A gift out of ashes

Jenna Campbell

Times Jr Reporter

 

One of the most dreadful things a family can imagine created a communal gathering of the Crowfoot community, Aug 10. 

Coming together at a white school house, a fundraiser was in effect, with the collective incentive to raise money to help aid Heather and Andrew Limb and family, who recently lost their home to a fire on July 19. 

The family was fortunate enough that no members of the household were in the home at the time of the fire; parents Andrew and Heather were in Moose jaw, eldest daughter Courtney was away working in Regina. The youngest, David, was at Bible camp, and Stephanie was out riding horses.

The Limbs were clearly not left alone in dealing with the tragic aftermath of a lost home, thanks to the Crowfoot community’s efforts in trying to help restore what was lost, as well as helping the family move forward.

The fundraiser included a silent auction, as well as a live auction, events which were largely organized by Alison and John Sanden (who was the night’s auctioneer). The many auctioned items were donated from contributors coming from Strathmore and area. 

Food and beverages were provided, as well, musical talent was showcased from certain members of the Crowfoot community, including a bagpipe player and also a duo playing their violins. The social aspect and night’s program was largely put together by Barb Breaker.

Following the many pleasantries, many stories were shared from those close to the family, all describing how the fire had impacted their lives. The general emotion was a sense of gratitude. Little attention was paid to what was lost, but rather, the gifts that were saved were the dominate focus. 

Community member Norma LaFont, who has opened her home to the Limb family, which she also shares with her husband Jeff and son Levi, expressed that in doing so, it has been a gift in itself.

“I believe that whatever you pray for or focus for in life gets delivered to you,” said LaFont. “I always believed that the best comes out of the worst situations, and for us, the best has been that we’ve gotten to know them better, and have been able to be there for them with a positive attitude.”

The Limbs are very thankful that a great portion of their house had survived the flames, and were extremely amazed by the amount that was saved, including precious mementos that with held strong sentimental value. 

“It was a very old, train station house from the 1930’s, and being that old and made of wood, we thought it would just go up in a shot, and it actually worked the opposite. The wood was so dense that it didn’t really go off,” said Heather Limb.

Consequential to the fire, the largest theme that the Limbs saw emerge was a sense of community.

“I remember dad seeing smoke on the horizon and jumping in the half ton with pails and buckets and going to fight fires and that’s just what we do. Andrew didn’t really see a lot of that because he didn’t grow up here and he’s very strongly impacted by that,” said Heather.

As for what is to be expected in the future, the Limbs hope to start from scratch instead of rebuilding parts of the house that were damaged in the fire. 

“We’re definitely staying in the community, it’s been really stressful but incredible,” said Heather Limb.