One Burnt Down Barn, An Angel, And Two Beagle Pups

I read a story on your online newspaper a few months back called, Fifty Years Of Love And Dreams Turns Into "For Wags And Whiskers" Thrift Store, written by Captain Glenn Volkerding's daughter, Mary Porter. My family was one of the lucky families that received two of the 29 dogs that Officer Volkerding rescued and cared for. I would like to share my story with you.

My husband and I and our 8 children lived on a farm in Gordenville, MO and at times things got pretty hard for us. It was getting close to Christmas one year and we weren't quite sure what we would be able to afford. We never were able to give our children gifts from a store. We would put all our names in a hat and each one would pull out a name and would give that person something that they had made themselves. You could say we were a lot like the "Walton's" growing up. We always had plenty of food to eat, warm clothes, and always had lots and lots of love in our home. Our kids did not have many of the luxuries that some of their other friends had but they would always say "Mom, we fell sorry for anyone who didn't have you and dad for parents and a house full of brothers and sisters like ours". We were so proud of them. God Blessed us with wonderful children.

My husband went to the children a little before Christmas one year and asked them if they would like to help him earn some extra money to get their mom a new washing machine. I was using that good old wringer washer that many of us remember! They were all excited. He swore them to secrecy. They took any and every job that they could to earn money. As a mother you know when your children are up to something. I would watch one of my sons go into the barn every evening and then come out a few minutes later. When it came time for supper and everyone was sitting at the table you could hear little giggles from each one of them. They were about to bust to tell me this big secret.

With only two days until Christmas, we had a huge snow storm one evening and I saw my son go into the barn and stay longer than usual. Then all of a sudden I heard a loud scream. Here comes my son running from the barn as fast as he could crying and saying that the barn was on fire. He had accidentally caused a fire that ended up burning the barn down. It was a devastating loss. He had taken a kerosene lamp out to count the money for the washing machine and our milk cow got out of her stall and knocked the lamp over. Thankfully they both made it out and both were alright, but the barn was gone and all the money was gone. As country neighbors do, they all flocked to the rescue and the barn was soon rebuilt. The money that my husband and I had saved went to help rebuild the barn, which now meant there was nothing left for the children's Christmas. The disappointment was so sad knowing that they couldn't buy that washing machine for their mom. My husband went to them and told them that everything would be "OK".

I had always taken in sewing for people and one morning I was on my way to town to deliver some dresses that I had finished. You didn't get a lot of money for doing that those days, but every little bit helped. As I was leaving one of the houses I ran into Officer Volkerding. We chatted for awhile. He would talk about his wife and children and he would always ask me how everyone in my family was doing. He listened to me while I told him what had happened about our barn. He asked me to come into town the next day saying he had something he wanted to give me. The next day I went into town to meet him. He opened the trunk of the police car and there were two of the cutest little beagle puppies I had ever seen. He told me to give one to my husband for a hunting dog, and give the other one to the children for their Christmas present. He said "Make sure to put on the tag for the children's Christmas that it was a gift from Santa". I wish he could have seen their faces that Christmas morning when my husband walked in with those puppies. Mary's Father Was "An Angel" That Day. He was one of the nicest people you could ever meet. Every time he would see me or my husband in town he would always buy us a cup of coffee and we would chat for awhile.

When the puppy Officer Volkerding gave to my husband was old enough to start hunting my husband would get up really early in the morning and trot up into the woods hoping to bring something back for me to cook. Whenever my husband would shoot his gun the dog would fall on my husbands boots and start to shiver and wine and would not move. The poor thing was scared to death of gun fire. He would have to pick him up and carry him home. We never had the heart to tell him that the beagle he gave to my husband for hunting, wouldn't hunt. We were shocked and saddened to find out that Officer Volkeding had died from a heart attack at such a young age. He has been gone for many years but we have never forgotten what that gift meant to our family. It is talked about every year at Christmas.

After I read his daughter's article I had it printed and sent copies to my children. They are all grown now with children of their own and are spread out in different states. After reading it they told me that their puppy was one of the happiest Christmas presents that they had ever received. They are each getting a box of things ready to ship to Officer Volkerding's daughter. They wanted her to know how much that puppy meant to them. They named their puppy "Pickles", and their father named his "Little Bit".

I want to thank his daughter Mary and her friend Raine Jackson for carring on with her father's dream. Thank you for honoring your father as you did in your article. It was a beautiful and loving story. He is truly deserving of it. I'm sure he would be so very proud of you. Your article brought back a beautiful memory of days gone by. It brought a warm smile to our faces, and also some happy tears.

I will remember you and your friend in my prayers. I hope your new business "For Wags and Whiskers" Thrift Store will be a huge success in Jackson. Your prayer for the animals was beautiful. You will surely be seeing me and my friends at your store. Even at our age we still love to shop, especially at thrift stores. I can't wait to meet you. If you have half the loving heart that your father did you are sure to make many special memories to pass along to your friends and families, and maybe even stranger or two. I will be watching for your Grand Opening.

As a longtime resident now of Jackson I am asking the community to help these girls out with their new business. I read in their article that the girls need and old truck. I know there is SOMEONE out there that has an old truck that they could donate for them to do pickups. Help them find a building. Look around your house and bag up some knick-knacks or clothing and drop it off to them. I would like to challenge all senior citizens in Jackson and Cape Girardeau to participate in their venture. Volunteer your time, put together a bake sale, have your friends donate a one time donation. Please lets help them out. Give in the memory of her father, a wonderful policeman.

If you missed her article you can go to the website:

semissouian.com and type in the search engine, "wags and whiskers". If you received one of the 29 dogs from Officer Volkerding, write in and share your story with his daughter and the many animal lovers who read this story. I'm sure she would hold it very dear to her heart, as I hope this one does. For those of you who don't have a computer, their

phone number is: 573-243-0817.

The picture that I am adding with this story is the barn before it was burnt down.

A special thank you to my grandson for helping me with this story.