Big John Saves Christmas from Covid in Mauston, Wisconsin

               

    A former Marine at well over six feet tall, John Hamm can be an imposing figure. Big John as he is called by many is a well known business owner who has been and is active in his community, including having served on the county board. When his presence enters the room, heads turn. Some, who don't know him well, may suggest he is intimidating, but those of us who have seen him in action know him as a man whose heart is as large as his presence. 

        I first learned of John in 2002 and soon after I moved from the northwest burbs of Chicago to Mauston - a small county seat town in the very rural south central region of Wisconsin. Back then I would call you crazy if you told me that over the years the two of us would earn each other's respect and be able to carry on a civil conversation as I was very active in the local county democrats and he, was very active in the county's republican party.  It would take a few years but what brought us together as friends was something, in spite of our political opinions, we shared- our love for community and making sure those with the greatest and truest needs did not get locked out - love thy neighbor, a value we were both taught and cherished. 

        Two years ago I moved away from Mauston to join my sons in Memphis but via social media I still keep tabs on my friends back in Juneau County, Wisconsin. Needless to say knowing what I know about John, I wasn't surprised when I saw the following post: 

Well The COVID CANCEL Gremlins have struck again. Our Mauston Toys for Joy program that provided toys for 133 families...

Posted by John Hamm on Saturday, October 31, 2020

    Immediately I knew that post would lead to an organized effort, and it would be one that would bring a community together for the children in the spirit of Christmas. I was right and while I was going through my drama here in Memphis watching it all unfold back up in Mauston made my heart smile. I knew John, the Marine he still is, would see it through and the children will be smiling on Christmas morning. 

   

John has all the tools he needs to make it a success; his presence, his stubbornness to see a challenge through, and a successful business he could use as a vehicle for organizing and promotion -Wisconsin River Meats. 

    Before I knew it the posts and the outreach started and people were jumping on board, including Kathy Green from the Mauston Community Sharing Pantry. 

    "I outlined a plan and we executed it. Daves wife Carrie Mauer and my assistant Denise Wee did most of the legwork.

     Kathy provided us with age and gender and wants of the kids and a bunch of us, mostly Carrie and Denise , but me too, we bought personal things for lots of the kids. Surprisingly we had lots of requests for fishing and art gear and we made a mass purchase of Art kits and fishing gear and got a bunch donated.  I even held my nose and bought Bears gear for a kid," stated John during a chat I had with him earlier today. 

   

John went on to state: "I reached out to my friends  and business partners , my close crew and they quickly came through. I estimated we would need 7k to get gifts for 200. We quickly collected tons of awesome toys and more $$$$ than we could imagine -we ended up with 5 pallets of donated toys and over double the cash we needed! Area businesses were great, and individuals brought tons of stuff. Personal, like the potato farmer who brought an armful of Mr Potato heads and Mike Taake an armful of handmade fishing rods.

    We picked 220 individual toy orders and hauled them to the Sharing Pantry and handed them out.  We had extra cash so we gave each family a Festival Foods Gift Card - we still have some left, we are trying to get some of that to Lyndon (a nearby community), we are trying to seal the deal and Kathy has some late folks." 

As for the distribution of those toys which recently took place, John explained: "I was actually in Kansas City helping my daughter with an event that had been planned in September. So,  all the Kudos for execution go to my staff and Kathy and her staff."

I asked John what motivated him to do all of this, what was in him that drove him - to that question he replied: "I was very involved as a young Marine in the late 70s and 80s in Toys for Tots in Madison which was an eye opening experience. I was involved in carrying the toys around and distribution. It was eye popping to see the very few ungrateful jerks that came thru, a small but memorable percentage. Before I could get mad a salty vet and social worker said don't worry about it we do it for the kids. For some reason that stuck.

   I have donated to Toys for Joy for years and always enjoyed giving John Deere and farm toys. 

   Early this fall I heard many Toy drives were struggling and USMC Toys for Tots was spread thin filling the gaps. Then I got a letter from Toys for Joy (Mauston, WI) they were canceling. I realized I had barely enough to pull something off. So, I put an angry post on FaceBook and got some helpful responses and offers of help.

It was unacceptable to me that our area disadvantaged kids would have Christmas canceled by Covid."

According to John he plans on making sure that in future years there will always be a safety net in place for the children to know they were not forgotten on Christmas: "After the 1st of the Year I am reaching out to Mauston community leaders so this is never ever a problem again. The qualifying of who gets toys need to be a Social Service or Charitable organization function." 

Merry Christmas!

and remember - 

Love Thy Neighbor!

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