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Providing warmth

Decatur senior donates firewood to help families in need

WARM REGARDS — Decatur senior Hayden Taylor started a community service project to provide firewood to local families in need. The final distribution day for the project begins at 9 a.m. Sunday at the Wise County Clerk Office parking lot.

When the Texas power grid failed during the winter storm in February, many looked to firewood and other means to stay warm.

Good burning wood was hard to find, and some enterprising entrepreneurs made money off the crisis, as people scoured storefronts for bundles of wood and fleeting warmth.

Decatur senior and FFA officer Hayden Taylor’s price has remained the same – free.

Over the last two years, Taylor has given back to his community with a chainsaw and approximately 120 trees worth of firewood.

Providing free firewood is a community service project Taylor calls “Wood for Warmth.”

The work is hard, and while he doesn’t make any money, Taylor said it doesn’t mean it’s not rewarding.

“The best thing that I’ve had since starting this are the smiles. People don’t think about firewood until December comes around, and some may not have the money to buy it,” Taylor said. “When people come collect it, I see the smiles on their faces. To keep a house warm for a mother and her young daughter, that just makes me happy. My labor is helping keep somebody warm.”

The project is aimed to help families in need. Not all Wise County residents have central heat and air. Some rely on firewood when it gets cold.

This year Taylor provided 12 cords of firewood to the community. Last year he gave away eight cords.

Taylor will distribute his firewood 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Dec. 5 at the Wise County Clerk Office parking lot. He previously held a distribution in November.

This year, Taylor reached out to Wise County Judge J.D. Clark to help with the project, providing a location to give the firewood away.

“When Hayden reached out looking for a distribution site, I knew the county should partner with him,” Clark said. “What he is doing is an incredible community service, and to see it coming from one of our youth is inspiring and encouraging. Hayden is a great young man, and Wise County is blessed to have him providing this service during the winter season.”

Taylor completes the whole process, from cutting down the trees to loading up the bundles.

He got the idea to start the project as a freshman. He was helping clear out brush when he came up with the idea.

“I was just moving into our place a year ago, clearing out brush and throwing it into a burn pile. I saw those logs and was looking for a way to help and thought, ‘Why don’t we cut it up for firewood?'” Taylor recalled. “I don’t have any use for it, but maybe someone else could use it.”

Taylor’s home doesn’t have a wood-burning fireplace. He didn’t want to waste it in a burn pile, so he started working, learning the ins and outs of firewood production.

“It was all new to me,” Taylor said. “I just had to learn how to make it along the way.”

There’s a process to making firewood. You have to pick the right kind of tree, cut it down, split it and season it over the course of a year.

After two years, Taylor is a bit of a firewood expert, even though he doesn’t use it himself.

This winter when a cold front arrives in Wise County, Taylor will know he made an impact.

“Through this, I just realized a kid living in the middle of nowhere can make a difference,” Taylor said.

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