Friends Hold ‘Last Meal’ for Evicted Farm Family

AMBOY, Ill. — A farm family enjoyed a ceremonial “last meal” with about 200 friends and relatives, then packed up and left before a sheriff arrived Tuesday morning to evict them from their home of four decades.

“I don’t know where we are going to go,” said Marguerite Leffelman. “We might have to pitch a tent; the bank took all our money.” She said they could stay with family or friends for a week or two. A son and his wife had to vacate a second house on the property.

The huge potluck dinner Monday night was sponsored by a farm support group. The Leffelmans recently were denied their request for Chapter 12 bankruptcy. The family’s debt once stood at $782,259.