YORK COUNTY, Pa. — A York County family farm has received a lifeline after an equipment fire all but ended its hopes of a full harvest this year.
The harvester at Lehman's Roadside Market in Wrightsville was engulfed in flames on Tuesday, meaning it had no way to extract its corn from the ground.
"It is their livelihood," said Brandy McMullen, the daughter of owner Brian Lehman. "It's everything that they need to be able to farm the crop, harvest the crop. It would mean everything that right now needs to be chopped today dies and cannot be used."
Just when all hope seemed lost, Nate Riedy, the owner of nearby White Clover Family Farm, stepped in to help.
"When I saw that, I knew that our audience, I knew that the community around us could make a difference and could help," Riedy said. "And so I reached right out and said, 'Hey, let me know how I can help.'"
Riedy helped by corralling donations and setting up a GoFundMe page to benefit Lehman's.
The page has since exploded, raising over $20,000 in less than two days, which will give Lehman's some breathing room and a chance to salvage the season.
"I’m completely astounded by the response; my entire family is in awe of what Nate and his community of White Clover followers have done," McMullen said. "For me, the silver lining is knowing that my dad is taken care of."
For Reidy and the Lehman family, the true value of the outpouring is knowing that the community always has their backs.
"People are good," Reidy said. "People in our community are good. They want to help each other. There's more unity than there is division, and sometimes people just need someone to say, 'We can make a difference, here's how.'"