Icy roads and hazardous driving conditions delayed buses from the Springfield diocese from starting out as planned for the March for Life on Jan. 20. For a caravan of buses from the southern half of the diocese, it meant rather than arriving in Washington as planned on Saturday morning, they got into the nation's capitol at 3 a.m. on Sunday.
"The devil really tried to keep us away, with all the ice," said Becky Bauerle, who organized a caravan of four buses carrying 220 pilgrims to Washington, D.C. "We were delayed, but we kept at it."
One of the Jerseyville buses sat on the interstate for six hours, unable to move due to hazardous weather conditions and accidents. Passengers on one bus spent Friday night at Mother of Dolors Church in Vandalia. Passengers on one of the Jerseyville buses stayed overnight in the high school gym in Vandalia.
"Deacon Zach Edgar, (from Vandalia) got in touch with the superintendent of schools in Vandalia, and he opened the school for them," said Bauerle.
The Knights of Columbus council in Effingham opened its hall for busloads to spend the night.
"There was a bad accident between the first and second exits for Vandalia off the Interstate, so we got in touch with a bus coming that way, and told them to get off at the first exit. When we learned four busloads from Benedictine University in Kansas were coming through our area, we warned them.
"We finally set out at 6 a.m., only to learn the highway was shut down in Bond County near the Indiana line. Once we got started from Effingham, at around 9 a.m., and started to see all the accidents that had happened, I said, 'OK, Lord. You wanted us to sit still last night. We didn't need to be on the road.'"
Through it all, she said the buses were in constant contact with each other and were able to take alternative routes in some places to avoid hazardous conditions. "We missed some of the activities we had planned to do in Washington. But we did make it to the Vigil Mass, which was very nice."
For Bauerle, it was her 25th march. "This was the longest march I've ever been in," she said. Jana Doty Schimberg, former diocesan youth director, traveled with Bauerle's caravan. When it came time to step off on the march, "I sent Jana with the first of our marches, and I followed at the end of our group.
"After standing at the Supreme Court, waiting for the rest of our group to arrive, Jana told me. 'People in my age group are fading out (as marchers). Young people are stepping up. Colleges are really bringing out young people. They've grown up with legalized abortion all their lives. Thirty-nine years. They're better educated than our generation was.'"
A second caravan of buses organized by Kyle Holtgrave, diocesan associate director for youth and young adult ministries, experienced delays, but not as bad as the southern bus caravan. "The weather gave us a slow start, about two and a half hours from our schedule, but we eventually arrived in Arlington in time to take a night tour of the Washington Memorial," he said.
"Our trip to the brand new Martin Lutheran King, Jr. Memorial — seeing all the quotes on the wall — just really resonates with the life message and how we want to treat each other as human beings," said Holtgrave.
"It had been wet throughout the day of the walk," Holtgrave said. "It was a rainy kind of day, all day. It was muddy, but not below freezing. There was light rain off and on throughout the rally. There were a lot of umbrellas. Crowd estimates were between 300,000 to 400,000 people. Afterwards a number of groups went to congressional offices. Congressman Shimkus is always very accommodating to meet with our group, and talk to us."