Two area businesses are coming together with the Cass County community to help support a family who lost a loved one unexpectedly two weeks ago.
Matt Roegge died unexpectedly on Wednesday, September 8th in Springfield. Roegge was a well-known and well-respected member of the Arenzville community where he was a member of the Illinois Farm Bureau and a member of the town’s board of trustees. Roegge farmed alongside his brothers in the community.
Gerry Beard of Beard Implement Company in Arenzville says that Roegge’s passing is deeply felt by him and the community at large: “Matthew was actually a dear friend of mine. He was also my hired man. He took care of my cattle and my land out there [in Arenzville], and he was also a very good customer. I know Jacob Millard with Sunrise FS was a good, dear friend of Matt’s and the family, as well. [Jacob’s] mother was a Roegge so we have some deep connections. Not only are we trying to do something good for good people but we did have a close relationship with that family, so we’re happy to take the lead on the support side of arranging the field day.” Beard says it’s indicative of the community as a whole – saying “it’s kind of what we do out here” when it comes to taking care of one another.
Beard Implement and Sunrise FS have arranged a volunteer family harvest day for the Roegge Family next week. Beard Implement has been gathering names online via their Facebook Page of local farmers willing to assist in harvesting the family’s bean fields.
Beard says that they have set the date for the one-day event: “We have actually as of right now decided to hold the field day on Wednesday, September 29th, as the day that we are going to harvest roughly 500 acres in seven different locations. We plan to do it in one day, so we will probably have 2-3 combines at each location with the bean heads and draper heads. We will have grain carts and truck tractor trailers and semi drivers. Semis and trailers will be the bulk of the equipment that we will be using.”
Beard says they may already have enough farmers doing the harvest but more volunteers may be needed after the work is complete to serve meals for lunch and dinner, but Beard says they are still listening for volunteers in all aspects: “We will always listen and take volunteers. They can go on to our Facebook or they can email Lauren [Dwyer] at BeardImplement.com or Gerry@BeardImplement.com, or you can get ahold of Jacob Millard at the FS Sunrise Plant here in Arenzville. We are going to meet today to lay out the maps and decide which farmer is going to which field, trying to use close proximity of where these fields are at with some of the farmers that said they want to help out. Sunrise FS is going to prepare meals for the lunch hour on the harvest day, and so we may need people to help distribute the meals. Then, we plan on having everybody come back into Arenzville at the Burgoo Park and Beard Implement Company is going to provide a dinner that evening, so we can all kind of get together and talk about good memories of Matt and honor the family.”
To find out more information about the event contact Lauren Dwyer at Beard Implement at lauren@beardimplement.com or call 217-997-5514 during business hours. You can also send a direct message to the Beard Implement Company Facebook, or contact Jacob Millard with Sunrise FS at 217-381-8227.