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Tuesday February 15, 2011 Edition
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The Power Of Love Family & Faith: Sharing Memories With Elson & Anna Husk

Elson and Anna Husk celebrate being married 60 plus years and going strong.
photo provided
Elson and Anna Husk celebrate being married 60 plus years and going strong.
A gift from a daughter, the cow holds a place of honor in the lives of the Husk as the family began in 1949 and continues today to run a family farm operation in Ferrisburgh.
photo provided
A gift from a daughter, the cow holds a place of honor in the lives of the Husk as the family began in 1949 and continues today to run a family farm operation in Ferrisburgh.

Tuesday February 15, 2011

By Cookie Steponaitis

    Love is one of the most powerful of human emotions. It has changed lives, shifted history and even changed the direction of the planet. There are temples dedicated to it and libraries full of books on how to attain and keep it. People annually spend billions on products designed to make them more of a complete package and the beliefs centering on love and commitment are embedded in every aspect of our culture and society. Yet, with all the information out there about love, it seems that one set of experts is being forgotten. Talking to those who have not only weathered the Great Depression, World War II, and seen America grow from a young nation to a world power, there is a small camp of professionals that is left untouched. These experts have first hand wisdom about the qualities needed to have love last beyond the attraction and the passing of time. They know because their marriages are now in their sixth decade and just as strong as they were at the first hello.

    Elson and Anna Husk were born in 1926 and 1928 respectively and have been living together on the family farm they bought in 1949 in Ferrisburgh. They have raised seven children: Cathy, Warren, Ray, Mark, Brian, Kay, and Matthew and can share with pride the presence of 14 grandchildren, 2 step-grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren. Bound together by a love of farming, the land, their family and faith, this couple is more together than ever and willing to share ideas, memories and some life lessons about being a couple and keeping it strong.

    “I met Elson on the farm,” recalled Anna. “Elson was hired to help me with the heavy chores at the Chester Hawkins farm where I was working. He didn’t speak to me for the first three days. We worked together so my first impression was not too good. I found out later he had been told not to fraternize with the hired girl.” While Anna originally grew up in the city she was a Girl Scout and had been active in many of the organizations that were a part of life in the 1940’s in Addison County. “When I started going with Elson,” Anna remarked, “he belonged to the Grange, so I joined as well. We enjoyed going as they had all kinds of social activities such as square dancing and card parties. Today, we are still a part of Grange. As our family grew we expanded our circle to include 4-H and we were leaders for over twenty years.”

    Another constant through all the years of the Husk family marriage has been church and music. While Anna was raised Quaker, she joined the Methodist Church after they were married and when it was discovered she could play the piano has been playing there ever since. While the day started and ended with chores and the farm work, both the Husks found time for church and music in the community around them. “I have been involved in music all of my life,” reflected Anna. “I played piano and violin in school and sang in the Glee Clubs in school and in college. For the past twenty years I have volunteered to be a part of the VUHS musicals and have played organ at church, weddings and funerals for over sixty years. About twenty years ago I got involved with the LC Jazz Band and as of last year have played in the orchestra for 35 high school musicals.” Anna has also sung in the Otter Creek Choir for the past thirty years and played in the Vergennes City Band.

    With a schedule that still would challenge most couples half their ages, both Husks attribute the success of their marriage to the simple life long lessons that have stood them well over the changes in their own lives and in the community around them. “Keep your word and get your work done on time,” added Elson. “If you make a promise keep it and understand that life will hand you challenges and together they are faced stronger than alone.” Elson paused a moment and went on to credit not only Anna, but the church and the other organizations in their lives for keeping them strong and connected. “When Anna and I were first married, we had bought a dairy farm and in addition to operate the farm, I had a two ton milk truck that I ran a milk route with. I picked up canned mils from eleven farms in our area and there were four others who drove their own milk. When we started fifteen family farms were in the area and made up a community of farmers. That community was the grounding for the area.”

    Chiming in at that moment Anna paused to add, “It is very simple. Talk to each other—communicate. Make decisions together. When children come, do things as a family and focus on life as a family. Think of others before yourself. Share your talents. You can do it if you just try. I was born on a farm and raised in the city, so I had a lot of adjusting to do when we got married in 1949. We made a go of it by all working together and keeping our kids all involved in farming and to the land.”

    When asked to share the story of their wedding and courtship Anna chuckled. “We picked up my mother one Saturday in March. She came to meet my fiancé. After Elson and I went over to the farm and did chores we came back to have supper. I came down the stairs from washing up and Elson said he had just talked to the minister and we were getting married at the parsonage in one hour. I changed back into the dress I had worn down from college and my mother was our witness. After the ceremony we stopped at Muzzy’s store for ice cream and when we got back to Hawkins we had a party. The next morning my mother went back to New Jersey on a bus and I went on a bus back to Johnson State College to finish my degree.

    Elson swears to this day that Anna’s cooking is the best he has ever had and that together there is nothing they can not face or overcome. As the interview concluded and Elson headed off to do chores and Anna continued to prepare dinner in a home that is adorned with hundreds of photos of children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, cows, winning ribbons, recipes and musical notes and images, it is easy to see how the Husk’s marriage has stood the test of time. There is a commitment and bond that is based on love and a teamwork that has endured without stopping for over sixty years. For all those who seek books on love and read from the experts about this powerful emotion, take some Valentine’s Day Advice from a couple in Ferrisburgh who are as strong a couple today as they were in 1948. “Blessed be the ties that bind,” concluded Anna. Blessed indeed! From the Valley Voice and all the staff; Happy Valentines Day to all and to the Husk’s thanks for a lesson in love, faith and family.

 


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