Community rallies to save pumpkin harvest from frost

An Interlake farmer says she’s overwhelmed by the kindness of strangers who rallied to help save her pumpkin crop.

A pumpkin farmer in the Interlake region says she was overwhelmed by the outpouring of support after a social media post mobilized dozens of people to help save her crop from back-to-back frosts.

Melody Schwabe, who runs Schwabe Pumpkins in the Rural Municipality of St. Andrews, posted a video Friday morning after the first frost hit. In it, she shared an emotional message about the challenges of farming and the damage already done.

“We’ve worked so hard to save everything, and everything is so far behind,” she said in the video. “That frost we got the other night has taken away the canopy (leaves) of safety that anything underneath it had. And with another frost coming on Saturday, I don’t know how we’ll get everything off the field.”

Schwabe told CTV News on Saturday that it’s still early to harvest pumpkins, but the frost forced her hand.

“A lot of the stuff is still premature, and it’s not quite ready to come off yet,” she said. “We were kind of hoping for a late frost — like last year, around October — that would have given things time to ripen up.”

She said her family usually manages the harvest with help from friends, but this time was different.

“I was like, ‘How on earth are we going to get all of this off our field?’ and I just felt like making a post.”

Community shows up in force

Soon after the video was posted, people began arriving.

“We started picking, and people just constantly walked in from the road to come help,” Schwabe said. “Some people I did know, but so many were people who had never come to my farm. They just saw the post and wanted to help.”

She said the support was overwhelming.

“Every time someone came in, they were giving hugs and wanting to do whatever they could. Some people brought food and drinks for us. It was so amazing.

“When I had to leave Friday night, people were still coming. I think there were 30 or 40 people here helping my husband.”

Ellen Reimann was one of the community members who saw the post and brought her two children to help.

“I just met her and she was unbelievably welcoming,” Reimann said. “The minute we walked onto the property, someone in a four-wheeler gave us a ride out to the fields.

“They’re a beautiful family. Everybody’s been so kind. The Interlake is such a beautiful community, and I love being a part of it.”

Gratitude and hope

Schwabe said she’s still trying to find the words to express her gratitude.

“I was trying to find ways today when I was making a post. I don’t even know how to say how grateful we are. If there’s any way we can give back, we try to give back any way we can.

“I’m just so grateful for everybody and I’m blown away by the people who showed up … humans are pretty wonderful.”