Harvest saved this farmer
October was the best time to lose a leg
By Tim Gallagher, Journal columnist | Posted: Thursday, October 23, 2008
Bill Smith, 58, is shown with his brother, Lowell Smith, 54, at their shed north of Aurelia, Iowa. The Smiths are in the midst of harvesting 1,000 acres of corn and soybeans in Cherokee County. Bill Smith lost the lower portion of both legs five years ago due to peripheral artery disease. (Photo by Tim Gallagher)
AURELIA, Iowa -- As our version of a Nor'easter pounded unpicked fields Wednesday, Bill Smith shrugged and sighed. "Whaddya gonna do about it?" he asked. "You can worry, but that won't help."
The little things, the big things, none of 'em rattle Smith, a 58-year-old surpassing expectations by the day. "A doctor told me when I was in high school that I probably wouldn't live beyond 42," he said. "Guess I made it this far."
He's done more than that. Smith combined a full field and transported two trucks of 200-bushel corn to the elevator at nearby Larrabee on Tuesday, beating the rain for a start on his corn harvest. With the weather downright dreadful Wednesday, he spent the day indoors, fine-tuning plans for upcoming construction projects.
Smith isn't just a grain farmer. He's a contractor, having built 17 geodesic dome houses, dozens of livestock confinement structures, grain bins and pole buildings. He currently employs a half-dozen people.
Losing the bottom half of both legs five years ago slowed him, but only temporarily. Surgeons took the lower half of his right leg first. Happened as harvest began.
"Losing my leg this time of year probably saved me," said Smith. "I think I climbed back into the combine 14 days after surgery. It was pretty much just me and brother Lowell at the time. I couldn't sit around and mope."
He lost the bottom of his left leg nine months later, both the result of peripheral artery disease, a condition enhanced by Smith's 35-year reliance on steroids for severe asthma. He has since lost four fingers on his right hand and has been diagnosed with diabetes.
Smith called himself the "runt" of his parents' six children.
"I've probably spent a good year of my life in a hospital bed," he said. "I can't imagine how much my parents spent on me."
Asthma caused him to miss his senior class party at Washington High in Cherokee. It required him to be placed in a room at Iowa State University close to the campus medical facility.
He endured and earned a degree in industrial education. He came home to farm, but realized the pie wasn't big enough for three brothers to share.
"So I started in the construction business," he said. "I began building geodesic domes because there was too much competition for regular frame housing. I've now been in construction 40 years."
He kept a hand in farming and now raises 1,000 acres of corn and soybeans with brother Lowell, 54.
"He amazes us," said Lowell, who spent Wednesday fixing one of their three International combines. "Bill had a couple of stents put in his heart a year ago and I think he's feeling better than he has for years. He climbs up and down the combine all the time."
Their "newest" combine is an 18-year-old International 1680 that travels up and down the field at 3.9 miles per hour. The brothers paid $40,000 for it this year
Smith drove out to the field Wednesday and sat to look at it standing idly in the rain. "It's a dreamboat," he said with a wide smile.
Beyond his business and construction acumen -- and his determination -- I was amazed by his mode of transport. Smith walks on his knees, preferring this over his prosthetic legs. The drawback? He wears holes through the knees of his coveralls almost every week.
To save the wear and tear on his body -- and his coveralls -- Smith buys more than 20 thick sweaters at Goodwill Industries each year.
"I cut the sleeves off and pull them up my legs like socks," he said.
Necessity is the mother of this man's invention: Ye Olde Sweater Sleeve Socks.
And when an old sweater develops a giant hole, Bill Smith reaches into his giant basket for another. He'll pull two or three up each leg, especially on bone-chilling, damp days like Wednesday.
"I usually try to at least get the outside pair to match," he said. "I want some semblance of coordination."
If he doesn't, he'll sigh and shrug. Socks that don't match won't rattle Bill Smith.
About Mr. Smith
Name: Bill Smith
Age: 58
Residence: Aurelia, Iowa
Family: Wife Anne and children Alisa, Weston and Beckett
Job: Farmer/contractor
Hobby: Restores and builds old cars
Quotable: "A carpenter spends his life building an epitaph. I don't want mine to be blank."
The little things, the big things, none of 'em rattle Smith, a 58-year-old surpassing expectations by the day. "A doctor told me when I was in high school that I probably wouldn't live beyond 42," he said. "Guess I made it this far."
He's done more than that. Smith combined a full field and transported two trucks of 200-bushel corn to the elevator at nearby Larrabee on Tuesday, beating the rain for a start on his corn harvest. With the weather downright dreadful Wednesday, he spent the day indoors, fine-tuning plans for upcoming construction projects.
Smith isn't just a grain farmer. He's a contractor, having built 17 geodesic dome houses, dozens of livestock confinement structures, grain bins and pole buildings. He currently employs a half-dozen people.
Losing the bottom half of both legs five years ago slowed him, but only temporarily. Surgeons took the lower half of his right leg first. Happened as harvest began.
"Losing my leg this time of year probably saved me," said Smith. "I think I climbed back into the combine 14 days after surgery. It was pretty much just me and brother Lowell at the time. I couldn't sit around and mope."
He lost the bottom of his left leg nine months later, both the result of peripheral artery disease, a condition enhanced by Smith's 35-year reliance on steroids for severe asthma. He has since lost four fingers on his right hand and has been diagnosed with diabetes.
Smith called himself the "runt" of his parents' six children.
"I've probably spent a good year of my life in a hospital bed," he said. "I can't imagine how much my parents spent on me."
Asthma caused him to miss his senior class party at Washington High in Cherokee. It required him to be placed in a room at Iowa State University close to the campus medical facility.
He endured and earned a degree in industrial education. He came home to farm, but realized the pie wasn't big enough for three brothers to share.
"So I started in the construction business," he said. "I began building geodesic domes because there was too much competition for regular frame housing. I've now been in construction 40 years."
He kept a hand in farming and now raises 1,000 acres of corn and soybeans with brother Lowell, 54.
"He amazes us," said Lowell, who spent Wednesday fixing one of their three International combines. "Bill had a couple of stents put in his heart a year ago and I think he's feeling better than he has for years. He climbs up and down the combine all the time."
Their "newest" combine is an 18-year-old International 1680 that travels up and down the field at 3.9 miles per hour. The brothers paid $40,000 for it this year
Smith drove out to the field Wednesday and sat to look at it standing idly in the rain. "It's a dreamboat," he said with a wide smile.
Beyond his business and construction acumen -- and his determination -- I was amazed by his mode of transport. Smith walks on his knees, preferring this over his prosthetic legs. The drawback? He wears holes through the knees of his coveralls almost every week.
To save the wear and tear on his body -- and his coveralls -- Smith buys more than 20 thick sweaters at Goodwill Industries each year.
"I cut the sleeves off and pull them up my legs like socks," he said.
Necessity is the mother of this man's invention: Ye Olde Sweater Sleeve Socks.
And when an old sweater develops a giant hole, Bill Smith reaches into his giant basket for another. He'll pull two or three up each leg, especially on bone-chilling, damp days like Wednesday.
"I usually try to at least get the outside pair to match," he said. "I want some semblance of coordination."
If he doesn't, he'll sigh and shrug. Socks that don't match won't rattle Bill Smith.
About Mr. Smith
Name: Bill Smith
Age: 58
Residence: Aurelia, Iowa
Family: Wife Anne and children Alisa, Weston and Beckett
Job: Farmer/contractor
Hobby: Restores and builds old cars
Quotable: "A carpenter spends his life building an epitaph. I don't want mine to be blank."
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Ryan wrote on Oct 24, 2008 10:24 PM:
rjh "
Grant wrote on Oct 23, 2008 9:36 AM: