Neighbors Rally After Homestead Fire
When a family lost their home and all their belongings to fire, the Locust Grove community immediately gathered to build them a new dwelling.
Mr. and Mrs. Delbert Amon had the misfortune to lose their home, household furniture and clothing Saturday by fire. It is not known just how the fire started and there were no men on the ranch, so that before help could be summoned the building was enwrapped with flames. Tuesday the neighbors and friends gathered in and formed a bee to make them a dwelling place. There were forty-five in all. The men folks by night had a small house very nearly completed. The women brought sewing machines for the family, and a great deal was accomplished by all. Dinner was served to all at the home of Mr. and Mrs. A. C. Amon. Everyone went home well pleased with what he had accomplished. They expect to move in their new home the first of the week.
“Tuesday the neighbors and friends gathered in and formed a bee to make them a dwelling place.”
This display of 'mutual aid' reflects a time when rural neighbors relied entirely on one another for survival during disaster. Today, while formal insurance and aid organizations have largely replaced these 'bees,' the spirit of community recovery remains a vital thread in the Kennewick region's civic identity.
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