HAYDEN - Marian Crumb had just a few minutes left on the property she had called home for 37 years. No choice. She had to leave. Eviction.

Still, she smiled as friends surrounded her on a cold, gray Thursday morning.

"When we drive off, well, that will be it," she said, glancing at the yellow house that sat empty just off Lacey Avenue.

"We'll find something else. Somebody will find me a nice place to move to. That's what we're looking at. We'll begin again," she said. "I have a great faith in God."

With that, Sarah Sarber put her arm around Crumb and gave her a hug.

"The thing is, you can destroy the place, but the heart behind all of this is Marian," she said. "You can't destroy that. She's touched so many lives that have gone out and touched other lives."

It's estimated that Crumb has helped thousands of youth learn to ride and love horses. She donated use of her property and equines to 4-H and Special Olympics and Girl Scouts. She taught high school students how to saddle a horse. She coordinated horse shows and contests. Two years ago, she was named by the state 4-H Leaders Association as the outstanding 4-H leader from Idaho.

Her generosity and heart for kids and horses is legendary in Kootenai County.

She has been there, for three decades, giving all she could.

"Everybody that has horses knows Marian," said Sharon Malone. "Everybody in the community knows Marian."

Sarber came to know Crumb 27 years ago when she leased a horse and took riding lessons.

"The effect she's had on this community, you can't touch that," she said.

But the 78-year-old Crumb lost her 9-acre site, which included a pasture, hayfield and arena, because of what turned out to be a bad investment three years ago.

"The place was put up for collateral on a business, and the business turned out to be, bogus would you say?" Crumb said, looking around. "A scam?"

The business, she said, had to do with Internet sales of high-end furniture, but within a few months of her investment, it faltered. The case went to court. Crumb lost.

"Unfortunately, it didn't turn out well," said Crumb, who declined to say how much money she invested in the business. "We had to pay."

There was a recent sheriff's sale of her property, and Crumb thought she had six months to move. But Tuesday morning, a deputy delivered an eviction notice: 48 hours.

Her first thought was how to transport 37 years worth of her life in two days. By Wednesday morning, thanks to Facebook, phone calls and emails that alerted others to her dilemma, she had an answer.

More than 100 people showed up, some who didn't even know Crumb. They left work, they left school, they left their homes. They drove up in trucks, SUVs and four-door cars ready to move everything and anything. Furniture, horse tack, tools and lumber were hauled to homes and garages and barns - wherever they could be stored.

Crumb's horses will stay at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds for now. Her three cats and a dog will live with a neighbor.

"We didn't know all this was going. My wife came up to ride and saw what was happening," John Malone said. "She called me and said, 'You've got to get up here and help move this stuff.' I stopped what I was doing and I came up. I think a lot of people did that."

The showing of support brought a grin to Crumb's face on Thursday.

"We had a party yesterday," she said.

Still, friend Deedee Brown said the situation wasn't fair. Someone like Crumb shouldn't be forced to leave their home, not after all she has done.

"It's all material things and Marian's quite strong and will land on her feet," said Deedee Brown, who has known Crumb for 20 years. "But this isn't right."

While disappointed over losing the property she bought in 1984 for $68,000, Crumb was far from depressed.

She'll stay with family and friends until she finds a new home.

"It's in God's hands," she said. "I know God has a plan. He hasn't told me what the plan is. I know there's a future."