August twenty-seventh was rapidly approaching. It was Adam’s birthday and Charity wanted to do something special for him and surprise him. He had said he was not accustomed to celebrating in his home which shocked Charity. Her family had always had a special dinner and a cake for the birthday person.
She first talked to her mother and her siblings who thought it was a great idea.
“Soon it will be weather too bad to get out much and you’ll be having the boppli. I’ll help all I can,” Matthew assured her.
Matthew had been published to Deborah Yoder and planned for a late October wedding. He had already purchased a set of fine china for her as an engagement gift instead of a ring. Jacob and Moses had helped him acquire land near them and would help them build when the time was right.
“Mamm, I’m going to invite Sheriff Fleming and his wife to Adam’s surprise party. In spite of all we can do, there will be a lot of talk and I have a feeling that some of the people from town may see this as an opportunity to do some damage by having a lot of us together.”
Jenna Mae gave a deep sigh. “It seems to me that it is not Christian to be so suspicious of people.”
“Mamm! I wouldn’t call it suspicion; I say it is just being sensible and planning ahead, besides I have a funny feeling I can’t explain.”
“Ask your daed what he thinks about it. The Flemings are welcome, but for what reason?”
“Jenna Mae,” Jacob thought carefully, “Charity may be right. We cannot be aggressive, but we can plan ahead and hope to avoid trouble. Of course the Flemings are welcome.”
With careful hand, Charity wrote:
Mr. & Mrs. Fleming,
You are invited to a surprise birthday party on August 27, ----- at 3 PM at the home of Adam and Charity Kime. Please do not feel you have to bring a gift. Just attend and join in a family honor. Remember, this is to be a surprise to Adam.
RSVP
Charity Kime
Anita opened the envelope first and was astonished as well as thrilled. She knew it was unusual for people outside the Amish faith to be included in something so special to them. She could hardly wait for Micah to come home to share the news with him. She also had more good news. That morning their doctor had told her they would be expecting their first child. They had wanted to have children and had tried so hard for a little more than five years. She knew Micah would be floating with joy.
Micah hated to call Anita and tell her he could not come home for lunch. There was trouble with some unsubs (unknown subjects) stealing horses and sheep from the Amish. He hoped it would be soon that they found the guilty parties. He felt badly that the Amish were being harassed so much, and felt it wasn’t fair since they could not strike back.
“Oh, Micah, I have such good news to share with you.”
“Tell me now.”
“No, my darling. I need to see you and share this good news with you.”
“That’s right. You had a doctor’s appointment this morning. Does your good news involve your appointment? I hope it means you’re in good health.”
“I’m in perfect shape. Get home when you can. I love you. Stay safe.”
“I adore you, my dear love. I’ll stay safe for you.”
Micah hurried out to join two deputies who were going the same direction. They felt that if they each took a section to look over, they might find the culprits, or at least some clues. They stayed in touch by radio.
Micah stopped at the farm where the family horses were stolen. Two little girls were crying so hard because their beloved horse was gone; they didn’t know who had her or if she was being treated well. She was expecting a little one and they were afraid for her. The other two were geldings.
It broke Micah’s heart to think of their grief and he became very angry at the stupidity and heartlessness of some people. He would never understand why the Amish were being treated so badly just because they were mild, passive people who bothered no one, paid their own way and expected no help from the government.
Two hours went by with the men keeping n touch by radio. Neither one had found anything helpful. In fact, they were getting upset at the attitude the people outside of the Amish faith demonstrated. A few were sympathetic, but most of them said, “Good enough. Let them go live somewhere else with their farms and their animals.”
Micah and the deuties wanted badly to remind them that the Amish furnished the milk, butter, honey, eggs, fresh vegetables, fruits and some meat that most of them depended upon.
Three hours had gone by and Micah and the deputies were beginning to think they would find nothing. Micah was just ready to radio the deputies and tell them to go on back to the station when one of them called him.
“Sheriff! Sheriff! I think I found some horses loose in a field. There doesn’t seem to be anyone around that can tell me anything. The people who live nearby say they know nothing about the animals.”
“Where are you, Glenn? Can you hear, Roy?”
“Yeah, I can hear. Go on, Glenn.”
“Just on a hunch I went on 239 North to State Route 11. Just as I came on some people horseback riding on the Ssusquehanna Warrior Trail, I stopped them to ask if they had seen any horses. One woman said they were curious because there was a field full of nothing but brambles and weeds. They had never seen any horses in there before, but today there were three beautiful horses. The animals ran to the fence and nickered at them. They were thirsty and covered in stickers. They looked hungry and one even seemed to be scared. I rode in as far as I could and walked about an eighth of a mile and found them. They ran to the fence ‘talking’ to me.”
“Stay with them. I’ll call Jeb Turner to come get them. I’ll notify the veterinarian Dr. Bussiere to meet us there. I’m coming as fast as I can. Roy, meet us there. We might need man power.”
Glenn stayed with the horses and wished he was anywhere else but here. His heart ached for them. They walked the fence and begged him to release them, to feed them, to give them water. He knew what they wanted by the way they acted.
It took some time for Micah and Roy to join Glenn. Jeb was right behind them with his four horse trailer. Micah looked for a gate and couldn’t find one, so, he cut the wire and peeled it back careful to not get barbs in him or the horses.
Jeb had some water that he divided among the three, but not enough to make them sick.
Dr. Jerome Bussiere came soon after to check the horses. “They aren’t too bad, except for the pregnant mare. She is suffering trauma as well as lack of nutrition. Bring them to my clinic and I’ll give them a thorough going over. Boy, this makes me angry. Micah, what can we do about this?”
Micah shook his head. “I’m angry, also. I know what I want to do, but it isn’t legal or moral. I have a plan that I hope will work. Trust me, gentlemen. I’ll tell you all about it as soon as I can.”
Back at Jerry’s Vet. Clinic, the horses were bathed, shots given, fed and taken care of. The family that owned them was notified. The stolen sheep and pigs still had not been found.
Esau Klopfenstein brought his children to see their horses. Ten year old Amelia and eight year old Louisa cried and hugged them, promising them that they loved them and would never let this happen to them again. The mare crooned over the little girls and showed her love for them.
Micah put his plan into action. He called each of the pastors and priests in Shickshinny nearby and ask them to come to a very important meeting the following Saturday in his office. He also invited several newspaper reporters and television reporters.
Everyone came at ten in the morning for this meeting. They were curious as well as concerned. Micah had pastries, coffee, juice and water to offer.
They all talked among themselves for a few minutes while the reporters set up lights and necessary equipment.
Micah called for them to have a seat and allow him to talk. They listened carefully and courteously. “I need your help. All of you are aware of the harassment toward the Amish people and the cruelty done against them.” He told them of the fight and of the death of Darren as well as the theft of the animals and other property.
“I thought the perpetrators would be satisfied and stop, but instead it has escalated. Their actions have now reached a very dangerous stage. I am truly afraid there will be more deaths and more property damage if we do not band together to put a stop to this.”
“What do you want us to do?” Rev. Charles Barrington asked. “Darren’s family are members of my church and I have come to the conclusion that there is no reasoning with his father. Don’t you dare quote me and print that,” he turned to the reporters. “It would damage my ability to reach him and reason with him. Please, think before you print something that could be inflammatory. They would think I had betrayed them and turned against them and that’s not the truth. I care about all involved.”
“I do, too,” the other ministers spoke.
Father Herman Morgan of the Catholic Church stood up. “I’ve been very concerned because some of the young men that I suspect may be involved are from good homes and are members of my parish. At least they appear to be good homes,” he said softly as he sat down.
Micah allowed them to talk among themselves for a few minutes and then spoke again. “I would appreciate it if all of you would pray about this and give a sermon or a talk about it during your services tomorrow. Select some Bible verses that fit the occasion and lay it on thick about compassion, caring for others and treating people as you would like to be treated. I don’t object if you mention the cruel treatment to people and animals that has been going on.”
“Could we talk about what the punishment might be, other than what God can levy against them? How about asking anyone who knows about this to come tell us?” one minister asked.
“That’s fine with me,” Micah answered, “however, we don’t know for sure what the punishment might be. I can guess according to what has been done in the past.”
“That’s good enough for us,” the Verizon FIOS reporter said. The news reporters from Suburban News and Citizen’s Voice agreed.
“Well, I can say that there is a possibility of a thousand dollar fine and a year in jail for each animal stolen. Abuse would be a little more. I don’t set the fines. It would all depend on what animal it was and what happened to them. The pregnant mare has been given the most abuse and I would expect more of a fine for her.”
“That satisfies us. We’ll print the story about the senseless actions and hopefully put the fear of God in anyone who would participate or encourage such a crime.” All the reporters agreed.
“I can hardly wait to get home and prepare my sermon. I hope to put the fear of God in anyone who is guilty or knows who is responsible for the crime.” Several ministers voiced the same plan.
Micah thanked them for coming and asked that they feel free to contact him at any time.
As the ministers were leaving the Catholic priest turned. “I’m in a bind. If someone tells me this in confession, I can’t talk about it. How can the rest of you bring the story public if someone comes to you to confess?”
Rev. Barrington placed a friendly hand on the shoulder of the priest. “We are to do God’s will and He plainly tells us that we are our brothers’ keeper. We are to protect anyone whether they are a member of our church or not. At the same time, we can only appeal to their moral and spiritual side and entreat them to come forward on their own.”
The breaking news on television that night carried the story of the stolen horses and showed the little girls crying their hearts out. They also told of the fight and other harassment and ended by saying, “We know we can’t like everyone we meet, but then everyone doesn’t have to like us. We are supposed to be civilized people and get along together. I spoke to a teacher, Mrs. Sioux Stallard and she said that a flower garden was beautiful because of all the different colors and types of plants. She went on to say that our nation is beautiful because of the different colors of people and different backgrounds. We need to appreciate and accept even if we don’t mix with them.
The Sunday papers carried the same story in more detail and more pictures. The story also included the murder of Darren Kennedy and ended by asking anyone who knew anything to come forward. They ended by encouraging people to talk to any minister whether they attended that church or not. If they wished they could talk to Sheriff Fleming at any time. If they wished to remain anonymous, that could be arranged.
Micah and Anita prayed together and asked that someone have a guilty conscience and talk to someone. Micah was ready to cry for the people who were being abused and tormented. “Annie, I hope and pray someone will give us something to go on after this weekend.”
“Pray without ceasing, my darling. Thank God for our precious news and tell Charity that we’ll be delighted to attend Adam’s surprise party. I’m going to make a gallon of hot German Potato Salad and a gallon of coleslaw. They don’t expect us to do anything but show up, but I want to be part of the festivities. Are you going to get a gift for him?”
“I don’t know. If others don’t bring one it might make them resent me.”
“I didn’t think of that. Maybe you can do something for him on the sly.”