VAN BUREN COUNTY, Iowa — Editor's note: This is part of a series looking back at stories out of the WQAD archives. This particular one was a piece from 1993, reported on by WQAD's Greg Vandegrift.
Strangers sweated side-by-side on a rural Van Buren County farm. Four Ukrainians came to help landowner Ken Perkins recover from flood damage by mending fences.
“I was brought up to see Americans (as) the enemy. And now while returning home I can tell truly, there in America there are too many good friends," a Ukrainian man said through an interpreter.
In the week prior, the Ukrainians and others helped repair about a dozen area farms.
“We feel great sorrow for their damages and we'd like to help them, that is the only thing. So grief is grief,” another man said through an interpreter.
Earlier that year, 100 Midwest farmers and some agricultural companies helped Ukrainian farmers plant their crops. When the Midwest floods hit, Ukrainians decided to return the favor. The ag companies paid for their trip.
“There was no plan for bringing people from the Ukraine over here. I think this just evolved out of the hearts of the people in Ukraine.”
The midsummer flood hit the Perkins farm hard. The Des Moines River blew out of its banks and covered the barnyard, reaching heights above the fences.
“We've been very fortunate to have help. And the distance they've traveled to help is just, it shows that people truly care everywhere.”
Van Buren County wasn't the only flood-stricken spot Ukrainians were helping. They also were in Missouri and Illinois, spreading goodwill from half a world away.
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