Wyocena Community Rallies Around Local Family, Business
Horse Ranch Destroyed In April Tornado
Updated: 2:01 pm CDT July 7, 2008
WYOCENA, Wis. -- A surprise April storm destroyed Cathy Morris' Wyocena property, but it didn't destroy her dream.
VIDEO: Watch The Report"A freak tornado came through and a small path and took out all her horse buildings," said Morris' brother, Tom Dalton.Cathy and Carina Morris, a mother-and-daughter team, had operated a horse training, breeding and boarding business on their property for years."A 140-by-70 building was flattened, and another, two other buildings and there was just nothing left," said Morris.Luckily, her 15 horses survived."Horses have been in our lives forever," said Morris.Now, thanks to the generosity of friends and neighbors, this mother and daughter team has a second chance at their dream."We just need to take what's been given and rebuild and do it better," said Morris. "We want to develop a rehabilitation center for horses, partly due to what happened.""We all decided to get together a kind of fundraiser to help out with the expenses," said Dalton.The community rallied around them on Sunday packing a pig roast dinner in Pardeeville, buying raffle tickets and bidding in a silent auction, WISC-TV reported."You know your neighbor around here," said Dalton. "When something like this happens, they all just pitch in."Morris said the spring tragedy and now the fundraiser have taught her that kindness abounds in Wisconsin."I didn't realize we lived in a world that people would come in and help when they don't know you," said a grateful Morris. "They were coming in for a week afterwards, driving onto my field, putting garbage in their cars and taking it away."The money raised from the event will also go to help others in crisis. Organizers said 10 percent of everything raised will be given to the Red Cross, WISC-TV reported.
VIDEO: Watch The Report"A freak tornado came through and a small path and took out all her horse buildings," said Morris' brother, Tom Dalton.Cathy and Carina Morris, a mother-and-daughter team, had operated a horse training, breeding and boarding business on their property for years."A 140-by-70 building was flattened, and another, two other buildings and there was just nothing left," said Morris.Luckily, her 15 horses survived."Horses have been in our lives forever," said Morris.Now, thanks to the generosity of friends and neighbors, this mother and daughter team has a second chance at their dream."We just need to take what's been given and rebuild and do it better," said Morris. "We want to develop a rehabilitation center for horses, partly due to what happened.""We all decided to get together a kind of fundraiser to help out with the expenses," said Dalton.The community rallied around them on Sunday packing a pig roast dinner in Pardeeville, buying raffle tickets and bidding in a silent auction, WISC-TV reported."You know your neighbor around here," said Dalton. "When something like this happens, they all just pitch in."Morris said the spring tragedy and now the fundraiser have taught her that kindness abounds in Wisconsin."I didn't realize we lived in a world that people would come in and help when they don't know you," said a grateful Morris. "They were coming in for a week afterwards, driving onto my field, putting garbage in their cars and taking it away."The money raised from the event will also go to help others in crisis. Organizers said 10 percent of everything raised will be given to the Red Cross, WISC-TV reported.Copyright 2008 by Channel 3000. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
