Three semi-truckloads of clothing, toys, books & hygiene products convoy to fill the needs of evacuees in Baker, Louisiana.

It was less than two weeks ago that Curry County, New Mexico found out that their Air Force base wasn't being removed from the Base Realignment and Closure commission list, a decision that could shut down as much as 30% of their economy. The community of about 45,000 was devastated with the action of the commission, and the uncertainty of the decision to put the base in limbo with an "enclave" designation. But that didn't stop people in the area from realizing that even though they faced a potential disaster to their economy, there were people who were dealing with an even larger crisis.

A phone call to Curry County sheriff Roger Hatcher on Wednesday, August 31st set the wheels in motion that would eventually put 3 semi truckloads of toys, clothes, books, games and hygiene products in the hands of Hurricane Katrina evacuees in Baker, Louisiana, some 900 miles away. That call came from a publisher of educational coloring books for law enforcement, Jack La Vick.

"Jack had been contacted by police Captain Mike Knaps from Baker about the possibility of getting coloring books for the kids that had been evacuated into his town," Hatcher said. Baker is a city of 13,700 just north of Baton Rouge, LA that had taken in 1600 evacuees from the hurricane. "Jack called me and said, 'we can do better than coloring books, can't we Roger?'"

And better they did. Hatcher's first call was to radio personality Pam Atherton to see if she could help coordinate the effort and get the word out over the air. Atherton prepared a flyer that was emailed out Wednesday night and started the call to action on the Clovis Oldies radio station the next morning.

"People all over the area had been seeing and hearing the hurricane and flood tragedy unfold in the media and were aching for a way to help. This relief effort to a Baker was a hands-on way to make a difference," Atherton said.

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By Thursday morning, volunteers were already in place to man drop-off points not just in Curry County, but in neighboring Roosevelt County and Friona, Texas as well. By Thursday afternoon, the New Mexico towns of Tucumcari, Logan, Mosquero, San Jon and Roy had joined in the effort, spearheaded by an 18 year old high school student from the Tucumcari area named Cara Henderson.

Within 24 hours, donations were pouring in at a steady pace. Within 48 hours, it became a flood of donations, almost unmanageable for the volunteers. Within 72 hours, it became apparent that the collection effort would have to be halted 2 days early. "We had expected to ask for donations up to Wednesday afternoon," Atherton said. "By Monday evening, we had already sorted, boxed and packed almost an entire semi truckload of items, and we still had hundreds of thousands of donated items to deal with."

Sheriff Roger Hatcher had to find another semi-truck and driver to handle the items still to come from Tucumcari, Friona and Roosevelt County. "We knew this was a generous community," he said. "But we never expected this much."

On top of the donations from the eastern side of the state, New Mexico communities in Guadalupe and Grant counties were also conducting donation drives through law enforcement there who had been contacted by La Vick. Their items would be added to the truck being secured by Hatcher. And a semi from the Santa Fe/Albuquerque area would be added to the convoy as well. In all, three semi trucks and several law enforcement vehicles were expected to make the 14-1/2 hour trip to Louisiana that would leave exactly a week from when the first call for the relief effort went out over the air in Curry County.

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Atherton had several relatives who had evacuated in the face of Hurricane Katrina, some who weren't located until almost a week after the initial storm. "But that wasn't why I wanted to participate. We would have put together this relief effort if the disaster had happened in Louisiana or in Rhode Island. This is the largest natural disaster in the history of our country. Not only did we want to be there for our sisters and brothers in Louisiana, but it was a great opportunity to educate others about the enormity of the situation."

Atherton and Hatcher spoke at civic groups and schools about the magnitude of the disaster and the needs of communities across the nation who were housing the evacuees. "It was tough to talk about people like you and me who had nothing but the clothes on their back and nothing to go back to. So many people with so much uncertainty," Hatcher said. "People who wouldn't be able to go back to their homes, if they even still existed, for at least 2 months. Who had no place to live, no job, and just the clothes they were wearing. Imagine the shell shock these people must be going through."

"Roger's job was handling the trucks and the logistics of getting the items there," Atherton said. "Mine was to handle everything that went in them." The duo took to the airwaves on Q101.5 week-day mornings to give updates about the relief effort and tell stories about the volunteers who were dealing with the mountain of donations.

"Sometimes people would come to drop off items on their way someplace else, and stay to help," said Atherton. Three high school students spent the entire Labor Day week-end working on the project. One woman who had hoped to refinish her countertops over the 3 day holiday never left the collection site. "Carmen handled every piece of baby clothing that we got. She checked to make sure each item was new or almost perfect, then packed them lovingly in boxes that she marked 'Love Baby.'" Many volunteers feverishly worked 12 hours a day, wanting to get as many things as possible on the truck and over to the evacuees in Baker, Louisiana. Volunteers included students, housewives, football players, business owners and the wife of the commander of the very air base that was in peril.

Students in Melrose, NM made up 'Care Packages' in shoe boxes for children who were evacuated. Sixth graders at Zia Elementary school each sent a book, with a letter of support inserted. And some individuals wrote notes, packed in their boxes, simply saying "God Bless you."

It was an effort that consumed the hearts and minds of the area.

And the fact that without a mission, their Air Force Base might permanently close by 2009? It was forgotten by the people in Curry County for just a little while. Because these big-hearted people saw a greater need somewhere else, and they scrambled to fill it. Like Scarlet O'Hara, they'd worry about the future tomorrow.