GENOA, Ill. — Cancer likely touches every life at some time; farmers are not exempt.

DeKalb County farm wife and Realtor Carol Bolander is battling breast cancer for a second time, at a time when her husband, Glenn, and brother-in-law, Dale, needed to focus on the harvesting of their 300 acres of corn and soybeans. Their lack of focus was putting them behind, and it didn’t go unnoticed by neighbor Gene Miller.

The Bolanders and other area farmers assisted Miller with his harvest a couple of years ago when he fought cancer. “(Miller) mentioned it to his farm partner, someone else mentioned it to Jim Jones at Conserv FS, and that got the ball rolling,” said Connor Bolander, Carol and Glenn’s nephew.

“You just have to put the word out, and they come running,” Jones said of his part in organizing the harvest. “They (the Bolanders) are customers of the elevator, and we’re really like family.”

Friends, neighbors and farmers from all over the area did “come running.” Jones said more than 100 people showed up, bringing 11 combines, 20 carts, 28 trucks and filling 38 feet of tables with food for all the participants.

Sycamore High School FFA members assisted as well. The Bolanders’ elder son, Justin, is a sophomore and a member of the organization. Their younger son, Josh, is in eighth grade.

Along with local friends and neighbors, Jones said he sent an email to Chicago ag broadcaster Max Armstrong, who drove out for the day. “(Armstrong) said he had heard about things like this, but always after the fact. He had never been present to see the farmers in action,” Jones said.

DeKalb County sheriff’s deputies were on hand to direct traffic on Illinois Route 23, keeping traffic flowing and everyone safe.

Carol said friends she hasn’t seen for years showed up, along some she hadn’t met prior to that crisp Saturday morning in late October. “It was quite the production,” she said, with a laugh. “We had so much food.”

She said the women brought food and a number of seed dealers sent doughnuts and coffee to keep everyone energized.

“Being raised on a farm, you just know neighbors have always done things like this, but to be on the receiving end of such generosity is just overwhelming,” Carol said.

She said a reporter from a Rockford TV station showed up and wanted details about her cancer experience. Another reporter from a DeKalb daily newspaper focused more on the community event.

“That’s really what it was about, the positive message of people coming together. About four weeks of work was completed in about 4 1/2 hours,” Carol said last week.

“In fact, Glenn just texted me a few minutes ago to say how pleased he was the crops were in. The rain in the past couple of days would have slowed things down.”

Even though she’s undergoing chemotherapy, and some days she moves a little slower, Carol doesn’t let cancer stop her from enjoying life. Shortly after the big harvest event, the entire family went skiing in Colorado.

“Of course, I didn’t spend the whole day skiing, but I did go out with the family in the afternoon,” she said.

She also said many of her real estate clients never know the battle she’s waging. “Cancer is not an enjoyable experience. I just have to make things fun.”

 

According to Connor, she’s succeeding. “She has good days and bad days, but she’s got such a positive attitude and she’s such a fighter, she helps keep everyone’s heads up,” he explained.