November 8th…“WHAT WAS AN ACT OF LOVE, FROM LOCAL FARMERS TO YOUR FAMILY, THAT TOUCHED YOUR YOUNG HEART?”
POEM – “Plowman Poets” by N. Elliott Noorlun
From left to right are the ‘Plowman Poets’… Darrel Mutschler, Gib Cleven, Chet Ozmun, Helmer Wipplinger and Louie Heitzeg. The sixth ‘Plowmen Poet’ was Merril Baumann who took this photo. Circa 1959 on the Allan Parks farm west of Kiester, Minnesota.
Six ‘Plowman Poets’, A sonnet wrote,
With every furrow of soil,
As tractors pulled plows, Across the land,
That our father would usually toil.
The ‘Plowman Poets’ lived out God’s will as shared in the New Testament Book of Matthew Chapter 22 Verse 36
An injury had happened, In our father’s life,
Now unable to rise to work’s task.
When word got around, Of our patriarch’s plight,
T’was nary the need to ask.
Merril Baumann (on front John Deere) now joins his fellow ‘Plowman Poets’ in the harmony and cadence of seeing a field plowed for our injured father, Russell Noorlun. L ro R are Darrel Mutschler, Louie Heitzeg, Chet Ozmun, Helmer Wipplinger, Gib Cleven and Merril Baumann.
Each ‘Plowman Poet’, Had chores of his own,
Fighting chill in his warm coveralls.
His own farm was waiting, For attention from him,
Hungry livestock did roam in their stalls.
Elliott’s father, Russell (on left), with brother Erwin, was grateful for the ‘Plowman Poets’.
What was it that drew, These men from their farms,
To invest in the life of another?
Not only were they, Fellow farmers in trade,
But also a good Christian brother!
The ‘Plowman Poets’ gave love that day
The sparkling moldboard, Of each plow share,
Sliced deep into that sod,
As the ‘Plowman Poets’, Transformed that field,
Into a gift from God.
Such love was well received.
Some cynics may say, These men wasted their gas,
And lost precious hours of time,
“It’s the other guy’s problem, Let him work it out”,
Yet we know, That would be a true crime.
Later, in Christian brotherhood, Elliott’s father became a ‘Plowman Poet’, of sorts, as he reciprocated kindness to other farmers in need whenever he knew of an opportunity to assist in any way he possibly could.
Lord, please bless the memories, And families who,
Shared their ‘Plowman Poets’ that day,
It was more than a field, It was love they did yield,
I may be only one oat seed in a field of millions, yet I have a story to share of beginnings on our beloved farm in southern Minnesota and beyond to life as I've seen it to this point. Famous? No. Gifted? Unlikely. Yet, I want to leave a legacy to my children and grandchildren of who this gentle Norwegian man was. My happy times, sad times, successes and failures. Someday, those who are tiny now, will have this volume to come to and get to know this Norwegian Farmer's Son.
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Norwegian Farmer's Son 