Keota

Family does not always mean being related by blood.

Sometimes, it means friends and neighbors coming together to help someone in their time of need.

That is exactly what happened for the Conway family, whose farm is near Keota, just outside Wellman.

John Conway, a Washington County farmer, suffered a serious fall on his 80th birthday, Thursday, October 8. According to his wife, Cathy, he was on a ladder repairing a leak in his corn dryer, something he does each year around this time, when he slipped and fell an estimated 16 feet.

He landed on a piece of metal at the bottom of the grain dryer and lost consciousness.

After waking up, John sat down and tried to remember what had happened. Once he realized he had fallen, he reached into his pocket for his phone. Amazingly, it was not broken. He called Cathy, who was in Iowa City, and told her what he could remember.

Cathy quickly realized something was wrong and rushed home. They called 911 and their daughter, who came straight from her family’s farm.

Washington County EMS arrived within 15 minutes of the call. John spent a week in the hospital with numerous broken bones. Doctors told him his injuries were much more serious than he initially thought that he had lost a significant amount of blood and that recovery would take time.

While he was hospitalized, doctors showed him X-rays revealing the extent of his injuries.

“After the X-rays and finding all the broken stuff, and then the amount of blood that I’d lost, it’s going to be dicey a little while,” John said.

He returned home a week after the fall, facing a six-week recovery, which meant he would be unable to help with the harvest as he had in years past. When neighbors learned what had happened, they stepped in to help.

John said he wanted to share a positive story about what people can do for one another.

“My thought was that all of the shit that the American people have had to listen to for the past week, wouldn't it be nice to have a nice story, about what good people can and will do.”

As friends, neighbors and family worked on the farm, John explained how the effort came together.

“You are looking at the result of wonderful neighbors. Wonderful neighbors looking out for one another.”

A neighbor who had lived near the Conways for 60 years learned what had happened and began calling nearby neighbors, those farther away and people John does business with. They readily agreed to help.

John estimated that 50 to 60 people participated.

I would say 50 to 60 would be a good number,” he said.

Some spent most of the day harvesting.

“Some never even got out of the combine.”

When people began asking questions about the farm, John smiled and was in his element.

Cathy said that although they farm around 500 to 560 acres, theirs is the smallest farm in the area.

The couple’s daughter, Collette McClellen, is the Mid-Prairie band and choir director. Her husband, Matt McClellan, showed visitors around the farm and expressed his appreciation for the neighbors who came to help.

“We wish we didn’t need this, but it’s so awesome that people will do this,” he said.

Those helping were served pork burgers, sides and desserts inside the same building where the Conways had celebrated their granddaughter’s wedding just a few weeks earlier. A sign reading “thank you friends & neighbors” was also available for everyone to sign.

Later in the day, McClellan pointed out the farmers working in the fields, using combines to harvest the grain.

John and Cathy have run the farm for about 50 years, after John purchased it from Cathy’s father in the 1970s. Despite his age, John still loves farming and enjoys every minute of it.

As KCRG interviewed John, the farm’s former cattle feedlot could be seen in the background. Although the Conways no longer raise cattle, it was once part of their operation.

John wore a green, long-sleeved Conway T-shirt, proudly displaying his last name. When asked whether his hat meant he had served in the Marine Corps, he immediately answered yes and shouted, “Oorah.”

John served during the Vietnam War from 1968 to 1972. He recalled welcoming a son on his final day in the Marine Corps.

“Last day in the Marine Corps, we got a baby boy. It's a good thing. Cost $6.12.”

With so many people coming out to help, the day showed how neighbors can come together to support someone in need, even while facing challenges of their own.