Minnesota Prairie Roots

Writing and photography by Audrey Kletscher Helbling

How you can assist two families in need after a tragic southwestern Minnesota fire December 6, 2013

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 9:53 AM
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2:15 P.M. FRIDAY, UPDATE TWO: The two children who died in the house fire Wednesday afternoon near Lucan have been identified by a family friend as Hazel Thooft, 7, and her brother, Isaiah, 4, according to a just-published story in The Minneapolis Star Tribune. (To read that story, click here.) Hazel was a second grader at St. Anne’s Catholic School in Wabasso and Isaiah attended preschool in the Wabasso School District.

The Wabasso Public School District is where I attended school in grades 9-12.

The remainder of this post was written this morning with information on benefit funds also just updated.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: This is an update to my post about a house fire outside of Lucan in Redwood County in rural southwestern Minnesota which claimed the lives of two children Wednesday afternoon and also seriously injured a firefighter from my hometown of Vesta. Click here to read my initial story.

THE BODY OF A SECOND CHILD, as yet unidentified, was recovered late Thursday afternoon from the ruins of the Bernadette and Matt Thooft home, according to numerous news reports. Authorities found the first child’s body late Wednesday. Their names and ages have not yet been released.

Bernadette and Matt and several children escaped the fire.

A Vesta firefighter, Neal Hansen, remains hospitalized with serious leg injuries after he slipped on ice and was run over by a fire truck.

Online fundraising sites have now been established to raise monies for the Thooft and Hansen families.

Giveforward Thooft family - Copy

Via the Giveforward website, you can support the Thoofts either at Thooft Family Fund (click here) with a $25,000 goal or at Lucan Family loss from house fire (click here) with a $30,000 goal. As of this update, $8,030 have been raised.

First Independent Bank of Lucan has established a fund to collect monetary donations for the Thooft family. Checks should be made payable to and sent to the following address: Matt & Bernadette Thooft Benefit, P.O. Box 138, Lucan, MN. 56255. Donations may also be made in person at First Independent Bank locations in Lucan, Marshall (main bank and at Walmart location), Russell, Ruthton, Balaton, Wood Lake, Beardsley and Hanley Falls. Call (888) 747-2214 or email rhillesheim@fibmn.com for more information.

The United Way of Southwest Minnesota, 109 South 5th St., Suite 300, Marshall, MN., 56258, is also helping the Thooft family. The organization is accepting donations of gift cards and of clothing, toiletries and non-perishable food items. Additionally, the family will need furniture. Contact the United Way with information on the furniture you have available. When the family is ready to accept that furniture, volunteers will pick up and deliver the items. Email unitedway@unitedwayswmn.org or call (507) 929-2273.

The American Red Cross assisted the family with immediate needs, too.

Giveforward Hansen family - Copy

Fundraising efforts also continue online at Giveforward for the injured Vesta volunteer firefighter at Neal Hansen Benefit. Click here to help Neal and Tiffany, the parents of a two-year-old son. The campaign, as of this update, has raised $4,530, surpassing its $3,000 goal.

This tragedy has weighed heavy on my heart. I met the Thooft family in March when I stopped at Bernadette’s new business, The Store, a combination thrift shop and grocery store in my hometown of Vesta, population around 320. New businesses do not open all that often in this rural community, so I was excited and blogged about this in my post, “Little General Store on the Prairie”. (Click here to read.) Right next door, Bernadette’s husband runs Matt’s Frame Repair.

I was especially delighted to meet Bernadette, a woman with a big heart. I instantly warmed to her outgoing personality and sense of humor. She affectionately dubbed her seven children “the hoodlums” in the most loving way. Several of the youngest kids were showing off for me and posing for photos while I interviewed Bernadette. Now, to think…

Please, give to either/both of these families if you can and support them in prayer. Also, spread the word via social media.

Copyright 2013 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

One child dies, another missing & a fireman injured in a farmhouse fire near my hometown December 5, 2013

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 10:01 PM
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I AM GRIEVING from a distance for two young children who apparently died in a house fire Wednesday afternoon near Lucan in my native southwestern Minnesota. The body of one child was recovered late Wednesday evening and one child remains missing.

The fire engulfed the home of Bernadette and Matt Thooft who escaped along with several of their children.

This 1800s general store counter anchors The Store.

Bernadette Thooft poses for a photo in March 2013 in her general store.

I met the Thooft family last March in my hometown of Vesta, where Matt runs Matt’s Frame Repair and Bernadette operates a combination grocery and thrift store next door. I featured Bernadette’s new business, The Store, in a “Little General Store on the Prairie” blog post published March 27. (Click here to read.)

The Store: Thrift and More sits just off Minnesota Highway 19 in Vesta in Redwood County.

The Store: Thrift and More. March 2013 Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo.

It’s not like I really knew the family in any great depth. But in the short time I spent with Bernadette, I learned enough to understand that this former daycare provider possesses a deep love for children. She and Matt had seven, ranging in age (in March) from not quite two to 11. They even built a hang-out space for the kids in a corner of The Store.

This sign by the thrift store points travelers along Minnesota Highway 19, left, to The Store and the Vesta Cafe.

The Thoofts make a faith statement in this sign which points travelers along Minnesota Highway 19, left, to The Store and the Vesta Cafe.

Bernadette also possesses a deep faith and concern for others. This caring woman donates 10 percent of The Store proceeds to charity and established “Believe in the Backpack,” a backpack program for children in foster care. The Thoofts were former licensed foster care providers.

At the time of our interview, Bernadette fondly tagged her children “the hoodlums” in that kind and loving way that only a mom can.

It breaks my heart that this mother may have lost two of her children. It should be noted that authorities have not yet released information on the ages or identities of the children who did not escape the fire.

The Thoofts lived in a six-bedroom farmhouse on eight acres just 1.5 miles northeast of Lucan. They were in the process of trying to sell their property, according to information on The Store Facebook page. Plans were to relocate to my hometown of Vesta, seven miles to the north.

Vesta firefighters were among volunteers from eight area small town fire departments battling the blaze in harsh winter weather conditions.

That's Vesta firefighter Neal Hansen to the left behind the table, photographed at the Vesta Fire Department Pork Chop Feed in March.

That’s Vesta firefighter Neal Hansen standing to the left behind the table, photographed at the Vesta Firemen’s Relief Association Pork Chop Supper in March.

THEREIN LIES THE SECOND PORTION of this tragic story. Vesta firefighter Neal Hansen’s legs were run over by a fire truck after he slipped on ice, according to numerous news sources. He was severely injured and underwent surgery at a Mankato hospital. Initially, he was taken to the Redwood Falls Hospital, but could not be airlifted out because of high winds and snowy conditions at the time, KLGR radio reports.

If you wish to help with expenses for Neal and Tiffany Hansen, both volunteer EMTs for the Vesta First Responders and the parents of a 2-year-old son, please click here and donate through the Hansens’ Giveforward page. By 8 p.m. Thursday, 75 donors had contributed $3,685 to the fund, surpassing the $3,000 goal.

Contributors Ryan and Christie Rudenick commented on the Giveforward page:

Thank you and to all the volunteer firemen, in small, tight knit communities like we have it is even harder to be on call and see horrific things happen to our friends and communities–you and all firemen are heroes!

Volunteer firemen remove the windshield from a junk car.

Vesta volunteer firemen remove the windshield from a junk car during a Jaws of Life demonstration in March of 2013 in my hometown of Vesta.

I ditto the Rudenicks’ “thank you.” With extended family members on two of the volunteer fire departments called to the Lucan farmhouse fire, I have a personal connection to these firefighters. My 29-year-old nephew, Adam, a father and elementary school teacher, responded to the fire with the Walnut Grove Fire Department.

Last winter I met several other Vesta firemen while attending a fire department fundraiser. You can click here to read that post.

Imagine the emotional impact this fatal fire is having on these volunteer firefighters from eight communities.

I expect know that the residents of Vesta and Lucan and surrounding areas will rally to assist the Hansen and Thooft families via prayer, emotional support, financial help and community benefit fundraisers. I’ll update you if a benefit is established for the Thoofts. Nothing beats the neighborly care found within small towns like Vesta, population 320, and Lucan, population 190.

This is not the first time the Thooft family has faced difficulties. In April 2008, the Thoofts’ then 6-year-old son, Zachary, was struck by a school bus after being dropped off at his rural home, according to an article in The Marshall Independent. He recovered from those injuries.

And now this, this deadly fire at their home…

© Copyright 2013 Audrey Kletscher Helbling