A ‘healing’ experience

A nearly steady stream of people were keeping volunteers busy at the 10th annual Roman Barten Memorial Benefit Breakfast at the Knights of Columbus Hall in New Prague on Sunday, March 26.

“Amazing” was how Sarah Smith of described the event.

“Never in a million years did I expect this,” said her husband Matt.

The Belle Plaine couple and their family, specifically one-year-old daughter Payton Faith, will be helped by proceeds from the breakfast. Payton has Dandy-Walker malformation, a condition in which part of the brain is missing. For Payton it has affected her in several ways, from balance to having low muscle tone to already having open heart surgery. Through all that her family has seen how she will smile and is still energetic.

Fran Barten of New Prague, whose family organizes the annual event, estimated attendance at 1,000 people. They hold the breakfast to honor and carry on Roman Barten’s legacy to his family of reaching out to others. For the breakfast there were 60 volunteers that included members of her family, people from surrounding communities and families who have been helped in the past. She noted that Joe Grof brought in an item for the silent auction. He is the grandfather of Lexyn Grof, son of Jeff and Ashley Holt of Jordan. He and his friend Griffin Dahmen, son of Kurt and Jill Dahmen, also of Jordan, were last year’s families helped at the breakfast.

“So many people come together to help, it’s healing,” said Fran Barten.

“The amount of support and the number of people here has been incredible,” said Sarah.

Matt echoed her feeling, noting how people from Belle Plaine, New Prague and other communities were coming together in support. “People I haven’t seen in forever I’ve seen here,” he said.

While they are grateful, receiving help is different for them; usually the Smiths help others. As part of a fundraiser for the....

To see more on this story pick up the March 30, 2017 print edition of The New Prague Times.