This is the second in a two-part series. Part I published on Thursday.
CENTERBURG — Jason Harter and his wife were sideswiped on Ridge Road, causing their vehicle to lose control and landed the couple in the hospital.
His wife lost a finger, suffered broken ribs, punctured a lung and more.
Harter was in the hospital for 50 days after the June 26, 2021 accident and was a regular in the trauma center where he endured 20 surgeries on his left arm, which was permanently disabled.
While the injuries left Harter and his wife’s body in traumatic shape, local businesses and donors were thinking of a way to help them with their hardships. The couple had a business to run after all.
The Harters own 1834 Midway Tavern — and the dining establishment needed to stay open for the employees and community’s sake.
A GoFundMe was arranged for the family and the restaurant itself held fundraisers for the Harter’s. Fundraising wasn’t new for the restaurant, the shop orchestrated monetary collections for breast cancer awareness and suicide prevention fundraisers in the past.
The 1834 Midway Tavern also took care of community members when they were dealing with an illness or other catastophe.
Call it fundraising, lending a hand, or being a good neighbor, it all means the same in Centerburg — Centerburg Strong.
The Centerburg Strong movement brought in around $13,000 to $14,000 for the Harter’s, Jason said. Though the donations are welcomed, it’s only a dent in the Harter’s medical bills and ongoing medical work.
“Mine alone are over $2.1 million right now,” Jason Harter said. “My wife’s was just under a quarter of a million.
“The number hurts alone but it’s the aftermath that really hurts. I always worked with my hands. I always did everything. I was a contractor before I got into owning a restaurant.
“Now being without a left arm, for a lack of a better description, it hurts the soul more than the finances do. Just every day waking up and realizing you can’t do things that you used to do.”
Still, Harter is thankful to wake up every day, he said.
Harter said his issue exacerbates a larger problem with healthcare in general.
“It’s a travesty of what’s going on as far as when people need healthcare,” he said. “It just isn’t there, and that’s when the community steps in and helps out.”
While away, 1834 Midway Tavern staff fielded questions about Harter so he wasn’t inundated with individuals calling and trying to reach him.
“They all stepped up and they did a grand job of doing what they needed to do to keep it rolling,” Harter said. “Not only that, the community came in quite a bit more to help support with keeping the business afloat. Meanwhile, my wife and I were absent from it.”
One of the immediate concerns for Harter was the amount of time and money invested at 1834 Midway Tavern and if it all was going to fall apart after the life-changing accident.
“Once I saw the community support coming in my mind was more at ease,” Harter said. “I knew things were operating the way they should and it was moving in the right direction to make sure that we didn’t face any kind of negative impact after the accident.”
Now the Harter’s go back and forth to South Carolina and Centerburg, after finding an opportunity too good to pass up–The Hangar 72 Sports Tavern.
“This one is, it’s not as hands on for us as it was in 1834 when we were starting to get up and running,” he said. “This one is a straight business venture.”
While traveling back and forth from the coastal state to Ohio, Harter is reminded of what the Centerburg community did for me those painful years ago.
“It’s a very good community,” Harter said. “They take care of each other. This is solid proof between mine (accident,) between fundraisers that we’ve orchestrated in the past. It’s a beautiful place for anybody to be at.”
