Fall was settling in over Gnometown and all of the gnomes had gathered around a roaring bonfire on a clear, crisp night to celebrate the end of a bountiful harvest. After sharing a plentiful meal, the gnomes were eagerly anticipating the telling of the story of Farmer Gerry. This was one of their favorite stories because Farmer Gerry did so many interesting and wonderful things, and in the gnome tradition, he did them humbly, out of love for God, his family and community.
Believe it or not, Farmer Gerry wasn’t born on a farm. Mother Mathilde, a school teacher, and Father Louie, a businessman, began their family in a gnome home in town but moved their family to the farm when the Great Depression arrived. Farmer Gerry loved living on the farm with his parents and siblings: Mike, Cutzie, Helen, Carol, Kay and Elsie. There was always work to be done, but Farmer Gerry found ways to have fun too, like secretly saddling up old Raven and bursting out the barn door past his brother to ride away and play with his friend on the neighboring farm.
Life on the farm planted in him his love of agriculture. Life with his parents and siblings sowed the seeds of faith and commitment to God and the joy of volunteering. When he was in high school he had a car, so his mother would volunteer him to drive her friends on errands. Eventually, Farmer Gerry would leave (temporarily) Gnometown, but not before becoming an active 4-H member and quarterbacking a never-scored on championship football team.
Like many other young gnome men at the time, Farmer Gerry
left home to serve in the great war called WWII. He enlisted in the Marines and
was trained as a fighter pilot. Fortunately, the enemy heard what a skilled and
courageous pilot Farmer Gerry was so they surrendered (or at least that’s what
Farmer Gerry would later tell his children). After the war, Farmer Gerry went
off to the
After working for three years as a county agriculture
extension agent, Farmer Gerry, wife Patsy and little David moved back to the
farm just outside of Gnometown where he’d spent his childhood days. Gnometown
was full of new opportunities for a gnome like Farmer Gerry. He got involved in
lots of community activities and it wasn’t long before his enthusiasm for and
knowledge of agriculture was put to good use. He was a director and member of
the Farm Bureau, Dawson Grain, Dawson Mills,
Farmer Gerry was also very busy over the years, right here
in Gnometown. He and Patsy had two more children, Maren and Kristi. He was a
hands-on farmer for many years, raised livestock and started a fertilizer
business. Local community support and development were and continue to be very
dear to his heart. He was an involved member of
Through all this activity, Farmer Gerry cherished the blessings of a loving family and good friends. Farmer Gerry was the gnome who secretly delivered poinsettias at Christmas time and hid to see the joy on the faces of those who received them.
So you may think that you’ve never seen a gnome? Next time you experience a random act of kindness, you’ve been in the presence of a gnome like Farmer Gerry.