Cunningham, Kan. ? It’s the type of thing that happens often in farm communities, with friends and neighbors pitching in to help out in a time of need.

For Bernie Albers, that help came Wednesday when a couple dozen combines converged on his wheat fields to bring in the harvest. Nearly 50 people came together to cut and bin his 560 acres, finishing the task in three or four hours.

Albers, 58, had double-bypass heart surgery on June 13, with a mechanical valve installed, and he wasn’t ready to get back on the combine yet.

“I wasn’t worried at all,” Albers said as he watched the harvest. “When someone in this area gets down a little bit, the neighbors are there to pick up the boot straps.”

Neighbors brought everything from their own combines to grain carts and tractors, and others helped auger grain into bins.

“It wasn’t hard to find people,” said Gary Wegerer. “Everyone wanted to help.”

Tom Pitcock, who has worked for Albers the past 15 years, wasn’t surprised that people came to help, but didn’t expect that many.

“It’s fantastic,” he said, adding, “Bernie would be the first one to help someone else.”