Thursday, March 01, 2012

Wisconsin Farmers Tribute



I'm a farmer's daughter from Wisconsin. And my Dad was the most dedicated, hardworking farmer I have ever known. He would have been 86 last week. And I am missing him... this good and kind, respected man of character that always had a smile on his face.
When I first heard Paul Harvey's "So God Made a Farmer" speech on a similar YouTube video, I knew that one day I would take photos of my Dad from all his years of farming and make a video using Paul Harvey's moving narration. He delivered this speech at a National FFA Convention in 1978. I'm telling you, no one does it better than Paul Harvey. You see, we grew up listening to him three times a day on the radio ~ his News and Comment and The Rest of the Story segments are long remembered in the Larson family, and a particulate favorite with my Dad, as he always had the radio on in the barn.
And I also thought it rather ironic that my brother Ron, who would later purchase the farm from my Dad in 1988, graduated from high school in 1977 and made the decision to farm with my Dad around the time of this speech, which makes it all the more meaningful.
My Dad never really "retired" from farming. Oh, he may have milked his last cow in 1988, but continued to farm in every sense of the word till his passing in 2009 at the age of 83.
All the images in the video were taken on the farm where I grew up, by either myself or a family member over a span of 50 years. The 350 acre farm is located along Timber Creek in Jackson County near Osseo, Wisconsin.
A big thank you to my husband Randy and son Shawn for helping me make this happen. I am so thankful to have my Dad's memory preserved in this way. I hope you enjoy it.
Be sure to turn your volume up and you can also click the square box in the lower right corner to enlarge and fill your screen. Thanks again for watching!

4 comments:

Ceekay-THINKIN of HOME said...

Oh my goodness....this is wonderful! This should be on TV! Precious...precious!

Mindy said...

You made me cry. I was in a ND chapter of FFA in the late 70's and early 80's, even attended Nationals. I loved farming so much, even though I was a city slicker, I wanted to marry a farmer. The Lord had other plans. :) I love my city-slicking husband, and we both love the farm life, but can't live it. My best friend stayed at home, married a farmer and they bought her family farm.

I'm thankful you know how blessed you were to be raised in that paradise. It's a world only some of us can dream about.

Linda said...

Fantastic! Thank you for sharing.

Kathy said...

Linda - This is beautiful and such a wonderful tribute to your father. Thanks so much for sharing with all of us.