As I left our farm Friday, wheat harvest was in full swing. It will be finished when I return from Philadelphia on Father’s Day.
I can’t think of wheat without thinking of Grandpa. In conversations with my brothers recently, it became obvious we should all preserve our perspectives about him. No better time than Father’s Day.
Grandpa was born in 1897. My great grandmother had 4 children; 2 sets of twins. A boy and girl first, then identical twins (Grandpa and his brother).
We now live in the home Grandpa (and Dad) were born in, own the same land they did, and attend the church they both attended for many years.
Grandpa’s Dad was killed in a horseback incident in 1900. So, Great-Grandma was left to farm the ground with 4 young children – each of whom had to grow up quick in a time and place where all children grew up quick.
Grandpa learned to farm and care for cattle in the hot sun and cold winters at an age where modern children are just starting to play video games in air-conditioned houses. Due to the hardships of the farm, he didn’t go to WW-1.
His twin brother (Eddie) had gone off to college when they graduated but died there in the flu epidemic of 1917. Due to the issues surrounding the flu, Grandpa (nor his mother) were ever allowed to see the body. It left a significant void in his life.
Nonetheless, he put his shoulders to the plow (literally) and taught himself to farm. He could plant 15 acres of wheat a day with his team of horses, then 80 per day with his 1st steel-wheeled John Deere tractor. Dad and his brothers helped Grandpa change out those steel wheels to rubber sometime prior to WW-II. Those boys didn't think those air-filled rubber wheels would ever last.
Think about it
I have great respect for law-enforcement, military and those who have degrees. But men like Grandpa hold a special place in my heart. They carved out a living, paid all their bills, and built estates to pass on.
Life is hard work, no matter how you slice it. But it is easier today than any time before.
While we can’t speak to those men of the 19th century anymore, I want to express my gratitude on this Father’s Day week to all the hard-working Dad’s who worked it out before so we could enjoy it now.
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