My parents were divorced shortly after my Uncle Ed and his family bought the farm, and my Mother, my sister, my brother, and I decided to move to the farm and live in the tenant house at his and my Aunt Margot's invitation Ed helped us renovate the old house, and taught me a lot about old houses and how to fix them as a young teenager. But even better, he taught me how to drive a tractor! Ed had an early 60's Ford Falcon at the time, with a 4 speed on the floor, and I watched him shift through the gears whenever we went for a drive. When I got my first tractor driving lesson, Ed told me to push in the clutch and put it in gear, which I did, choosing 1st gear, since that's the gear he always started with in the Falcon. Ed explained that I should put it in whatever gear I plan to use, and I don't need to go through the gears like a car. I still remember how that puzzled me, but sure enough, I could put in 4th gear at a dead stop and take off no problem. Pretty soon I was plowing fields with a 3 bottom plow hour after hour, which was definitely a new experience for a kid from Philadelphia! I have no doubt that living on the farm and hanging out with my three cousins made dealing with the divorce much easier. I was a healthy combination of work and play.
RIP, Uncle Ed.
Henry H. Hansteen
