Service in MCC, MDS big part of farmer's life
Staff writer
At the age of 75, Paul Suderman still pursues his love of the land, but now he farms as "a hobby."
Born in November of 1926 in the Ebenfeld area of rural Hillsboro, Suderman grew up on the family farm where he now lives.
He graduated from Hillsboro High School in 1944. From 1947 to 1949, he attended Tabor College.
In 1949, he volunteered to go to Germany to serve for two years through the Mennonite Central Committee.
While in Germany, he met his future wife, Elda Ensz of California, who was on a summer tour at a work camp there.
"We wrote letters to each other for one and half years, which led to our marriage," Suderman said.
On April 5, 1952, in Reedley, Calif., they were married. The couple celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary last Friday.
"She was a California school teacher, and I brought her home with me to Kansas," Suderman said.
The couple lived in Hillsboro for one year while his wife taught third grade at Hillsboro Elementary School.
"I did some carpentry work," Suderman said. "Then we rented a farmhouse and moved out to the country."
In 1954, Suderman became a full-time farmer.
In 1960, when his parents moved from the farm to town, the couple moved in and took over the family farm.
Suderman said he has seen some significant changes in farming, growing up on the farm and then farming full-time as an adult.
The most significant change, he said, was in the 1930s when the family farm went from farming with horses to using a tractor.
"I bought my first small combine in 1938," Suderman said. "It cost me $675."
Suderman said that area neighbors had a threshing ring. One neighbor owned the machine which would be brought to the area farms. Each neighbor would bring their bundles of wheat in a horse-drawn wagon, and the wheat was placed in the threshing machine.
"Sometimes those straw piles would get 15 feet high," he said.
Another change Suderman has seen throughout the years has been in the area of plowing.
"In the early years we used to plow and prepare the field for the next year," Suderman said. "In July, we'd plow up the ground and disk it, and then in September or October we'd plant the wheat."
Suderman said the trend now is leaning toward "no-till" farming. With this method the ground is not over worked, and the soil does not erode as much.
Suderman said another significant difference in farming he has seen is the better quality of seed and the use of fertilizer.
"When I was a kid, we didn't use any fertilizer on the crops," Suderman said.
He said there are also not as many weeds as there were in the past because of today's pesticides.
Suderman feels farming is a much greater risk now than it was before, especially for the small-time family farmer.
"Land prices are expensive, machine costs are high, but the wheat and other grain prices haven't risen to correspond with those costs," he said.
Suderman said he has cut back on how much land he farms.
"I'm farming for a hobby now, he said. "It doesn't make much money for me — I just enjoy doing it."
Living in the Ebenfeld area most of his life, Suderman has been a member of Ebenfeld Mennonite Brethren Church since 1936. He has served in several positions for those 64 years as a member.
He has served as a Sunday school junior high teacher, and he and wife Elda, have served as a deacon couple for 20 years at Ebenfeld.
He has served on the Parkside Homes and Hillsboro Community Medical Center board of directors.
He currently serves as the Ebenfeld contact person for MCC.
Suderman said this is his passion. He said he was the first person in the Ebenfeld congregation to go to serve in MCC, and he has influenced other family members to become involved.
"MCC has always been a part of my life," he said. "From that very first assignment in Germany, seeing the needs of people, I always wanted to serve through MCC and Mennonite Disaster Services in some way. I saw that MCC and MDS brought different Mennonites together — helping in the name of Christ."
The couple has traveled to help in disaster relief efforts through MDS to places such as Arkansas, Texas, Nebraska, and places in Kansas.
Suderman said practicing peace and church life is special to him.
Suderman manages to have a few hobbies, besides "farming." He enjoys playing shuffle board and playing table games.
"We're a game playing family," he said smiling.
Suderman and his wife, Elda, who is a retired social worker and now helps on the farm full-time, have four children.
Greg Suderman and his wife Beth live in Elkhart, Ind. Greg works as a hospice social worker, and Beth is a school teacher.
Ron and Dena Braun live in North Newton, where Ron works as MCC director and Dena is a registered nurse at Newton Medical Center in the maternity ward.
Barry and Elaine Suderman live in Tulsa, Okla. Barry is a self-employed contractor, and his wife works as the bookkeeper for the business.
Nick and Ronda King of Mexico City, Mexico, are serving a four-year term as MCC workers.
The couple have eight grandchildren and one great-grandson.
