I bet I can count on one hand how many of you know where Watseka is. But I bet a lot of you know the Moore family, one of the Market at the Square’s top vendors. The Moores — who raise produce as well as livestock — are also the sole source of food for Prairieland Community Supported Agriculture, which supplies more than 100 area families with produce every week in the summer. Their eggs are super yummy, and I’ve heard their turkeys can’t be beat.
Anyway … the Moores are perhaps the most well-known (they’ve been in USA TODAY, after all) of the flood victims in Watseka, a small community in Iroquois County more than 50 miles northeast of Champaign. Currently their house is surrounded by water. Some of their livestock is stranded, visible by binoculars. But the Moores say they are fine.
There are other animals stranded too, companion animals. Of course the reports rescuers in boats going from house to house in search of animals conjures up images of Hurricane Katrina. Obviously this disaster isn’t anywhere near the scale of what happened in New Orleans, but it’s just as devastating to the people and animals who are in the middle of it.
The good news is that the flood waters are receeding. School is back in session. But when you walk by the Moores’ stand this summer — think of what they have been through to put food on your table. And when you hug your animals tonight, think of the ones in Watseka, and their owners — and anyone else affected by the great floods of 2008.
2 responses so far ↓
gamera // January 15, 2008 at 3:22 pm
Actually, I *do* know where Watseka is. My dad lives there. Haven’t heard from him in a few days….
frugalmom // January 15, 2008 at 3:52 pm
Yeah, as a csa share holder and egg share holder we have been getting email updates on the Moore farm. I was so glad to get the news that they had found almost all of their animals and that the water was receding. They are so very dedicated to their farm and to providing fresh food for everyone.
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