Barn 16 event shows power of ‘family’

Staff photo by Apryl Pilolli Amy Hall hugs her 2-year-old son Jackson Grueter while they listen to music Saturday, Dec. 19, at the Lebanon Raceway benefit at the Warren County Fairgrounds. The event raised money for those whose lives were affected by the barn fire Dec. 5.

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By Rick McCrabb, Staff Writer Updated 7:24 PM Sunday, December 20, 2009

LEBANON — Two weeks after a fire killed two grooms, 45 horses and demolished a football field-sized barn, the horse-racing community united at Lebanon Raceway.

The flag remained at half-staff outside as harness horses raced around the half-mile track Saturday, Dec. 19, and horsemen and patrons danced to country music to raise money after Barn 16 burned Dec. 5.

Even before the party was scheduled to start at 8 p.m., the lower grandstand was crowded with people, many hugging each other.

Proceeds from the event will benefit those impacted by the fire. Organizers hope the money helps the horsemen rebuild their stables, purchase equipment, and, hopefully, get them racing again.

“For a lot of these people, this is all they know,” said Pacey Mindlin, a horseman from Middletown. “For them, it was like losing their best friend.”

Mindlin called the Dec. 5 fire “a terrible tragedy” and one of the “great fears” for horsemen.

Kathy Prickett, manager of the track kitchen and a horse owner, said the standing-room-only crowd and outpouring of support reminded her that “people really care.”

Prickett said she still cries every day when she thinks of the fire and the human and horse loss it caused.

Two grooms, Ronnie Williams of Lebanon and James “Turtle” Edwards of East St. Louis, Ill., were killed in the fire.

The organizer of the event, Donna Campbell, said she wasn’t surprised by the support from the horse community, the Warren County Fair Board and the Warren County 4-H Club. She said it makes her proud to call Warren County home.

Students from Cherokee Elementary School in the Lakota Local School District wrote letters that were posted above many of the auction items.

One of them read, in part, “I’m sorry about what happened to the horses. I hope you get better horses. It does feel bad when you lose something.”

Someone mentioned that the atmosphere reminded them of a family reunion.

To that, Campbell said: “It is a family.”

Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2842 or rmccrabb@coxohio.com

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