This story is provided courtesy of the Callaway Courier
On July 9, 2020, the lives of a Callaway family were changed forever. As word spread of a single-vehicle accident late that night that claimed the life of 19-year-old Sydnee Sallach, the small town was rocked to the core. And the 15 young men and women Sydnee had graduated with just the year before struggled to come to terms with the reality that their friend, who many of them had known most of their lives, was gone.
Mikayla McFate was one of Syndee’s classmates and close friends and vividly recalls getting the devastating news. “Most of us had actually been in classes together since preschool, so we knew each other very well,” Mikayla said of her classmates.
Sydnee and Mikalya both headed off to the University of Nebraska at Kearney following their high school graduation, and Mikayla said they were able to catch up frequently with lunches and coffee dates during the first year of college. “I think she was probably going to transfer to a different school at the time. She was just back in Callaway for the summer working at the nursing home when the accident happened,” Mikayla recalled. “A lot of us were back in Callaway since it was summer. It also happened to be prom weekend, because it was the year of Covid so prom was moved to the summer.”
Mikayla said that was why she and several of the members of the Class of 2019 were back that weekend. “If I remember correctly the accident happened as she was on her way home from working at the nursing home. We all found out about it the next day. It was weird. I don’t think you realize how much your classmates are like your brothers and sisters when you are in a class that small and you have grown up together,” Mikayla shared. “Our class just really bonded together at that time and leaned on each other. We had several different get-togethers as a class that week.”
She said after the funeral the classmates continued to stay in close contact with each other through a group chat. “We just kept checking in on each other, wished each other happy birthday, and things like that.”
This year marks the 5-year reunion of the class, and in honor of Sydnee, they decided to do something special in her memory. “I reached out to everyone in January to start the conversation about getting together this summer for our reunion. Then Kalen Dockweiler asked about doing a memorial for Sydnee,” Mikayla explained. “I don’t know what sparked the idea of a tree, but that’s what we decided to do. Garrett (Hrupek) is getting the tree and I got the plaque for the tree.”
The class will be planting the memorial tree on Saturday, June 29, in front of the school in conjunction with the Pioneer Picnic. Mikayla said the Class of 2019 will plan to get together and share memories, stories, and laughter later that evening.
