By Aubreanna Miller
editor@wayneherald.com
"We didn't want to get any money, we just wanted hot chocolate!" eight-year-old Jairikk Webb exclaimed.
That was the combined feelings of the Jonathan and Nicole Webb's four children, Essynce (14), Pashynce (12), Konstynce (10) and Jairikk, during their multiple days of scooping driveways in the Wayne area for free.
After 10 inches of snow blanketed most of northeast Nebraska, the Webb family, like so many others, fared the cold to scoop their own driveway. What differed for this family was they did not stop there.
They walked down their block and scooped the driveways and sidewalks there. The family had so much fun working together and helping their neighbors they decided to help on a larger scale.
Jonathan made a post on Facebook inviting others to join their efforts of scooping the driveways of those in town unable to do so themselves. A few wrestling teammates of the Webb children jumped on the opportunity to help that first day.
In total, the group cleared more than 24 driveways and sidewalks one day and 15 another day.
The children worked completely for free, only taking hot chocolate, water and candy as payments for their labor.
Many community members seemed surprised and confused by the volunteer work, Essynce explained.
"There are so many stories we could tell of those few days," Essynce said. "I just like helping people because it brings so much joy. Once we did one driveway, I didn't want to stop."
Each of the houses presented a new and fun challenge for the family.
After finishing up one particular property, the children noticed a stuck vehicle a few houses away. Immediately, remembered Nicole, they jumped into action, digging out the ice-packed snow to help the car's owner make it to work on time.
"That was the coolest one for me," Nicole said. "They all worked together to break up the ice just in time."
One of the most fun moments for the community heroes took place at the apartments near Pac 'N' Save in Wayne.
The snow piled high over the heads of the children and their wrestling friends as they shoveled a path and the staircase. At one point, the adults needed to scoop out the kids, Nicole said, as the snow was so deep.
All of a sudden, snow began flying around and a huge snowball fight ensued.
Konstynce and Pashynce added another favorite memory: when they saw and older woman shoveling her snow while leaning on a cane. The Webbs, again, jumped into action and helped the grateful woman.
Through their hard work, they took several breaks to go home and drink hot chocolate (Jairikk's favorite) and warm up in the truck. With temperatures falling well into the negatives over the weekend, they remained inside and out of the frigid air.
Overall, the family worked for more than 16 hours on snow removal.
"Before this week, I didn't really care to scoop snow," Konstynce said. "But I loved doing it after we started. It makes you feel good to help others and we got to help so many people. And since we didn't have wrestling practices, we definitely got our workouts in."
With temperatures warming up and road conditions improving, the Webb kids returned to school Wednesday, something they were both excited for and dreading.
They all felt ready to jump back into their favorite activity (next to helping others, of course): wrestling!
