Ramona family experiences Christmas miracle
By ROWENA PLETT
Staff writer
Jim Thompson was speechless Saturday as he video-taped the many activities going on inside and outside the home he and his wife, Terri, purchased in Ramona a year and a half ago.
"It's overwhelming. It's a miracle," he said. "I'm sad that Terri won't get to see it."
Jim and Terri purchased the house through the Internet and moved from California to Ramona in July 2003. They took up residency in a rental house while Jim worked on renovating the home.
Tragically, Terri was killed in a car accident in early November, leaving Jim and five children without a wife and mother.
On the morning of Dec. 13, Tonya Stroda of rural Hope, a Ramona firefighter and close friend of Terri's, was listening to 99.9 FM, KSKG, Salina, when she heard station manager Sky Phillips talking about a Christmas Wish program.
Together with Angels in Disguise, a Salina non-profit group, Phillips was looking for needy families with special wishes at Christmas time.
Stroda immediately sent an e-mail detailing the Thompson family story and the children's wish to move into their own home by Christmas.
Two days later, Stroda was notified the family had been chosen as a Christmas Wish project. The e-mail was read on the air, and the call went out for volunteers.
"There was a huge response," said a woman at the home site Saturday who identified herself only as Kady the Van Lady. She brought the radio station van to Ramona and provided music over loud speakers as everyone worked. Live reports were broadcast throughout the day.
Kady said Merle Flaming of Flaming's Heating and Air Conditioning in Marion was one of the first to respond. He looked things over, rounded up men and supplies, and was at work by Friday morning. Three of his employees were assisting him.
Businesses, firefighters, and individuals from a four-county area worked Saturday and Sunday to install a new heating system, plumbing, sheet rock, and windows.
At least $5,000 was donated to purchase supplies. The Ramona Café fed the volunteers Saturday.
Work is continuing, and the family is expected to be able to move in by Christmas Eve.
Each of the five children, ages 4 to 15, will have their own bedroom painted in their choice of color.
Thanks to the generosity of strangers and friends, their Christmas wish has come true. For them, having a home of their own is the best gift of all.
