Submitted story

On March 1 after its weekly meeting, the Andy Detwiler Memorial Steering Committee announced final plans for, “An Evening Sharing Stories About Andy.” On March 9 the public is invited to the Champaign County Fairgrounds 4-H Building at 5 p.m. to share a free meal with us and their recollections of Andy Detwiler, who has garnered 33,127,235 views on his YouTube channel Harmless Farmer to date.

“We promised our many wonderful viewers that we would have a time to share what Andy meant to them,” said Corkey Detwiler, member of the Andy Detwiler Memorial Steering Committee.

Immense impact of his story and his legacy

Viewers of the Harmless Farmer let Andy know he revealed his purpose and they responded with their life events and thoughts. The exchange is from Andy and his family talking about, “The Day It Happened,” video from May 25, 2019.

From @jayt6524, 3 years ago:

“I lost a brother in 1979 (car-accident) and my twin sister in 1988 (car-accident) and struggle with seeing things that hurt people. I close my eyes and think of happy things to get my mind off of those things. YouTube is what I do for entertainment. I enjoy how you overcame challenges. When I saw this video I just couldn’t watch it – then after a few days I just thought, well maybe I should try to watch it. It took a lot to watch it but I am glad I did. You’re family is amazing. Would love to meet you someday.”

Andy responded @HarmlessFarmer:

“Jay, I’m glad you were able to watch it. Ever since my first video, people have been wanting to know what happened to my arms. I knew one day that I would (have to) tell my story but was dragging my feet. It wasn’t easy, you see, that’ the first time we all sat and actually talked about the accident as a family. I really think it helped us. Sounds like you crossed a huge (hurdle) by watching this video. I’m a believer in the fact that thins happen for a reason. We just (have to) figure out what happened for a reason. It took me 45 years to figure out why it happened to me, and I think his is why, to help other people by doing these videos. Take care my friend. One these days, maybe we will meet.”

Goal

Andy Detwiler Harmless Farmer Memorial Steering Committee purpose is to keep Andy’s purpose alive so that his message can help more people. We are building a memorial overlooking his family farm fields on U.S. Route 68 South, of West Liberty. Andy’s sculpture is nearly completed and will stand 12 feet tall. We will dedicate it once the fundraising goal is achieved.

Info from Andy Detwiler Memorial Steering Committee