It isn’t often you get invited to a celebration of someone’s 100th birthday, their spouse’s 93rd birthday and their 70th wedding anniversary. Those were three wonderful reasons friends and relatives of Jim and Hazel Wright gathered at the United Methodist Church in Collins, a small town in central Iowa, on a Saturday afternoon.

The Nov. 17 celebration was hosted by Jim and Hazel’s children and grandchildren. Jim’s birthday was Nov. 22, Hazel’s was Dec. 30, and their wedding anniversary was Dec. 4. 

“Having your 100th birthday on Thanksgiving Day is something to be thankful for,” Jim said at the reception. He was born Nov. 22, 1918, on a farm near New Providence. Jim and Hazel were married in 1948.

After serving in the U.S. Army in World War II, Jim returned home and began farming in 1947 at New Providence, where he grew up. He rented a farm and worked with his brother. In 1951, Jim and Hazel moved to Collins, where they rented and eventually bought a farm. They were named Iowa Master

Farmers by Wallaces Farmer in 1965. Jim is our oldest living Iowa Master Farmer.

Changes in farming
Jim’s son James Jr. and grandson Nathan greeted visitors entering the church hall. Nathan saw me and said, “We’re glad you could come. You’ll hear a good story here. Just think of all the changes Grandpa and Grandma have seen in their many years farming.”

James and Nathan are now farming together. Graduating from Iowa State University in 2018, Nathan is the third generation of the family to farm this land and dad James and mom Sarah are quite proud — so are Grandpa and Grandma.
At the reception, Jim wore a red shirt with yellow lettering (Cyclone colors). On the front it said, “Dad 100 years, 1918-2018.” On the back, “Youth is a gift of nature, age is a work of art.”

Photos cultivate memories
A large eye-catching picture was displayed on the wall. It was a composite of four individual photos in a group, depicting farming scenes of yesteryear. 

The photos were taken locally in fall 1958: A Case tractor plowing cornstalks; a Ford tractor hooked to a wagon alongside a Case combine harvesting soybeans; a two-cylinder John Deere with a mounted two-row corn picker harvesting corn; and a fourth photo showed a farmstead.

“We knew this was Grandpa driving the corn picker,” Nathan told me, “and we knew who was pulling the wagon and the guy driving the combine. But we weren’t sure about the man on the Case tractor plowing. But we found out today — so many friends and neighbors came to this reception and looked at this photo display. Several of them identified these people in the pictures.”

Next generation
Indeed, Jim and Hazel have seen lots of changes in farming over their 70 years together. 

“Even in my somewhat shorter farming career, the evolution of technology is huge,” James said. “It’s made us more efficient and better farmers. Now, Nathan is bringing home new ideas and concepts. He understands the new technology, the computer-driven, digital aspects that I missed out on learning.

“It’s a challenge to get your son or daughter or any young person started farming in today’s depressed ag economy, but it’s a joy to work with someone so enthusiastic and interested in the business. With Nathan, our goal is to continue the legacy my father and mother started.” 

From horses to tractors to computers, farming has evolved. When Jim started in 1947, he used a tractor. “I grew up planting Dad’s corn with horses,” he recalled. “When I began farming on my own, I planted my corn with a tractor. I had a Farmall C and later bought an F20 Farmall. That was my machinery investment for the first few years, as I borrowed equipment from my dad to begin farming.”

Livestock business
Cattle and hogs were important in the farming career of Jim and Hazel. “My first year I had 25 heifers and an Angus bull, and began raising calves,” he said. “The heifers had 25 calves, and I saved all of them: a 100% calf crop. I got off to a good start in the cattle business.”

Their cattle numbers grew as did the number of acres farmed. Jim was known for innovations in cattle feeding as he had a feedlot with a capacity of over 200 head: sizable in its day. 

He and Hazel also raised a family on the farm: Rebecca, Thomas, James and Janelle. Jim and Hazel have seven grandchildren; three are still in school, three are adults, and one has passed away.

“We had good luck farming,” Jim noted, “although there were years when prices were low, and we took some financial beatings. But we tightened our belt, controlled our costs, found ways to adjust.” 

Jim diligently kept accurate farm records and analyzed the records to make informed management decisions. He was an active member of the Iowa Farm Business Association. He served as state president in the record keeping organization’s early days.

It’s tough to start farming today. You are going to have to borrow money and be in debt. “You have to work hard, manage well and figure out a way to pay off that debt,” he added.

Memories of military service
When I asked Jim about his service in the Army, it opened a floodgate of memories. He served four years in WWII, two of them overseas in combat without leave. He went in as a 2nd lieutenant, rose to captain, and led a battery of 110 men in the 935th Field Artillery Battalion.

His outfit was one of the first from the U.S. sent to Europe in WWII. Quite a shock for young farmboys from Iowa who had never seen an ocean before, much less being engaged in hand-to-hand combat, fighting Hitler’s army. From landing on the beaches of North Africa and engaging Gen. Erwin

Rommel’s forces, to making their way across Italy and liberating Nazi strongholds, Jim remembers it all in amazing detail.

Eventually the war ended, and Jim made it back to New Providence in Hardin County. On the eve of his 100th birthday, he recalled, “I was glad to be home and fortunate to be able to start farming. I’ve always counted my blessings.”