A woman and her tractor: Dorothy Molson

Farming is more than an occupation for Dorothy Molson. It is her way of life.

Dorothy grew up milking 20 cows a day, outside, rain or shine. She has worked fields behind a four- and two-horse hitch, then tending to the needs of those horses after the day’s work, all while attending school to finish her high school education.

Her roots run deep into the soils of Kankakee County, Illinois, and Newton County, Indiana. Her love for the benefits of farming far outweighs the toils and trouble along the way.

She finally turned over the Molson farming operations to her daughter, Gale, two years ago — at the age of 94.

Taking Flight

Dorothy (Fountain) Molson was born in Kankakee County to Eva (Eggen) and Fred Fountain. She grew up in Pembroke Township working alongside her mother in the fields, garden and pastures to provide for the family. She and her sister, Betty, attended St. Anne High School, graduating in 1943.

Following the inspiration of Amelia Earhart, Dorothy attended flight school and obtained her pilot’s license. She had hoped to expand her flying ability and assist during wartime, but the training camp proved to be too expensive.

In 1948, she married Al Molson, whose family owned a farm down the road from Dorothy. About the same time, her mother was able to purchase farmland in Newton County, so the three pulled up stakes from Illinois and moved to Colfax Township in Newton County.

After talking with Dorothy, I realized that a farmer needs more than simply great weather to have a successful farm. You must know what works best in the soil: which seed, what chemicals and how much moisture. And you must work hard, day and night, 365 days a year.

Dorothy and Al worked side by side on the farm — equal in their skills of operating equipment, handling livestock and managing the farm.

The first year they added nitrates to the soil for the wheat crop, dug a few ditches and doubled the size of the harvest for that year. This success gave the pair the confidence to continue moving forward with their future farm plans.

The Molson farm holdings would grow over the years, acquiring land in other townships and eventually selling those to purchase land closer to their own farm.

The initial land holdings of 261 acres grew to 2,700 acres, including pastures for a 60-head herd of black Angus cattle and then a herd of horses in later years.

They had a few dairy cattle at first, but when their milk buyer closed, they decided to abandon dairy production. They had a few hogs, too, but those were used to sell and for meat.

Horse Power

Dorothy said that the tractor was one of the best innovations for the farm — as it replaced those poor old horses that had to do the heavy work in the spring and fall.

You had to have a bit of animal science in your head to keep them going from dawn to dusk, when to rest them, water them and see to their needs. The old collars would rub sores on their shoulders, and they could easily over-drink at the water trough if you did not watch them. Most farmers treated their horses like family members and saw to their needs as they would their own children.

Dorothy and Al have two children, Dawn, who recently passed away, and Gale. Both girls were active in 4-H and were ribbon winners in a variety of barns at the fairgrounds.

“It was a great way for all of us to get away from the farm for a while. We would also take off for the lake on the weekends after planting to water ski — little time for vacations for farmers,” she told me.

Dorothy participated in the tractor pull at the Newton County Fair one year.

“Only one,” she said, “I really didn’t like it.”

Life Lessons

Dorothy ran for a position on the North Newton School Board and sat on the board from July 1970 through June 1986 and returned in July 1994 through June 2002.

Dorothy is very grateful toward a member of the teaching staff at St. Anne who encouraged her to finish high school. She feels that by serving on the school board, she was able to give something back to her community that gave her so much during her lifetime.

Al passed away in 2003 at the age of 81. For the next 16 years, 600 acres of their farm would be tended by Dorothy alone — except for the planting.

She felt she just could not handle it and hired out for help. She loved sitting in the tractor in the spring preparing the fields.

In fact, she still has one of her favorite tractors sitting in the barn. It is the first tractor they purchased, an IH 450 purchased in 1945.

“I just can’t sell it. It means too much for me. I love that tractor,” she said.

They harvested their fields initially with a Cockshut self-propelled combine, but when the John Deere 9600s came out, the Molsons were sold on it.

“It was amazing, you didn’t have to get out and clean out the back to get rid of all the chaff that would clog up. You simply pushed a pedal on the floor, backed it up and it would all come out,” she explained.

She enjoyed harvesting and seeing the bounty of their work at the end of the season.

“It makes it all worthwhile to do it yourself,” she said. “You achieve a great sense of satisfaction and can sleep well each night, knowing you have done a good day’s work.”

When asked if she had any advice to those wanting to become a farmer, she smiled and said, “It’s a good profession — very satisfying, but you have to be discipline yourself and use common sense.”

After a health issue two years ago, she came home to the farm to work the fields and discovered the hired help for planting had already prepped the fields. This was very disappointing to her on many levels and decided that it was time to let it go.

And she did.

But her heart and soul remain in the fields with each passing spring and fall.

Beth Bassett is an account executive with AgriNews Publications.