Greeley Family’s Home Falls into River, Scattering Memories Across Flooded Pastures
If you have been watching TV coverage of the Colorado floods, chances are you have seen this now iconic image of Greeley resident Tommy Meyer leading his horses to safety as the south Platte River crested its banks and flooded his farm. Meyer happens to be a listener of our station, and we were able to catch up with him in the aftermath of the floods. We learned earlier in the week that his family's home of twelve years had been destroyed through facebook. However when we arrived on the scene, the sights were more serious than ever imagined and it was honestly a very sobering situation. The images and stories shared will be etched in our memories forever.
Tommy, his wife Nicole and their two kids lost everything but each other, and for that Tommy was very grateful, despite all of the destruction. The family evacuated their home on the far east end of Greeley before mother nature ripped their house in two, sending half of it down what had become part of the South Platte River. The other portion hangs onto its foundation by a thread, sinking further into the flood waters by the minute. Here is a look at the tragic story that scattered the Meyer's memories across a flooded pasture in Greeley, Colorado.
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After Tommy told us the story about what happened to his family's home, he drove us about a half mile down the river to where the contents of his house could be seen strew in flooded fields. It was honestly tough to see someone's life tossed upside down; we can only imagine how Tommy must have felt the first time has saw these things. We passed a section of his house's roof, the refrigerator from their kitchen, his daughter's toys and the mattress from the couple's bedroom. Look through the gallery below to see the items from their home; the story he told us behind each is in the photo caption.
Fortunately the community and Tommy Meyer's coworkers have already started to rally around the family, helping them out with a place to live and other necessities. This Saturday at 5 PM there will be a BBQ fundraiser for the family at "Platte River Fort" so they can begin getting back on their feet. All community members are being invited to come out and support the Meyers, they just ask that you RSVP via email. The skies are clear and the water levels are receding; now it's time to help our friends and neighbors!
An account has been setup for the family at First Bank to take donations; click on the button below for full details on how you can help them out. If you'd like to make a monetary donation, please make checks payable to "Tommy and Nicole Meyer Flood Fund" and send them to:
Carleton & DeJong LLC
1580 Lincoln Street, Suite 1200
Denver, CO 80203
Even if you are unable to help the family, you can make a difference; click the share button because one of your friends might have the resources to do so!