Community collects ‘crazy socks’ to honor beloved girl killed in tragic horse accident

BOSQUEVILLE, Texas (KWTX) - A Central Texas community is collecting crazy socks by the thousands in order to keep the memory and joyful spirit of Emmie D. Schneider, 10, alive after the fifth grader in Bosqueville died in 2017 in a freak accident when her horse kicked her, killing her instantly at her home.

Crazy and mismatched socks were a favorite and a signature of the Bosqueville 5th grader known to those who loved her as “Emmie D.”

Over the past several weeks, Emmie’s former classmates have been collecting crazy socks to pass out to others in need. The effort will be used to mark the four-year anniversary of Emmie’s death, which family calls her heavenly birthday,

“She was who she was, and it didn’t matter. She was very smart and very sweet. She was different, like with her socks, but it didn’t matter what anybody else thought. She was comfortable with it, and I liked that about her,” said Asa, a friend of Emmie’s.

Emmie had just moved to Bosqueville from Waco, and had recently obtained her horses, when the accident happened.

Her mother, Cathy, said Emmie was standing far behind the horse, but the horse got spooked and jumped backwards, kicking the young girl in the neck.

Emmie was killed instantly.

Emmie’s mother and her younger brother witnessed the horrific accident that day, but the family does not blame the horse for the “crazy accident.”

Cathy said Jesus was also present on September 18, 2017, giving her hope she’s held onto the past four years. Now, she’s now passing that hope on to others who are hurting, one crazy sock and comforting message at a time.

The movement started when Cathy and her husband, Trey, were writing Emmie’s obituary.

“Emmie was known for her crazy socks and she never liked to match socks,” Cathy said. “So, at the end of the obituary, my husband, just last second, thought she has so many friends and people who wanted to do something for her. So, he thought kids can bring socks. At the end, he said, you could donate crazy socks.”

The obituary didn’t just reach her Bosqueville classmates. It made its way around the country and socks started pouring in from coast to coast.

“We received thousands of socks from all over and we created a ministry,” Cathy said. “We created something because she was different than everyone and, in her own life, she chose joy and was okay with being different.”

Bosqueville wore crazy socks the first Friday after Emmie’s death as the school also began to collect them. More than a thousand socks were collected at the funeral alone.

On November 19, 2017, Emmie’s earthly birthday, community members first came together to organize the socks. The socks are put in a Ziploc baggie with a poem about being different, Emmie’s favorite Bible verse, and information about Emmie’s life and how she celebrated her differences.

“Not only did she see her differences as a gift, but also how valuable she was to God and that she belonged to Him,” the message reads.

There’s also a card included that says “I’ve got this. - God.”

The socks were then given to all different charities and organizations including police stations, hospitals, prison ministries and foster homes.

The socks have gone to people as close as Bosqueville and as far away as Chincha, Peru.

The ministry and Bosqueville’s Kindness for Emmie movement have grown every year.

Bosqueville Middle School teacher Amand Compo came up with the efforts at the school after a moving conversation with Emmie’s mom.

“We started Kindness for Emmie week the first year after Emmie passed away,” Compo said. “I had talked to her mom, and I remembered being struck and honestly like I’m still touched by the fact that they want to remember that time as a time to remember her life and her heavenly birthday instead of just remembering the sad times.”

This year, the school celebrated Emmie all week. On Monday, students were asked to do random acts of kindness. On Tuesday, they wore crazy hair. Students and staff wore purple on Wednesday and flip flops on Thursday. On Friday, the students rocked crazy socks, even gathering them at the football game that night before meeting up Saturday to organize and package them.

They collected 740 pairs throughout the years.

Bosqueville Cheerleading sponsor Melissa Swanson never knew Emmie personally, but spent a lot of time with Emmie’s best friend, Annie, to get a better of idea of the little girl which sparked so much kindness in the small community.

“I didn’t personally get to know Emmie, but I feel like working in Bosqueville and getting to know people who knew Emmie, I’ve gotten to really get to know a sense of who Emmie was and what she stood for, and I just love that she didn’t care what others thought about her. She just was a shining star in this community and school.”

Cathy wants to thank the entire community of Bosqueville and surrounding areas like Riesel who have also participated in spreading kindness in Emmie’s honor.

“No words can express truly how much this means to my family,” she said. “They have kept her spirit alive as well as shared kindness and love with others in a time when it is much needed. The love and continual support from Bosqueville as well as the community and beyond is a feeling that I pray everyone who goes through a loss or a hard time will feel.”

“May God get the glory in this ministry and lives be encouraged through these socks.”

“God is so good,” Cathy said. “It’s beauty from the ashes.”

Copyright 2021 KWTX. All rights reserved.