Community comes together to harvest crops after farmer dies in crash

HARVEST SEASON IS IN FULL SWING, BUT ONE FARM IN IOWA WAS LEFT UNATTENDED WHEN A FARMER WAS KILLED IN A CAR CRASH EARLIER THIS MONTH. KCCI ALYSSA GOMEZ SHOWS US HOW THE BANCROFT COMMUNITY IS BANDING TOGETHER TO MAKE SURE HIS CROP GETS FROM THE FIELD TO THE CO-OP. HIGH ABOVE BANCROFT, IT MAY LOOK LIKE YOUR AVERAGE HARVEST IS UNDERWAY, BUT DOWN HERE IN THE FIELDS, THERE’S A DEEPER MEANING BEHIND THE WORK. BEING DONE. THEY SAY A LIFE CAN’T BE MEASURED IN NUMBERS, BUT THE IMPACT JIM HELDER FOR HIS LIFE HAD ON THE BANCROFT COMMUNITY LOOKS A LITTLE LIKE THIS. I THINK ALL OF THESE PEOPLE HERE IS A TESTAMENT FOR WHAT A GOOD PERSON HE WAS, AND HOW MUCH HE’LL REALLY BE MISSED. THAT’S THE HOPE THAT SHOWED UP TO FINISH THE HARVEST. JIM LEFT BEHIND. JIM WAS A WELL-LOVED FARMER AND FRIEND IN BANCROFT. HE DIED IN A TRAGIC CAR ACCIDENT ON OCTOBER FIRST. FAMILY SAYS HE WAS JUST ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE ALWAYS WILLING TO LEND A HAND. MOST OF THE GUYS THAT ARE OUT HERE TODAY, HE’S WORKED ON THEIR SEMIS. HE’S HELPED THEM DO SOMETHING AT ONE TIME OR ANOTHER. WHEN KATHY FACED SEMI, BROKE DOWN HER COUSIN JIM SPRANG INTO ACTION. MY BROTHER CALLED HIM. WE WERE ABOUT TEN MILES OUT OF TOWN AND SURE ENOUGH JIM WAS THERE IN A HEARTBEAT TO COME AND HELP. TODAY SHE BREAKS DOWN IN TEARS. WELL, IT’S IT’S GETTING ME A LITTLE EMOTIONAL AT THE MOMENT. I WAS DOING REALLY GOOD UNTIL RIGHT NOW. BECAUSE THE COMMUNITY THAT LOVED HER COUSIN IS RETURNING THE FAVOR, HARVESTING HIS 465 ACRES. PEOPLE STARTED REACHING OUT AFTER HE PASSED AND SAID, HOW CAN WE HELP? NEIGHBORS, FARMERS. CEOS? DOZENS OF PEOPLE SHOWED UP TO GET THE JOB DONE IN UNDER FOUR HOURS. ALL FOR JIM. IT’S ABOUT PEOPLE HELPING PEOPLE. EVERYONE HERE TODAY HAS THEIR OWN BUSINESS AND AND HARVEST TO FINISH. AND THEY TOOK TIME OUT OF THEIR DAY TO COME. SUPPORT SOMEONE. KATHY SAYS HIS MEMORIAL LAST WEEK WAS NO DIFFERENT. DOZENS OF HUGE TRUCKS LINING THE STREETS OF TOWN GIVING THEIR FELLOW FRIEND AND FARMER ONE FINAL GOODBYE. I THINK JIM WILL BE REMEMBERED AS SOMEONE WHO HELPED OTHERS AND WE’RE JUST ALL VERY HAPPY THAT WE COULD COME AND HELP HIM, AND I’M SURE HE’S LOOKING DOWN, SMILING, SAYING, THAT’S ONE WAY TO GET MY CORN OUT OF THE FIELD. IN BANCROFT ALYSSA GOMEZ KCCI EIGHT NEWS, IOWA’S NEWS LEADER. NEIGHBOR. HELPIN