Ernest Wiebe named as 2021 Pioneer Day Parade Marshall
Ernest Isaac Wiebe was born May 22, 1921, in Hooker, Oklahoma, and will soon be 100 years young. He has invested his entire life in the Panhandle and his Mennonite heritage is rich with agriculture. His father, Isaac, and mother, Nettie (Cornelson) Wiebe, lived in Adams most of their lives where they farmed with their seven children. The family farm was homesteaded by Earnest's grandfather, Abraham Cornelson, over 100 years ago in August 1920. Before coming to America, Ernest's ancestors lived in Germany and migrated to Russia at the request of the Czar because of their agricultural expertise. His family along with many others in the Mennonite community, immigrated to North America for the sake of religious liberty in the late 1800s and early 1900s. His father came to this country as a little boy, in fact, the family story is that he may have been carried in as a baby in a shoe box.
Ernest grew up on the family farm which he now owns and lived there for more than 85 years only moving into Guymon a few years ago. He attended school in Adams, Oklahoma, and was a member of the Adams Mennonite Brethren Church. Ernest remembers the days when his father still farmed with horses. He tells of using a harrow behind a team of horses. He had to walk behind the harrow, not having been allowed to ride on it because his father would constantly remind him “that would be too hard on the horses”. Ernest's daily chores on the farm included milking the cows, and cleaning the barn and chicken coop. They raised cattle, pigs, and chickens and grew wheat and corn. They also had an orchard producing apples, plums and apricots.
Ernest's operation included both farming and raising cattle. His youngest son, Jerry Wiebe, continues the family farming operation. It has survived the worse years of the Great Depression, a time of severe economic hardship and the Dust Bowl days. The Dust Bowl years saw many days that were as black as midnight in the middle of the day because of the dust that came rolling in. Ernest has told stories of how his mother taped plastic over the windows, but the dirt still came in the house, and had to be taken out with shovels. He said that a 4-to-6 bushel per acre wheat crop was all they could raise because of the drought and poor farming methods. That only provided enough grain to use as seed for the next year. Over the course of the worst years of the Dust Bowl, Ernest's father traveled west to California and up the coast to Oregon and Washington looking for a place to relocate the family. He came home and told the family he had found a place for them to move near Bellingham, Washington, The very next day it rained and the Wiebe family stayed in Adams. Character and diligence saw them through those very difficult days.
Ernest first saw his future wife, Dorothy (Schroeder) when she was in the nursery at the Adams Mennonite Brethren Church. They were only children when he told everyone “I will marry that girl”. Ernest and Dorothy were married in Adams on May 7, 1944. After they were married they were the first couple to sit together in the church where traditionally men and women sat on opposite sides of the sanctuary. That caused heads to turn.
Dorothy had an active role on the farm helping with planting wheat and corn, driving tractors, and raising their three boys, Keith, Lloyd and Jerry. In their early years of marriage, she had to do many of the chores
by hand as electricity did not come to the farm until the late 40s. She also helped cook meals for the crew during harvests. The boys all played a crucial part in the expansion of the farm.
Ernest did not always have plans to take over the family farm. He planned to attend college in Colorado for engineering, but he could not afford the cost of college. Instead, he began farming with his father. When Ernest began to take over the family farm, Isaac, his father, sold him a tractor, a pair of swing plows and a swayback drill which Ernest said was “about to fall apart” all for $1,000. He started farming three quarters of land near the house with the equipment he purchased from his father.
During years when the drought was long and it was difficult to make a profit farming, Ernest would work several jobs to help make ends meet. He worked as a welder for Tradewind Industries in Liberal, Kansas, and as a contract pumper in the oil field for Panhandle Easter Pipeline Company. His welding skills and his can-do attitude were very valuable on the farm as well, resulting in a grain box for his truck, custom made in his garage.
The Wiebe crew was well known in the custom harvesting wheat fields in Kansas and Nebraska. Their work ethic was noteworthy, as was Ernest’s commitment not to do optional farm work on Sundays. While the wheat harvest represented a oncea-year paycheck, it was not harvested on Sundays in his fields nor in those for whom he did custom cutting, even though other crews worked seven days a week. Ernest and his crew went home on Saturday nights so they could attend church, then they returned to the harvest fields first thing Monday morning. He gives testimony that to his knowledge no farmer whose wheat he was cutting ever lost any of the wheat crop because his crew returned home for church on Sundays. He tells the story of a hail storm coming through on a Saturday night, but the hail stopping at the fence line before the field they were cutting.
Farming is not an easy way of life. Droughts, and economic hardship made many years difficult. One year, Ernest went to the sale barn in Texhoma to sell catttle. He was considering selling the farm and quitting farming. A man he didn’t know sat down beside him and started talking about the farm. The man said “Just keep planting corn”. That encouraged Ernest so he kept planting corn and the farm began to turn around and thrive. Faith and trust in the Lord kept Ernest going during challenging times. Ernest drilled his first irrigation well in 1965, utilizing flood irrigation and the farm started expanding. He started buying farm equipment that was more efficient and being able to irrigate the fields totally changed the way he farmed. He planted wheat, corn, milo, and occasionally sunflowers. One year, he even planted turnips in the corn to help feed the cattle. He has seen farming improve with the innovation of irrigation, constantly improved equipment and no-till farming methods. Ernest has greatly enjoyed being involved in farming that has evolved from horse-drawn equipment to lug-tired tractrs to 4-wheel drive equipment with comfortable heated and air conditioned cabs, to the introduction of the digital age into agriculture leading to GPS self-steering equipment and remote controlled irrigation systems.
While Ernest’s name is on the legal deed of the farm, he has long regarded God as the ultimate owner. His home was always open to his pastor and to visiting missionaries. Often times in prayer, he would ask God to “Bless us as much as is good for us.” He continually points to the best decision he ever made was giving his life to the Lord and asking the Lord to be his Savior. He will also tell you his second best decision was marrying Dorothy. God has indeed blessed him greatly. Ernest has responded to that blessing with a spirit of generosity that was demonstrated among other ways by often donating a truckload of wheat to help others have enough to eat.
As an active member of the community, Ernest was elected to the board of the Adams School District where he served for many years. He also served as a deacon in the First Baptist Church in Hooker where both he and Dorothy were active members, serving together and raising their family to do the same.
Ernest was married for 62 years to Dorothy Schroeder Wiebe until her death in 2006. He has been married for the last 14 years to Mary Farmer Wiebe whose family is also an integrall part of the Panhandle life. They made their home in Guymon recently residing in the Heritage Community Assisted Living Facility, with plans to continue their life in the Pioneer Manor in Hugoton, Kansas. His youngest son, Jerry and his wife, Beth are now running the family farm along with the help of their children. Over the past few years, both Keith and Lloyd have come back to help their brother, Jerry, with wheat and corn harvest.
Ernest enjoying sharing stories and memories of his days growing up in Adams. Grandchildren and great-grandchildren enjoy hearing about Grandpa Wiebe’s rich heritage and stories. While his family is now spread out across the nation, from Seattle, Washington to Huntington, West Virginia, they all know their roots started in the Panhandle of Oklahoma, near a small town named Adams on a small family farm.
While farming has changed over the years, Ernest’s family dedication and their faith in God has never wavered. All of Ernest’s family plan to be here to help celebrate his special Pioneer Days and his 100th birthday.