Lebanon News
There was definitely news in The Valley this week! But certainly not the kind of news we like to hear.
As if the winds weren’t bad enough Thursday, they caused an electric wire to break and ignite a fire. And, as everyone is well aware, a small fire in a big wind becomes a big fire very quickly. That’s what happened Thursday night. At about 9:45 the call came in and by the time anyone got to a door or window to look out, the sky was already red and one didn’t have to be close to see the fire leaping high in the sky. What a scary time! If it hadn’t been for lots of help, even more luck and a good amount of Divine Intervention, it could have been much worse. The fire started west of the Lebanon-Bartley blacktop north of Road 710 and traveled southeast to Road 708. It jumped the gravel roads and the blacktop like they weren’t even there. It burned only a very small bit south of Road 708, grass on one side of 403 and stubble on the other side. It was nothing short of miraculous that it was stopped there. Had it not been stopped at that point, there was only more stubble and corn stalks. The Village of Lebanon was definitely in danger. Where the fire passed, there was damage, damage that will be felt for several years, but we can be most grateful that no human lives were lost. There were no reports heard of livestock losses either. Undoubtably, some wildlife perished.
Fire departments on hand included Beaver Valley, Bartley, Indianola, Red Willow Western, Cambridge and Wilsonville. At least one Coop water truck was seen as were many, many tractors with discs, a couple of tractors with blades and a payloader. It was neighbor helping neighbor, for which we are so very grateful! Your local firemen were out literally all night and many of them spent the next couple of days wetting down flare ups. There has been talk of having an appreciation supper for them sometime...after COVID.
On a much brighter note. Many in the Haag and Kircher families will remember Mary Ann Schima, aka Rana Weiss. I received a card from her the other day and she is doing well and resides in a senior living facility in LaGrange, Illinois. That’s a suburb of Chicago. She even publishes a newsletter for the facility. I have her address if anyone would be interested in corresponding with her. Don’t bother to try to find her on Facebook or online. She doesn’t own a computer and has no intention of ever having one. She is one of only a few of the original Haag cousins still living. Her mother was the late Ida Haag Schima.
Birthday Greetings go out this week to Aaron Harrison on January 29th, Alan Haag on the 3oth, Megan Nicholson on the 31st, Shelly Daffer, Duane Custer, Tiffany (Quaduor) Herrman and Fr. Paul Witt on February 2nd and Rachael Ritter on the 4th. Special 91st Birthday Greetings go to Cody’s Grampa Don!
