A Different Kind of Harvest

It is that time of year; harvest is in full swing.  Farmers from all across the area are taking to their fields to reap the fruits of their labor.

For one farmer, though, harvest will be very different this year.  Brent Swartzendruber will be on his own this harvest season.  His partner, his father-in-law, Steve Siebert, will not be around to help this year.  Siebert was tragically killed in an accident earlier this month.

As Swartzendruber tried to hash out the details of just how harvest was going to work for him this year, he looked back on years past.  He recalled how Steve was always in the combine during harvest.  He was “Mr. Combine” if you will.  Steve had handled combine duties for the last 40 years of his farming career.  This is what he did, and who he was during harvest.

Swartzendruber was out on a run a few weeks back and came upon the combine.  These memories of Steve behind the wheel over came him and he even noticed that the combine had a sense of emptiness about it.  As if it were distraught at the thought of this year’s harvest and the changes that were going to take place.  Steve would not be behind the wheel of the combine and the combine looked sad about it.

Through this, Swartzendruber thought, ‘how could I honor Steve with this combine through harvest?’  Then it came to him what he wanted to do.  With the help of Wendy Janzen, Swartzendruber had a black ‘arm band’ made to place on the auger of the combine.  This will be the symbol to remember Steve and to honor him though the season as someone else will take his place running the combine.  This ‘arm band’ is a reminder that, although someone else is sitting there, Steve will always be ‘Mr Combine’ and his role will never be forgotten.

Royce Janzen, who worked very closely with Swartzendruber and Steve and who is also Steve’s first cousin will partake in placing an honorary ‘arm band’ on his auger as well.

So, this harvest season, with the beautiful days and nights, Swartzendruber and Janzen will be thinking about more than just picking corn. They will be remembering a wonderful person that they will truly miss.