Freeds
LOU ANN GOOD
Lancaster Farming Staff
SOUDERTON (Montgomery
Co.) November 2 marks the
65th anniversary of Henry K.
and Ida Freed.
The 85-year-old couple attri
bute their long life and enduring
marriage to “hard work.”
“I put in long days, 14-16
hours or more,” Henry said of his
ag-related work and lifestyle.
Henry and Ida Freed, both 85, will celebrate 65 years
of marriage on Nov. 2.
Starting marriage in 1935,
near the end of the Great De
pression, the couple lived in
neighboring Bucks County.
Times were tough, “but like
everything else, you take a
chance,” Henry said.
“We didn’t have much, but it
didn’t take much either,” Henry
said. The newlyweds paid $l5 a
month rent for their first home.
“But it had no indoor plumb
ing, and Rt. 309 went right by
our window,” Ida said.
Henry said, “As a boy I re
member nothing (farm crops)
was worth anything during the
Depression. But we had enough
to eat even if it wasn’t what we
liked. It wasn’t like today when
you can buy whatever you want
to eat.”
Those years taught them les
sons that stayed with them for a
Some scientists believe that
how you are placed in your fami
ly may explain why you act the
way you do, like the things you
like, and have the personality
traits that make you unique.
These scientists feel birth order
contributes to how you develop
behavior patterns, ways of think
ing and emotional responses. For
example, psychologists studying
birth order often find firstborns
to be highly motivated to
achieve. Of the first 23 astro-
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Celebrate 65th Anniversary
lifetime. He said, “We learned to
live within our means.”
When first married, Henry
worked in a butcher shop for 30
years before becoming a cattle
auctioneer.
“I dealt in livestock, feeder
pigs, and cattle. Every Friday
night for 14 years, 1 sold horses
at the auction,” Henry said.
His wife stayed home with the
children while he worked long
hours.
“It was difficult when they
were little getting them settled
to bed and all,” Ida said. “They
were boys, I want to tell you!”
Ida also worked as secretary
for her husband’s auctions. “If it
rained, the phone was always
ringing with people wanting to
know if the auction was still
going to be held.”
Her husband said, “I don’t
know why they called. I never
cancelled a sale.”
The couple have four sons. A
fifth son died of a brain tumor
when he was 15 years old.
“That was a hard time,” Ida
said. “I’ll never forget how the
school treated me. Every day
they’d call here to find out why
he wasn’t in school, even though
I told them he was sick. They
What Is Birth Order?
nauts sent into outer space, 21
were firstborns or only children!
Characteristics of firstborns;
goal setters, high achievers, per
fectionists, responsible, organ
ized, determined, and detail peo
ple.
Characteristics of middle chil
dren; flexible, peacemakers, gen
erous, social, and competitive.
Characteristics of last-born
children: risk-takers, outgoing,
idea people, creative, humorous,
and often question authority.
Outdoor Furnace
called the day he died, and when
I said he wasn’t anymore, they fi
nally believed me and apolo
gized. But that didn’t make it
any easier going through that
every day.”
Sons Henry Jr., Russell,
Ralph, and Ronald have pro
duced seven grandchildren and
four great grandchildren that in
clude a set of twins.
According to Henry, a success
ful marriage requires compro
mise. He said, “It’s not all give
and not all take. It’s give and
take.”
The couple believe marriage
and life in general were easier in
the past than in this generation.
“Now there is too little
homelife with both husband
and wife working,” Hemy
said. “It’s a different society
and a different culture.”
Ida remembers she want
ed to work in the local sew
ing factory when the chil
dren were older.
“I worked there before
we had children, and I real
ly went to town sewing on
buttons. I loved it, but
Henry didn’t want me to go
back to work,” Ida said.
“So I didn’t.”
Ida is proud to say that
she always got up at 4 a.m.
to pack her husband’s lunch
and make him a big break
fast.
“But after he went to
work, I went back to bed,”
Ida said.
Henry considers himself
semi-retired, because he
continues to help his son
with general on-site and
consignment auctioneering.
“When you’re 86, you
don’t last as long,” Henry
said of long hours on the
job. Nevertheless he is up
between 4 a.m.-5 a.m., be
cause that is when he al
ways got up to work in the
butcher shop, and he never
takes a nap.
The couple are staunch
supporters of big breakfasts
that include bacon and
eggs.
“We go out for breakfast
a lot, not because it’s too
much trouble to cook but
for the social part,” Ida
said. They frequent a local
diner where they know the
owners and many of the re
tired folks who come to eat.
“We don’t eat much
candy. We didn’t have it
when we were young, and it
There are many things
that can change these char
acteristics - in fact, you may
have traits from all catego
ries. And there are other
factors to consider, like
your genetics and the envi
ronment in which you were
raised.
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doesn’t taste as good as it used to
taste,” Henry said, referring to
declining taste buds.
What Ida and Henry do eat is
a whole grapefruit everyday
both of them.
“We have our ups and downs,
but we have our health that’s
something money can’t buy,” Ida
said.
Henry tries to walk a little bit
every day, but Ida said she has
some trouble with her legs so she
doesn’t walk much, “except at
the mall, where they have lots of
benches to sit down and rest.”
Ida spends hours crocheting
bandages to send overseas. She’s
also made a quilt for each of
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crib quilts for benefit auctions.
“I never learned to drive,” Ida
said.
Together, they enjoy attending
quilt shows, taking long car
rides, and eating in restaurants.
Ida attributes their long mar
riage to taking a day at a time.
“Be sure you don’t jump into
it (marriage),” Henry said.
“Talk things over,” Ida ad
vises.
On their anniversary, the cou
ple plan to go out to eat.
“It’s just another day,” Ida
said.
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