Sisters Payton and Dakota Noce of Festus presented a $6,360 check to Jefferson County BackStoppers on Dec. 31.
Payton is 14 and Dakota is 8, and they are the daughters of Joachim-Plattin Ambulance District Paramedic Jonathan Noce who died on duty in 2016.
The girls raised some of the money for Backstoppers through the sale of pumpkins grown on the Noce family farm in southern Jefferson County. In addition, some of the money was raised through donations from the local first responder community and from a matching grant from Festus-Crystal City Elks Lodge 1721.
The girls’ uncle, Caleb Noce, said he was casting about for a way for his nieces to be involved with BackStoppers when he came up with the idea of “Payton and Dakota’s Pumpkin Patch.”
His grandparents, Gearldine and the late Bill Noce, had always been big supporters of BackStoppers, and the girls went ahead with the plan. Their first patch in 2019 was less than successful.
“The river came up and just stayed up,” Caleb said.
But, in 2020, the family was able to plant, and the pumpkin patch raised $3,000.
This year’s goal was $5,000, and the family got busy raising their crop. The girls used social media to promote the sale, and had promotional help from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and local radio station KJFF.
“We had a one-day event on Oct. 16,” Caleb said. “Doug Reuther is president of the Jefferson County Backstoppers, and he suggested we not sell but rather take donations, and people were really supportive.”
Caleb said the family plans to keep up the tradition in years to come.
“People can look for Payton and Dakota’s Pumpkin Patch on Instagram and Facebook,” he said.