Most people would never know 23-year-old Columbia native MaKayla Burton had been diagnosed with cancer earlier this year. Outside of the odd reference of support she has received on an online GoFundMe, Burton’s social media posts are either funny or focused on her young daughter, Kambree. But these posts tend to reflect Burton’s strength rather than the taxing nature of the disease.
“Mentally it has been very hard. I won’t lie. I have my good days and my bad days. Physically, it’s been challenging but it’s nothing I can’t handle. It could be so much worse than it is so, for that, I am blessed,” she said.
While Burton has been busy with work, her family, and her cancer treatments, her grandfather, Ricky Hardin, has been frequenting G&T Groceries in Knifley. The store has been there for decades now, but in February of 2024, it was purchased by Amanda Tucker.
Tucker’s mother-in-law, Kathy Tucker, is Knifley royalty for being the mastermind behind the long-running annual Revisit Knifley event that concluded in 2023. Revisit Knifley was a major event in the community and, most notably, always donated some of the funds to someone in need.
“I came up with the idea. We just wanted to cover our expenses and give back,” Kathy stated of the charitable goal that Revisit Knifley had.
Using her newly-purchased store, Amanda Tucker decided to fill the void left by Revisit Knifley with something of a spiritual successor: Amanda’s First Annual G&T Fall Festival—which would, of course, also be used to raise money for someone in need. This year, the individual is MaKayla Burton.
“Her grandpa (Ricky Hardin) is a really good customer here. Me and my husband, we knew she was sick. My husband is all about helping somebody who needs help,” Amanda said. “All of us worked together. My whole thing with this is, you know, you want to help the community back. The community has been great. We bought the store in February. We took a wild chance and bought it. I figured we would be good, but the community has been good on supporting us and it’s time we do something to give back to somebody in the community,” Tucker said.
To support Burton, Tucker says the event will open with an auction made up of donated services and items from community members.
“We have some really nice stuff that has been donated for the auction… We’ve got… oil changes, we’ve got big baskets, like baskets people have made, we’ve got pocket knives, I think there are several pocket knives, fishing bait, country ham, a lot of odds and ends stuff,” Tucker shared.
Support such as the kind she is getting from G&T’s Fall Festival is a “reminder that I’m not alone in this fight,” Burton said. “I do have such an amazing support system of people who truly care about me. Knifley is such a friendly, loving community. Just sweet people… All kinds of people across Adair County have actually been so supportive during my journey so far. I’m just so grateful for everyone. I never would have imagined so many people cared as much as they do. It’s a heartwarming feeling, that’s for sure.”
Given Tucker’s first event at G&T was their grand opening in July (which drew in around 150 people), she would like to substitute another event for it next year and potentially make gatherings at the store a seasonal thing that occur every few months.
“The community needs something every so often to keep everybody involved… Just to keep everybody closeknit,” Tucker said.
The auction will be held Saturday, Oct. 26 at 3 p.m. EST (2 p.m. CST). This will be the opening event of the Fall Festival, which will run until 7 p.m. Starting an hour later at 4, there will be live music from local band Little David and Bad Country. Children will have the opportunity to do pumpkin painting and apple cider, pumpkin bread, and “fall stuff will be available.
G&T Fall Festival will be held at G&T Grocery on 6104 Elkhorn Road, Knifley, beginning at 3 p.m. Eastern time.
You can assist Makayla at gofundme.com/f/aid-makayla-burtons-fight-against-cancer
(Corrected to include day of event.)
