circumstances.

Hennings, who fell off a tractor twice, endured major surgery four weeks ago to have his spine fused. Still recovering from the delicate surgical procedure, Harold walks with a cane and his activity is restricted to the point where farming was out of the question.

During the past week a grassroots effort summoned area farmers to a harvest bee. The impressive turnout was a picture perfect demonstration of how farmers often come to the rescue of a neighbor. The crew included 10 combines, 10 trucks, and a pair of tractors and bankout wagons.

Doug McRae summed it up easily. “If you can’t take a day to help a neighbor, something’s not right,” he said. McRae and his crew still had about two days of harvest left when they opted to respond to the call for help on behalf of the Hennings family.

Crews started cutting the wheat along Zeimer Road, from Rehn Road to Tokio Road first thing Tuesday morning. The crews were done and finally able to gather for a group picture at 8 p.m.

Harold was reluctant to leave his wheat fields earlier this year, wrestling with the pain to help his son fertilize. That’s when things went from bad to worse. One day his legs gave out and he couldn’t walk. His wife, Nyla, said Harold was found lying on the garage floor.

As a result he was taken to Swedish Hospital in Seattle for surgery. There they used titanium screws and plates around the third and fourth lumbar vertebrae. Doctors then broke the bones, moved the vertebrae back into their proper location and fused his spine with screws.

Tuesday Harold was able to watch crews bring in the family’s wheat. At times he was a bit anxious, frustrated that he wasn’t able to work on harvesting his crop. When all was said and done, he said seeing all the support he received from friends and neighbors was a good feeling and something he and his whole family appreciated.

The combine inventory included two combines from the Schwisow family, two from McRae Ranch, two from Jason Heider, one from Jerry Snyder, one from Ron Hennings, one from Gayle Gering and one from Dewayne Kagele. The families also brought the trucks and semis that hauled the wheat to the Tokio elevator.

The crew list included: Matt, Paul and Don Schwisow, Jim and Jason Heider, Travis McBride, Gary Schoesler, Tim Gjefle, Tevyn Kagele, Tyler Paris, Ron, Ann, Hugh, Heidi and Heather Hennings, Doug, Luke and Nancy McRae, Kevin Schaefer, Brian Doyle, Jerry Snyder, Gayle, Brad and Abby Gering, Angela Hennings, Kennedy Booth, Suzanne Meek, Steve Knoll, Mark Gibler, Jerry Schell and Nyla, Harold, Scott, Michelle, Hayes and Harlee Hennings.