Orphan Grain Train - Rocky Mountain Regional Division

Rocky Mountain Regional Division

Fall 2007 - New warehouse dedicated

The new Orphan Grain Train Rocky Mountain Division Warehouse was dedicated Saturday, November 3, 2007. The first warehouse constructed by an OGT regional division, the facility provides a permanent center for area volunteers to collect, sort, and distribute humanitarian aid. It is located at the Julesburg exit off of Interstate 76.

Over 100 people gathered to celebrate this special event. Included in the participants were Orphan Grain Train cofounders Rev. Ray Wilke and Clayton Andrews. They explained how this Christian, humanitarian aid organization began and how it continues today. St. Paul Lutheran Church Choir, Julesburg provided music.

Rocky Mountain Division chairman Heinz Piehl (left) and Orphan Grain Train President Ray Wilke (right) at the dedication.

Thanks were given to the many organizations, foundations, trusts and individual people who helped pay for the 42-foot by 100-foot warehouse, including the Marvin M. Schwan Charitable Foundation. The Terry Hinde family donated the one-acre lot. The appraisal fee, closing costs, building permit fees, building blueprints were also donated. Orphan Grain Train Rocky Mountain Division warehouse manager John Heidemann served as building chairman.

Following the dedication, dinner was served at St. Paul Lutheran Church's new Fellowship Hall in Julesburg. Orphan Grain Train is grateful to everyone who helped in any way towards achieving this goal. Division secretary, Carol Piehl, reports, "All of this has happened by the Grace of God. God has had His hand in every single detail of all of this."

Please call (970) 474-4815 if you would like more information about the project or about the Rocky Mountain Division.

Summer 2007

From Carol Piehl, secretary:

At our new warehouse groundbreaking August 11th, 2007, there were 28 people present, and lots of shovels to get the job done. Heinz had a small speech, then our Pastor, Trent Christensen had the "rite of groundbreaking".

Photo courtesy of: Vickie Sandlin, Julesburg Advocate

Fall 2006

Castle Rock, Colo. crew after loading a container to go overseas last Dec., 2005. Rocky Mountain Division continues to pack in Burlington, Colo., Roscoe, Neb., Castle Rock and Julesburg, Colo., the main warehouse. Several new packing locations are in the works.

Heinz Piehl, chairman of Rocky Mountain Division, loads a pallet of split beans from a local grower onto a truck heading to the Norfolk warehouse, where they will be sent where most needed. Nine pallets of beans have been shipped so far, with six more coming before the next harvest.

Spring 2006 report

On Jan. 24, 2006, we sent a shipment to Baku, Azerbaijan: 918 boxes of winter clothing; 68 boxes of fabric; and bedding.

We have cooked two bratwurst feeds so far this year, and the people seem to enjoy the taste. We have four more bratwurst feeds scheduled, and one more “in the works”.

One of my speeches on behalf of Orphan Grain Train was for the Imperial, Neb. LWML. The ladies were very interested. Eight women came out one Saturday and helped pack at our warehouse. One lady had just had a heart attack, but she wanted to accompany the quilts they sewed and wanted to deliver.

We continue to receive bolts of new fabric and used, but good, sewing machines from a sewing store in Ogallala, Neb.

Castle Rock, Colo., continues to receive a tremendous amount of clothing from the Douglas County Task Force. We are getting ready to ship another container directly from there.

Heinz Piehl, Chairman, Rocky Mountain Division

More about Rocky Mountain Regional Division

Our headquarters is in Julesburg, Colorado, through St. Paul Lutheran Church. Don't let the location surprise you. Since we reorganized in 2001 we have shipped 20 shipments from our warehouse, most of these were good used clothing sent overseas. We have shipped good usable medical equipment and supplies, school desks, material, sewing supplies, sewing machines, and bicycles. Other collection points include Epiphany Lutheran Church, Castle Rock, Colorado, Trinity Lutheran Church, Burlington, Colorado, and Kathy Most, at Roscoe, Nebraska.

Since our area grew, we split the territory. Our territory follows east of US 285 from the New Mexico border into 470, east, then north around the Denver Metro to US 85 and then north to the Wyoming border. We also serve Wyoming and the Nebraska panhandle west of the Mountain Time Zone.

Our Rocky Mountain Division has many wonderful Christian helpers, including our
packers in Julesburg, Castle Rock, Burlington, and Roscoe, quilters from Hope
Lutheran, Aurora, First English, Sterling, and Zion, Imperial, Nebraska.

Fundraising consists of Bratwurst meals offered to churches or schools. This could be in conjunction with a Mission Sunday, or any occasion. Funds received are matched with Thrivent and are used for shipping clothing overseas.These meals are a wonderful fellowship for young and old, and a great way to inform all that Orphan Grain Train does for the needy. Rocky Mountain Division furnishes the Bratwurst, and the host congregation or school furnishes salads, drinks and desserts.

Our newest concern is the hurricane relief. The second week of September we had
a call from a Catholic School and Church in Sidney, Nebraska. They wanted to help in the hurricane relief. They partnered with the Public Schools in Sidney, and had a competition to see who could collect the most hygiene items. We took three truckloads to Kathy Most from St. John Lutheran Church, Rural, Ogallala, Nebraska, who organized work sessions for men, women, and children to assemble kits. This was all done within two weeks, and 37 boxes filled with hygiene kits were delivered to Norfolk, Nebraska, September 28, 2005, where our main office and warehouse are located. We will accept any items for hurricane relief from hygiene kits to generators at our warehouse in Julesburg. This will all be sent to Norfolk, Nebraska, where they continue to ship food and any items requested by our Lutheran churches in the hurricane relief area.

Rocky Mountain Regional Division
Heinz Piehl, Chairman
Julesburg Colo.
(970) 474-4815
rockymountain.div@ogt.org

John Heidemann, (308) 889-3134, Big Springs, Nebraska, Warehouse Manager