I was born on farm near Pleasanton in southern Iowa, about five miles north of the Missouri line. My father was Earl Hullinger and my mother Cecile Hamilton Hullinger. When Mother was old enough for high school, her mother wouldn't let her go because she knew what went on at that high school. So here was mother, 17 years old and not much to do except to marry. So she was married when she was 17 years old and by the time she was 22, she had four boys. There was no telephone or means of communication. Every day Dad would be gone to the field, leaving Mother at the house, cooking, cleaning, and when we children came along, taking care of us kids. In those days there were transients, ‘‘bums," who came by frequently for a hand out. Mother was frightened of them, but she never failed to feed them. She made sandwiches and put them outside for the men to pick up. That had its disadvantages because the word got around and the numbers increased. She had quite a steady flow of people coming. I believe that had an influence on me in later life and I feel a heavy responsibility to help people who have difficulties for whatever reason.
My later life was also greatly influenced by the fact that I never saw my parents in any kind of conflict - verbal, physical, or any kind. There were times when I sensed something was not quite right, but there was never any disagreement in front of us boys. Today I recognize how important that is, because children pick up those conflicts and know there is something amiss. I find it quite disturbing today to hear parents screaming at one another in the presence of their children. The result of our upbringing was that the family had loving relationships with one another in the atmosphere of a Christian home.
My birth date was October 6, 1919. I was the second of four boys to be born. We were all born at home, as were many babies in those days. When people asked Mother what time of day I was born, she answered with a phrase that identified the time, "about lamp-lighting time." Clock time was not as important then as now. We also knew our grandparents. We could and often did walk the three miles to their home.
We lived there while all four boys were born. In 1924, we moved to a different farm, on land purchased from a life insurance company. That became "the home place." We continued to live there until I went to high school. Growing up on the farm was quite interesting because the entire family was involved in all aspects of our livelihood - raising our own food and living off the land. I have fond memories of coming home from school. Mother would have baked bread, which she sliced hot from the oven, and the butter melted into it. We looked forward to coming home to that treat, and I know that four boys made that bread disappear rather rapidly.
I also remember Mother making breakfast, which often consisted of pancakes, and she would hold us boys off until she had 10 or 12 pancakes made, then she continued to flip pancakes while Dad and us boys made them disappear quickly. Every day of the week, Mother had dirty clothes, which she scrubbed with a scrub board in a wash tub. She was a small lady, and I still marvel that she could do all that.
The home we lived in was not modern, heated by a round oak heating stove; burning wood we cut from the timber. The upstairs was not heated except for a register in the ceiling of a downstairs room. I recall one winter morning waking up and finding the quilts covered with snow which had blown in under the roof. I also recall, when we went up to bed, Mother gave us irons to keep our feet warm. She had heated them on the stove and wrapped them in newspaper. It was surprising how long that bundle held the heat. I suppose that conditioned me, and I still like to sleep in a really cool bedroom.
The kitchen was a primary point for families at that time. The kitchen stove was woodfired. There are different kinds of wood, some of which were preferable for heating. I've often said the lady of the house had to be an expert in knowing how to control the heat. If the fire was too hot, it would burn the food, but if not hot enough, it wouldn't cook it. She became a master at controlling it. I am sure that is where the phrase, "If you can't stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen" came from. It goes without saying that cooking was necessary year round, and in the summertime, the kitchen became insufferably hot. It was long before air-conditioning.
We had no means of refrigeration. I remember Mother making butter and lowering it into the well, just above the water level. It was the coolest place where she could save milk and butter. As part of our livelihood, each fall we butchered a beef. We had to wait until it was cool weather, so it wouldn't spoil. The butchering was something we boys grew up with, witnessed, and participated in. There are people who wonder how you could slaughter and eat animals. My response is that God created animals for man to use, and we thought nothing about it. During the year, we probably killed two hogs, and also went out to the hen-house and selected the best rooster for our noon meal. That was quite a treat. I would like to own a piece of land so I could raise chickens and show people how good chickens tasted, killed and dressed just before cooking them. It may be handier and easier to buy them at the supermarket, but the difference in taste can’t even be described.
Memories of those days include milking, which we boys joined Dad in doing. If anybody opened the sliding door while we were milking, it was inevitable that person would have milk squirted in his face by whichever of us was milking in the stall closest to the door. That was part of the way we made our own fun.
In addition to cows, we always had sheep, hogs, and horses, which we learned to harness and drive. In 1937, Dad purchased our first tractor. I've had it restored and use it now in the "Great Iowa Tractor Rides."
We lived on a dirt road and didn't have to worry about people coming by. When we had a nice rain, we boys would tell Mother we were going to the barn to play. Instead, we would take off our clothes, go out in the ditches and play in the water, dam it up, splash each other, and have a great time, nude as could be. When we were tired of that, we'd go back to barn, put on our clothes like nothing had happened. That was the sort of thing we did. We didn't hurt anybody or anything; we were just having a good time.
I remember going with Dad to the timber in wintertime. Dad was a man of small stature, but he could stand against an oak tree, 12 inches around, and shortly have it cut down. Early on, we didn't have saws - he used an axe. When the tree was down, it had to be cut up, put in the wagon, and taken home for heat. I remember when I was probably about 13 we had a mule that was inclined to balk and wouldn't pull. One day he did that and I decided I would teach that mule a thing or two. I picked up a stick, whacked him on the side, and he kicked me off the wagon. How he ever got his feet up there, I have no idea, but he knocked me completely off that load of wood. It didn't hurt me but I had to concede, the mule won that one. Later we got a John Deere that had a pulley with a belt on it, and a saw. Neighbors came to help, and we could cut quite a pile of wood in a short time. I've done about everything behind the saw, feeding it, off bearing, and picking up the wood. No one ever went to the house without carrying a load of wood.
By the time we were through eighth grade, my older brother and I decided we didn't want to go to high school. Schooling wasn't necessary if we were going to farm, which we intended to do. An uncle heard us make this comment, and told us, "If you boys will go to high school, I'll give you a Model A Ford." In those days, it was quite a car! A Model A never showed up, but by the time we finished high school, and had decided we wanted to go on to college, the car wasn't important. What was important was that our uncle had given us the incentive to go.
We both went to Iowa State University (ISU) at Ames. I enrolled in agronomy. Dad didn’t have any money, but when we left home, he gave us each a check book and said, "If you need anything, write yourself a check. I've made arrangements with the bank to accept it." I never wrote a check. I got a job at the Memorial Union for 26¢ an hour, waiting tables, washing dishes, doing everything the job required. We got a paycheck every two weeks. I remember mine came to $14 and that was adequate. We weren't wealthy, but we got along really well.
My brother graduated, and I did not. Mary Riddle and I were high school sweethearts. We left school in 1939 and were married in 1940. Mary's father's business was insurance and real estate. He wanted me to take over the insurance part of it, and I had it and real estate for about 50 years.
Mary and I had three children - Ron, Randy, and Sue. We followed my parents’ example in never discussing disagreements in the presence of the children. Prior to Ron's birth, we had purchased a piece of land near Leon. It had no buildings, but it provided a place where the children could have a pony and livestock. So even though we lived in town, they had all the privileges of town and country life. My address has always been Leon - even when we lived on the farms as I was growing up, our mail was delivered on a rural route of Leon.
Ron knew when he was in eighth grade that he wanted to go to ISU and become a veterinarian. In four years he earned a degree in Dairy Science. In six years he had his degree in Veterinary Medicine, after which he went on to get his Masters' and PhD. He was offered and accepted a teaching job at Purdue University. Ron was the studious one of our children and has tried to influence kids as they come into his classroom. He is very good at that. He is also doing research at Purdue and was involved in the "chicks in space" program. He and his wife were privileged to go to Florida to see one of the space ships and retrieve the hatched chicks. He has, in fact, traveled and has friends all over the world in connection with his work. He was secretary of the World Veterinary Association. He was in Holland on a scholarship, took his family, and taught there for a time.
Ron and his wife have three boys: Dave, Tom, and John - they are my grandsons, and Ron and his wife now have six grandchildren, who are my great-grandchildren. Dave has two, Tom three, and John one. So now I have two 16 year old great-grandchildren ready for college next year. I can hardly believe it's true.
Of the three grandchildren, Dave went to school at Purdue and is now a youth probation officer in Lafayette, Indiana. Tom went to school at Ann Arbor and has now moved near Boston. He went to work for a European pharmaceutical company and has been permitted to set up his own lab, where he is doing heart research. John is a pilot for America Trans Air (ATA). He is a captain at a pretty young age. He and his wife are also in the registered draft horse business. They now have ten. All three boys like the farm.
Randy joined me in insurance and real estate. He is still in that business, an appraiser in an office in Osceola. Sue is married and lives in Burlington, Wisconsin, which is midway between Milwaukee and Rockford, Illinois. She teachers high school science and is an excellent teacher, very enthusiastic about her job. Neither Sue nor Randy has children.
On our first piece of land, Mary and I built a large brick home, with a pond at the back of it. The lawn was beautiful, and we each had a riding lawnmower. Mary had a heart attack followed by bypass surgery in 1978. They told her she could possibly live four or five years, and she managed to live 17. Prior to her death, we chose to sell the farm. We were spending 16 to 18 hours a week mowing and keeping up our property, and with her health deteriorating; we thought it best to move. Randy was already in Osceola, so we decided to move here. Mary died three years later, in 1995.
After Mary's death, I chose to continue working in the field of housing, because I'd been at that all my life. I knew housing and housing programs, so it seemed a natural choice. When I was young in the insurance business, I was successful and it worked for me, so on the side I decided to form a corporation in1972 for housing for low income people. The name was SCIDC (South Central Iowa Development Corporation). Over the years the corporation has been involved every way imaginable in helping people with housing needs. We were living in Leon at that time but I found a piece of land in Osceola, the corporation purchased it, developed it as lots for sale, and made some profit. The corporation got involved in a host of different programs primarily funded by the Farmer's Home Administration which is now the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture). We developed a wide range of programs, all dealing with low income housing, and gained a strong rapport with the FmHA as the funding vehicle.
Concurrently, I was able to create the Southern Iowa Regional Housing Authority. Southern Iowa needed two vehicles to take advantage of funds that were out there. I have kept the SCIDC, which I need for the programs I am working on now. I turned the housing authority over to a person I was instrumental in hiring. It has grown to be one of largest programs in the state, and was the first multi-county housing authority in Iowa. I have nothing to do with it now. It is governed by a board.
In 1994, I was asked to file an application with HUD (Department of Housing and Urban Development) in Washington for a project called the ECHO (Elder Cottage Housing Opportunity) Housing Demonstration Project. This is a nation-wide program and SDIDC was successful in being named as one of the grantees of the first program. The essence of the program is that instead of building a complex of apartments for people, we build a movable house, 24x24, which is the same square footage as in all the other projects, and place it beside a son's or daughter's home. The house has its own meters - water, sewer, electricity - so that its tenants can live independently, but still in proximity of family. A parent or relative lives there until they can no longer live independently or are deceased, at which time the house is moved to the property of the next people on the list. Iowa got 10 units out of the 100. The rest were scattered throughout the nation - 10 in Missouri, 10 in Kansas, some in Tennessee, Kentucky, and New Jersey. Iowa is the only one that has been 100% successful.
The ECHO program in Iowa is primarily in Decatur County, because of zoning. In small towns or on farms, there is no problem, but most communities of county seat size have ordinances which prohibit two single-family residences on one lot. This kept me from placing one in Osceola, Creston, or Mt. Ayr; but when I explained the plan to the City Council in Leon, they did not allow zoning regulations to prohibit it. They saw the potential in the give and take between parents and grandparents - the elderly having an active, daily role in the lives of their children and grandchildren, the children having an oversight in the needs of the older ones. At one time we had four units in Leon. Today they are about equally divided between small towns and farms, with only two remaining in Leon.
One of the requirements of the HUD programs is that a service provider go in and visit with every single occupant and get a profile of where that person is in the aging process and to bring to that person every service available. The person is trained and knows how to do that.
With the ECHO program, there is a built-in service provider- the son or daughter. They will find out what is available for Mother or Dad, uncle or whomever. Of course it costs more to move the house than to move the persons, and the question of financial feasibility becomes a big issue when I try to sell more units. But I know I have residents who have been in these homes for ten years or more, who would be in nursing homes if we didn't have the units. There are so many exciting stories of the success of these ECHO units! They will become part of my sales pitch as I attempt to promote the program. If more units are secured, I will make another attempt to place some in other cities.
I have now turned it over to another party for management, and I remain on consultant status. We are still seeking additional units so we can have a better demonstration and be able to appeal to the funding agency to provide more. They look at their projects and find only ten succeeded. That raises the question of why? When they ask how we did it, I tell them I had a very good consultant, and we used common, everyday good horse sense in the operation.
Another program funded from HUD money is called 202 Capital Advance. The "202" indicates it is a program for the elderly, and it is to serve very low income persons. Occupants of this housing also have to be 62 years of age or above. Because of the success of the ECHO program, I decided to apply in Osceola in 1998 for HUD's allocation of 202 money when they published for 24 non-metro units. That is now Full Harvest Housing, Inc., and the building name is Fillmore Place. The housing facility has been very successful. We've never had a vacancy, and we have people on a waiting list.
Four years later, in 2002, I applied for and got HUD's total non-metro allocation. The owner of that building is Golden Thread Housing, Inc. The building, North Main Manor, is well underway, to be finished about the first of the year. There are 29 units for elderly, limited income people. Because of the success of those three projects, all sponsored by the original SCIDC Corporation, HUD is now looking to us to do the development of non-metro money. I met last week with people in Tipton, Iowa. I could offer them the help of a corporation that had established credibility, and my experience in these other developments. I told them, "If you can prove to me that you have a need, our corporation will apply to HUD for you." The upshot of that meeting is that they probably don't qualify. I doubt their incomes are low enough. My next move will be to try to identify a place in the Iowa's southern tier of counties that have a need and would qualify. If I can find a place, I will apply for them. I'm in an enviable position because of my credibility that has been established through funding agencies, but I'm too old to be in this situation. However, I am not too old to go to Washington, D.C. this next month to consult with potential funding agencies about the viability of the ECHO project. People are interested and want to hear more about it.
All of these developments have become independent. There are four corporations, each with their own boards: SDIDC, Full Harvest, ECHO, and Golden Thread. SCIDC has nothing to do with the projects after they are started. They are simply the sponsor, which is necessary to have in order to file an application with HUD, but there is none other in the state of Iowa doing that. There is no profit in it, but what makes it extremely rewarding is the satisfaction of doing something for those who cannot help themselves. I am convinced that I was created and put on this earth for this very purpose.
FLYING
My flying career started in the Army after I had received my commission in 1944. I was assigned to a Field Artillery Battalion as a Battery Executive. We were sent to field maneuvers in Texas in preparation to be sent overseas to Europe. It was here that I learned that many artillery units were in need of Liaison Pilots. Their purpose was to adjust artillery fire on targets, flying Piper Cub aircraft. I applied for and was accepted for pilot school. I was sent to the Air Force for training and was assigned to school in Wichita Falls, Texas. After receiving my wings from the Air Force, I was sent back to the Army for further training at the artillery school at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma.
The Army's message to these new pilots who had just received their wings from the Air Force was: ''Now that you have your private license from the air force, we will teach you how to fly the Army way." What was meant by this message was: You will now be trained to operate from unimproved fields because to be a part of an artillery unit as an observer, you must learn to search for, land on and take off from all kinds of short, rough, unimproved airfields under combat conditions. After completing this training I was assigned to the Ft. Sill School as a ground school trainer. Actually I was able to complete my service in the military with this assignment and was released on April 6, 1946.
Following release from active duty I decided to sign up for the Active Reserve. The Army wanted all pilots in the reserve to maintain their flying status. The Army did not have planes but agreed to rent aircraft from the reservists, if they owned their own aircraft. I had purchased a 1945 Piper Cub aircraft and was able to get it on lease with the Army for a total of 80 hours per year. Other aircraft followed-Luscombe 8A, Cessna 140, Cessna 170, Cessna 172, Cessna 185, "C" Model Bonanza, and the last one I owned was an "S" Model Bonanza. From the start with the Piper Cub to the "S" Model Bonanza, I was able to keep a personal aircraft on lease to the Army for some 20 years. During this 20 year period it was necessary for all Reserve Pilots to attend Summer Camp and fly different military aircraft as they were introduced. Following the Piper Cub was the Cessna L-19 and later the helicopter. I was able to attend helicopter school in 1960 and received my rotary wing license. Later was able to log some time on the Bell Helicopter at Summer Camp.
After retiring from the reserves, I continued to fly the "S" Model Bonanza until 1986, when the "farm crisis" occurred. Land decreased in value some 60% in about 4 years. I had two bad financial positions at that time: 1) farming and 2) owning and maintaining an aircraft. One or the other had to go, and you couldn't give farm land away at that time. I flew the Bonanza to Nashville, Tennessee and sold it at public auction. I maintained my pilot license with a current medical certificate until Jan. 31, 2004.
My total flying time is some 5000, hours with approximately 500 of those in helicopters. I held a commercial license, with an instrument rating and a flight instructor's rating, all in single engine, land aircraft. I did receive training and a rating to land and take off on water with the Piper Cub during my Army flight training at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma.
TUTORING EXPERIENCE:
My experience in helping second grade students with their reading skills started in the fall of 1998 when Park Avenue Christian Church (hereinafter referred to as PACC) announced that they would be starting with a program that was intended to serve children identified by the various schools as "behind in reading.” I volunteered as one of the first group of tutors to become involved in the program.
The plan in brief was this: Students would be brought to PACC'S Fellowship Hall at 6:30 PM on Tuesday evenings for a one-hour session with an assigned tutor. (The fellowship hall is an entirely separate building from the church proper, making the program less "Churchy.") The 'drop-off and 'pick-up' of the student was the responsibility of the parents. The program was scheduled around the school calendar and was divided into a fall and spring period. All tutors go through a background check before the sessions start. Very little training was provided for the tutors except to recognize that, in some cases, this maybe the first time in their life the student has had the undivided attention of an adult for one hour. The challenge for the tutor was to try and discover where the child was, start there, and try to advance. Recognition of any progress by the student became very important because many times the student thought of himself or herself a failure.
The satisfaction of helping a student in some way to 'catch-up' is a very rewarding experience. All tutors, without exception, can relate their feeling of fulfillment after the sessions end in the spring. The program is still going and appears to be well accepted by the parents, schools, and community.
I was involved for four years and have not been for the past two years. Driving from and to Osceola every Tuesday night became a heavy burden, particularly during the winter months. I taught four years so have four private experiences, each with a different student for my 'log book' (a pilot's term for time spent in the air).
RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE- Testimony of my Faith Journey
Anything written about my 'faith journey' must start at my beginning. My first recollections about religion start with my parents. They both believed that their four sons should be brought up in a Christian home. Neither Mother nor Dad had been given the opportunity for an education but both were good readers. The family Bible was always handy and was often read to the children. I do remember Mother always finding books that were written for children. There was never a shortage of something to read.
My later memories were that we always went to church - rain, snow, sleet, hail, thunder storms - none would keep the entire family from church on Sunday. I recall Dad getting a team harnessed and hitched to a four-wheeled wagon many times when it had rained and we couldn't drive. In winter he would put in a couple of square bales, either straw or hay, for seats. A plastic tablecloth often served as the umbrella. Those were good times for the entire family!
I think most of what I have retained from those early childhood experiences is the necessity to make your beliefs known by your vigilant observance of Sunday as a day of worship. I went to college and went to church the first Sunday. When I was in the Army, I went to chapel. when at a military school, I either went to chapel or to a church in town. All of these experiences enabled me to bring these same commitments to fruition with our own family. When I came back from service, my wife Mary and I, along with our three children, were very much involved in church activities. Regular attendance and being actively involved in all aspects of the Church were family traditions for the Hullingers.
This time of raising our family was a growing time for both Mary and me in our Christian faith. After the children were grown and married, Mary and I had an opportunity to enroll in a study of scripture known as the Bethel Series. It involved a commitment of two years’ study and was designed as an overview of both the Old and New Testaments. Participants were to meet weekly for the two years and were to study the Bible for at least ten hours per week. Tests were given periodically to keep all students alert and committed to definite study habits. After completion of the two-year study, some participants were chosen to teach a shorter version of the study to others in the congregation. Mary and I were both chosen as teachers and taught the material to the congregation for three years. Both of us saw our faith come to some measure of maturity with this Bethel Series material, both as students and then as teachers. After Mary's death in 1995, I was offered an opportunity to go to Russia and teach the New Testament. I declined because of my involvement in developing housing for low-income, elderly families.
A short 'plug' for the Bethel Series Bible study materials: It was developed by a Lutheran Minister at the Bethel Lutheran Church in Madison, Wisconsin. His name is Harley Swiggum and the study is still being used. It was designed to combat what some call ''biblical illiteracy'' in congregations throughout the world. The study makes no effort to impose any denominational theology on the Bible but rather is an overview of the entire Biblical narrative. It has been used by Catholic, Methodist, Presbyterian, and a host of other denominations throughout the US and all over the world. Harley's conviction was that the Bible is difficult and to be understood one must spend a lifetime to really start to comprehend it fully. "There are no quick fixes in Bible study."
Where am I on my FAITH JOURNEY? I believe that "In the beginning God created - I believe that He created the human being, and put them in a place called PARADISE. The human being failed and Paradise was lost. I believe that someday PARADISE WILL BE RESTORED. Further developing beliefs are: God tried for some time to 'shepherd and herd' His human creation with kings, queens, prophets, and leaders. I believe His final revelation of HIS AGAPE LOVE was sending His Son, Jesus the Christ, who was here on earth to demonstrate how we human beings are to live together.
I believe that basic essential doctrines of the Christian faith are:
Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of God's covenant with Abraham
Jesus Christ was GOD himself in human form
Jesus Christ was true man
Jesus Christ was the living example of what God designed man to be
Jesus Christ was crucified on a cross for the sins of all mankind
God resurrected Jesus Christ from the dead
This "Christ event" and mans' belief in it is the hope that all mankind has for salvation.
Return to main page for Recipes for Living 2005 by Fern Underwood
Last Revised January 5, 2013