04/22/2021
Looking to identity the guys in this photo! See the post below! Photo was taken around the Niles road exit off I-70 in mid April.
Update: the men in the photo have been identified. What started as an email request to share with “three people” went viral to reach more than 80,000 people who all were touched by this story. Thank you!! ❤️
Travelers frequently comment on the kindness they receive when traveling Kansas I-70. Can you help identify these do-gooders?
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My name is Shawn Keller and I am writing to you, as I am not sure the right city officials to pass my story along to. Please forward as necessary. I am writing to tell a story that had a terrible beginning and a wonderful ending, all due to nine men from Salina.
On the afternoon of April 15th, my family and I were making our way across Kansas on the I-70, as we are relocating from Colorado to Missouri. I had rented a large moving truck with a car trailer connected to the back. Six hours into the drive, the truck started making a high-pitched noise, followed by smoke and a burning smell. The truck was also struggling to keep its speed up and it didn’t take a genius to understand that something was horribly wrong. As I glanced to the side of the road, I saw a sign that read ‘Niles Road’ and I knew that is where I needed to stop. I pulled off of the I-70 onto Niles Road and got the truck to a dirt road called Campbell Road. At this point, the front wheel of the moving truck was about to fall off. Long story short, after three hours of waiting, the moving company provided zero assistance to us and my next step was to rent a new truck, which I did at KO Storage (another group of fine people) in Salina.
Unfortunately, it was late afternoon and my wife and I would then need to move 200+ boxes from the broken truck to the new one. I had no idea how we would make that happen quickly and nightfall would come soon. And then something wonderful happened. Two gentlemen traveling up the road saw the difficult situation we were in and offered to help. Not only that, but the one man picked up his phone, dialed someone and said ‘bring everyone’. Within 10 minutes, another vehicle with 7 guys showed up. They immediately formed an assembly line and start moving all of our belongings from one truck to another. Neither my wife nor I knew what to say. Angels had arrived. My wife was in tears, as she had never seen such selfless giving, ever. Within 30 minutes, we had repacked the new truck. I tried to compensate the men several times, but they would not accept anything from us.
Perhaps, this is just how people from Kansas are, but the outpouring of support from these men is something that will live in my memories forever. I even mentioned to them that in today’s polarized world, they had reaffirmed my faith in human-kind. If I had not taken the Niles Road exit, I may not be here to tell this story and even if I had made it to the next exit, these angels may not have been there. Mercy shone down on us that day. Whatever you are doing in Kansas…the way you are raising your children, caring for community…and even strangers, please don’t stop. The world would be a much better place if there were more men like these pictured below around.
I never caught the names of these men, but asked if I could have a picture with them. I believe they live in your community. If you know who they are, please thank them again for us.
Respectfully,
Shawn and Kerrie Keller
