Sitting inside Station No. 5, Joel Swader with the Jefferson City Fire Department read letters of appreciation Monday.
Some of the words were misspelled and the punctuation wasn't always perfect; but the meaning of the 2,180 letters to Swader and first responders like him was clear: thank you.
"The words in this letter will never, never be enough to thank you, but it's a start," wrote a student named Kathleen in a letter.
Operation Bugle Boy, a local military and first responder appreciation group, sponsored its Tribute to Heroes letter writing campaign this holiday season, garnering submissions from 13 area schools to firefighters, law enforcement officers and emergency medical responders in Cole, Callaway and Moniteau counties.
Chris Jarboe, president of Operation Bugle Boy, said this is the time of year when people are sentimental and share heart-felt emotions, and the organization wanted first responders to be on the receiving end of that. While OBB has called out for letters in the past, this year was its first to solely focus on first responders, said Chris Jarboe, president of OBB.
"We just felt like it was time for us to come together and show the rest of the country that this is how you're supposed to treat your first responders," he said.
Students in grades three through 12 put pen (or pencil) to pre-printed stationary paper, and some shared personal experiences dealing with first responders.
"If it wasn't for the firefighting service, when I was younger, I could have died in that terrible house fire," wrote a student named Vanda to firefighters.
Swader said children are stereotyped as "Facebook junkies" who don't care about their surroundings, but the letter-writing campaign proved otherwise.
"Reading those letters made me realize (children) are interested in what we do," Swader said. "We don't think that kids think about veterans or first responders but when we have adults who provide resources, it gives an opportunity for the kids to express how they really feel."
Cole County Sheriff Greg White said he enjoyed reading the letters privately.
"The kindness expressed in the letters was very touching," White said. "It always helps to know others care."
Reading through the letters, Jarboe said the "pure honesty" in the children was evident.
"The sense of appreciation that they have and the innocence of children," Jarboe said. "They're not jaded by negativity and they're able to cut to the truth more efficiently than adults."
Letters of appreciation
The following are three of the 2,180 letters to first responders written by children in 13 area schools to firefighters, law enforcement officers and emergency medical responders in Cole, Callaway and Moniteau counties:
Dear firefighter,
In today's day in age, we often only take time for ourselves. A bad habit inherited from those before us. Today will be different, for I would like to take this moment to dedicated and honor you and everything you do. Thank you for the loving nature you presented to me as a little girl. Thank you for your kind words that still reminisce with me today, "Everything is going to be okay." Thank you for the bravery that sent you running into my burning home that November day.
Thank you for wiping away my tears as I watched my home turn to rubble. Thank you for helping my young mind understand that, "Accidents happen." Thank you for giving me someone to look up to on that day.
But most importantly, thank you for risking your life to save mine.
Sincerely,
Breanna
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Dear law enforcement,
... My friend had a puppy and there was this guy who hated dogs. And one day the puppy was on the leash in the back yard and the guy got tired of him barking so he came in the back yard when no on was home and went back there and stabed it. And I was walking home with my friend as we were going to the backyard and we seen that he was dead. She started crying. She called her mom. Then her mom came and called the cops. The officers asked if we might know who did it. We told him and he arrested the guy cuz we found out that that's not the only dog he had killed. So after that was all over, the next day the cop came back with two puppies that looked alike and he gave me one and her one so she was happy.
So I wanted to thank him and everyone who serves as a police officer.
Sincerely,
Deveigh
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Dear emergency medical responder,
... Personally I don't know what I would do without you. My little brother has asthma. Once he was laughing so hard he couldn't breathe, and you were there in about 30 seconds. He would have died have you not been there. I owe you all my thanks. I know you must always be calm. I think I would make a good EMT because when my brother fell out of a tree, I was calm.
I do not know what I would do if you weren't there.
Sincerely,
Cody