Grieving Bronco parents open their doors, hearts
Rhythms and rituals of life on the farm offer some solace to the Herold family
NEAR MONTMARTRE A four-hour visit to Herold Farms begins with a handshake and ends with a hug.
The moment that you meet Russ Herold and his wife of 26 years, Raelene, these high school sweethearts feel like lifelong friends. Their lives, torn apart by the Humboldt Broncos’ bus crash, are an open book.
Oftentimes, they marvel at how complete strangers — from all over North America, and even the world — have reached out with remarkable acts of kindness. Yet, the Herolds are the same way, welcoming a reporter and photographer to their 3,600acre farm, and opening their hearts.
There was only one proviso when the interview was scheduled. Russ asked if we could chat
in the cab of his John Deere tractor. It is seeding season, after all.
To someone utterly unacquainted with life on the farm, the stairs to the cab of a 37,000-pound behemoth look like Mount Everest. The tires are taller than anyone who drives the tractor.
After eventually, clumsily, ascending to the cab and occupying a perch to the left of Russ, he says: “That’s where Adam sat.”
Adam Herold was about to turn 17 when the Broncos’ bus collided with a semi-trailer truck between Tisdale and Nipawin on April 6. Sixteen people, including Adam, were killed.
The other 13 people on the bus sustained injuries of varying severity.
For Russ, Raelene and their 20-year-old daughter, Erin, it is difficult to look forward when the greatest wish is for the impossible — to be able to turn back time.
“We feel like we’re doing things because they have to be done ... like robots,” Raelene says.
“It’s still unbelievable. We keep thinking that he’s away for hockey and that he’s going to come back.”
Adam’s room is virtually as he left it, an exception being a surfboard that has been placed on the bed. The surfboard was purchased by his parents mere days before the accident, to be given to him when he turned 17 on April 12.
On the walls, and on the dresser, there are photos that show Adam as a member of various hockey teams — all of which he captained. There is an art project from elementary school. The books he loved to read rest neatly on a shelf.
Everything is in its proper place, yet lives are out of order.
“We have this emptiness about us ... just this aching,” Raelene says, “and I’m sure it’s like that for everybody who has lost a kid.”
“We go through so many emotions every day,” Russ adds. “We don’t smile. We don’t laugh. I used to be a news junkie, but I don’t watch the news. I haven’t been keeping up with what has been going on in sports. The world has kind of stopped for us.”
Nonetheless, life goes on. It has to. The business of farming, one that Adam loved, stops for no one.
“This is where he came from,” Russ says, pointing at the vast farmland while aboard a John Deere 9630. “We’d go snowmobiling here in the winter. We hunted down here.”
On many a day, Adam would simply sit in the tractor with his father and chat about anything.
The conclusion of the long hockey season typically coincided with the beginning of seeding.
Adam spent most of the 2017-18 season with the team he captained, the Regina Pat Canadians. After the Pat Canadians were eliminated from the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League playoffs, he was called up by the Broncos and quickly became an important member of their defence.
The Broncos were en route to Nipawin for a playoff game, barely a month ago, when everything changed at the intersection of highways 35 and 335.
Since then, there has been an outpouring of support from throughout the world. A GoFundMe page raised more than $15 million for the 29 families affected by the tragedy. A tribute concert, featuring several stars of country music, was held April 27 in Saskatoon.
A benefit hockey game is scheduled for Friday, 7 p.m., at the Cooperators Centre, with proceeds earmarked for the Adam Herold Legacy Memorial Fund.
The fund, in keeping with Adam’s selfless nature, will be used to help people.
Participants in Friday’s game will consist of current and former Pat Canadians players, along with other teenagers who had been teammates of Adam’s.
Less than a day after the benefit game was scheduled, Pat Canadians head coach Darrin McKechnie had received enough commitments from invited players to ice four teams. The number of coaches is expected to be nearly the equivalent of a full hockey roster.
Such is the degree to which people have rallied around the Herolds.
A large basket is filled with cards and letters that Russ, Raelene and Erin have read. More words of condolence are on a nearby table, waiting to be read by each member of the family.
“I’ll never forget when I didn’t know anyone on the team and Adam was the first to introduce himself,” one former teammate wrote, echoing the sentiments of many.
Adam’s classmates and teachers at Dr. Martin LeBoldus Catholic High School sent over a book of condolence. Many of the heartfelt messages consume half a page.
Neighbours have pitched in to help with day-to-day matters, and to assist on the farm when needed.
People are still bringing food or lending an ear.
“It’s overwhelming that so many people will stop what they’re doing and do things for Adam,” Raelene says.
At times, each day can seem overwhelming.
The family is at the stage in which it is dealing with all the firsts, one by one — Adam’s birthday ... the first seeding season without him ... Mother’s Day on Sunday ... an eventual visit to the family’s cottage near Katepwa Lake ... hockey season ...
The Herolds will spend Mother’s Day at the Montmartre home of Raelene’s parents, Lawrence and Carol Englot.
Then everyone will move on to the next day, and the next one, and the one that follows. Small steps. Lots of hugs. And so many memories to share, cherished recollections that provide comfort.
“As a parent, you always think that your kid is a good kid,” Raelene says, “but Adam really was a good kid.”
After meeting the Herolds, it is easy to understand why.