As you may or may not know, our house burned down August 20, 2011. The community of Bastrop pulled together and donated money, clothes, household items and plenty of support. Two weeks after our house burnt down, the Labor Day Fires burned over 1,400 other Bastrop homes. It was very tragic to say the least.
September 10th 2011, the fine fishermen who fish the KATS tournaments put together a tourney to help me get another kayak. While at the tournament fishermen brought fishing combos and tackle to get me back on the water. The tournament was a success and everyone who showed up left feeling good that the proceeds for the tourney went to getting a fellow fisherman back on the water after losing everything in a fire.
The day after the fishing tournament, I moved my family into a generous co-worker’s spare house, for a temporary place to stay while we waited for a home to be built. We found a builder that could build us a home in a very reasonable time frame and it was an upgrade from our previous home.
As time passed, we watched our home being built from ground up; visiting it as often as we could. The support from the community is still very strong. We were able to sell our old vacant lot, and have money to start replacing household items then began our search on good ‘ol Craigslist. We found most of the items we needed at a fraction of what they would have cost new helping to stretch the dollar.
As December approached, the vision of being “home” grew warm in our hearts. All that was on the topic of discussion was getting in the house and getting our life back to normal.
That day finally came on December 14th, 2011; when we closed on our new home. What an amazing feeling!
All the money that was donated went towards the down payment and closing cost, which allowed me to stay in budget and keep me from being house-poor. I can’t thank everyone enough for all the support and donations, big or small, everything meant the world to me and my family. Without all of you, this would not have been possible.
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2 thoughts on “Fire Recap and Thank You Letter”
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That is amazing. Just another reason why I am proud to be a kayak angler. This community represents a great cross-section of outdoorsman that take care of each other! Thanks for the update and we are glad to see that your family is doing well. – Chad
It is amazing how often people in this country bicker and fight over the smallest ideas, ideals, and positions on current events. However, when things go wrong and our friends and neighbors need help we step up. There is nothing like the feeling one gets when they see a community, any community, come together and help someone in need. Thanks for shareing your story and good luck going foward!-
Geoff
Old Hickory, Tn.