Over the past week, snowmelt and heavy rainfall have seen Nebraska endure historic flooding, forcing the evacuation of multiple towns and causing 75 cities to declare a state of emergency. Water levels finally started to recede over the weekend, and the time came for Butler County residents to assess the damage and begin an arduous cleanup process.
With the sun setting on Sunday evening, Kyle Simpson and Gayland Stouffer called an end to their day’s efforts. But as they made their way back to their car, Stouffer spotted something completely out of place in the field they were walking through.
They’d stumbled across a washed-up beer fridge, fully-stocked with ice cold Bud Light and Busch Light. The pair couldn’t believe their luck, and started taking selfies with the loaded fridge and enjoying the selection of beers.
“It was a gift sent from the heavens, and we were happy to see it,” Simpson told the Lincoln Star Journal. “But we hoped the people who lost the fridge were OK, we hoped their property was OK.”
As it turns out, the people who lost their fridge were, indeed, OK (though their property wasn’t as lucky). And with the help of social media, the fridge’s owner was soon identified.
Brian Healy recognized the photo of his fridge on Facebook because of the exact mix of Bud Light, which his dad drinks, and Busch Light, which the rest of his family prefers. The fridge had been housed at the family’s cabin near Linwood, Neb. which he later found out didn’t make it through the flooding.
Astonishingly, not only did this fridge withstand a flooding and a four-mile trip downstream, it had also previously survived a fire. Healy’s parents’ house burned down in 2007, and though it smelled strongly of smoke, the refrigerator still worked, so he moved it to his riverside cabin.
Simpson has promised to return the fridge to Healy, though there’s been no word yet on whether he’s replaced the missing cold ones.
