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Late Wednesday night into the early hours of
Thrusday morning at our home in Bristol, Virginia, we had heavy hail
storms, wind and rain, but had no idea that just a few miles away, an
EF3 tornado hit the small town of Glade Spring, Virginia with wind speeds
over 160 mph....friends and neighbors lives were changed forever.
The tornado destroyed a wide path right through the most populated areas
of the small town, destroying businesses, restaurants, gas stations and
homes - many, many homes. One of those homes was the home of the
Keesee's.
The Keesee family, grandmother Barbara, son Dale and his wife Anna, and
their two teenage children had ridden out the hail and the wind and rain
that had been coming in bursts over several hours, thought they had seen
the worst of it. They were awakened in the middle of the night by a
horrible roaring noise, and Dale grabbed his family and threw them into
a closet and laid on top of them. His 16-year-old daughter said that it
seemed like one moment the five of them were in a closet huddled
together and the next moment she was outside on the ground. No family,
no closet, no house. In a moment it was all gone. Her brother, who came
away with cuts and scrapes found his sister who had a severely broken
arm, and began walking to get help. The five family members were spread
out over a hundred feet from one another.
Dale and his wife Anna both had their necks broken with Anna receiving
head injuries as well. Dale's mother, 67-year-old Barbara Keesee was
killed.
On Friday, my wife and I drove up to Glade Spring to see if there was
anything we could do to help. I returned the next day with over 20 men
and women from my church as part of a massive clean-up effort that will
take months to finish. We worked all day removing fallen trees, and
piling brush and debris, so that the people who call this small town
home, could start to rebuild their lives.
As you might expect, I brought a big knife with me - because well,
that's what I do, right? So while we had guys running chain saws, and
other people removing the cut trees and branches, I found myself using
my personal camp knife (pictured above) to cut through heavy brush and branches to make
it easier to remove and carry off. I have used this knife for many years
now. Normally it sits by our fireplace, where I cut kindling to start fires,
and it gets used regularly on my property, and has even won a couple
cutting competitions. But that day, the knife worked, and it worked
honorably. A few people with us even commented that they thought I could
get through branches faster with my knife than the guys running the
chain saws.
Returning home, and planning to return to Glade Spring over the coming
months to help, I prayed about what I could do to help in other ways.
When the Apostle Peter was confronted by the crippled man asking for
money, Peter replied, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do
have I give you..." I feel the same way. Money I do not have to
give, but I have time, and I have ability. I can also make knives.
So I would like to continue to do what I can to help the families of
Glade Spring, and here is what I want to do... I have never made a knife
like my personal camp knife before this, but I am going to make five
faithful copies of this knife that has served me so well over the years,
and has now worked to serve the people hit so hard by this storm. Like
the original knife, these knives will be full-tang integral blades,
forged from 1" round 52100, differentially tempered, with green
canvas micarta handles, and a heavy-duty leather sheath. Though the
knives will be totally handmade as usual, I will attempt to make each
one a faithful representation of the original. The only difference is
that they will have a special mark to help remember the victims of the
storm.
All of the money from the sale of the knives will go directly to the
Keesee family to help them rebuild their lives. Dale and Anna are
still recovering in the hospital, and have a long road ahead of them.
For them life will never be the same. Days after the tornado, their
daughter would drift off to sleep in the hospital, only to wake up
terrified after a few minutes of sleep saying, "The storm is
coming!" That may never end. They will have needs far into the
future, and always over and above what will be paid for by insurance.
If you are interested in not only getting to own and use a wonderful
knife, but also helping a family hit so hard by the storm, please email
me and let me know. The knives will be offered for an even $1000 each.
Contrary to my normal practice, I am asking for payment in advance, with
the knives to be delivered in July 2011. I would prefer that payment be
made in the form of a cashier's check or money order made payable to
Dale Keesee.
If you live outside the U.S., and you are interested in one of these
five knives, please contact me and I will let you know how you can send
the money via PayPal to Dale's brother Bill Keesee. I will get the
knives to the first five people who respond by emailing
me. All sold. Thank you
so much for helping!!!
These five knives will be the only knives I will ever make like my
personal knife. I will retire the design and leave my personal knife to
my son someday.
From knives made to raise money for charity, to men and women who still
do business on a handshake, the knife community is now what America used
to be, and I am proud to be a part of it. Thank you for caring, thank
you for giving, and thank you for being the kind of people I am honored
to call friends.
Still serving the Master of the Storm,
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