Passing down a family farming tradition
BY IRISH WILLIAMS
PLEASANT GROVE - It’a a
daily thanksgiving. It’s that unique
agrarian blood component that
doctors have not been able to
isolate or identify, that compels
those raised on a farm to return to
their roots. It’s the closeness to
neighbors, nature, and creation.
And it’s a parent’s desire to see
their children carry on a family
tradition, a way of life.
It’s all these things that in a
miraculous fashion weave together
the fabric that gives the family
farm strength and unity enough to
endure, even through the toughest
farming times.
It is without a doubt this very
farming heritage that fills the
Charles Tindall family with pride
as they speak of the generations of
their family that have farmed their
160 acre farm in the small village
of Pleasant Grove.
Charles “Chick” Tindall, his
wife, Labertha, and two of their
Farm remains
(Contirfued from Page A 24)
the farm with his family.
In addition to fanning, Clarence
is self-employed as a painter. He
said the small size of the farm
lends itself to his two occupations,
explaining that as little as it (the
farm) is, he can keep painting and
vice versa.
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This 32-acre farm, owned by Clarence Shearer Jr., Washington Boro, has been in the
Hershey family name for 101 years.
children, Jeff and Belinda, still
live in the house that was occupied
by the first of Chick’s ancestors to
own the farm. A third son, Rick,
lives nearby and works as a car
penter.
Only three miles north of the
Mason-Dixon line the stone and
brick house is rich with history.
Made of native stone, the original
stone farmhouse was built in 1814.
In his farming operation,
Clarence continues to grow the
crops his great-great-grandfather
raised. He also raises feeder cattle
which he sells in the fall.
Just being together as a family is
one reason why the Hershey family
descendants have stayed on the
The walls were laid up with mud
mortar, and could only be raised
three feet at a time, allowing the
mud mortar to dry and set com
pletely before building higher. An
addition was later constructed of
conventional mortar and soft
brick. The complete structure
consists of more than 30 rooms.
The house and adjacent “double
decker” bam have Peach Bottom
slate roofs. Jeremiah B. Haines
was the original owner of the
house. He used the brick addition
as a store from 1822 to 1843. For a
time, around 1824 the residence
was known as Huttons Tavern,
serving both local residents and
visitors traveling by boat on the
nearby Susquehanna River.
Silas S. Herr, Tindall’s maternal
great grandfather and his brother
David bought the farm in 1882. The
Herr brothers lived on the farm for
year prior to the purchase, paying
a widow’s dower to the widow of
(Turn to Page A 26)
farm. “We’re happy here,”
Clarence said and added with a
laugh, “They’ll probably have to
carry me away from here.”
Until then, Clarence said he
plans to keep improving the farm
and keep it stable. Adding a
meadow fence and continuing to
modernize both the farm buildings
and the house, built in 1835, are just
some of his goals.
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■enter Farming, Saturday, November 26,1983—A25
Labertha, have a love of the farm and home that has been in
their family for 101 years. It will be up to them to uphold the
family farming tradition.
on the Tindall farm is made
of hand hewn beams and wooden pins. Charles believes it
was built over 150 years ago, and it is still used today for
replacement heifers.
Elizabeth Shearer, left, and her daughter-in-law, Grace
Shearer, represent the fourth and fifth generations to live on
the farm purchased by Elizabeth’s great-grandfather, Jacob
Hershey.