The Independent-News, Volume 94, Number 2, Walkerton, St. Joseph County, 6 June 1968 — Page 3

VOLUME »4, NUMBER 2

Never to be forgotten is his recording of “16 Tons” shortly after breaking into radio, which, at hat time was to be the fastest and biggest seller n the history of the record business. “16 Tons” Lid 1,000,000 copies within three weeks and went Ln to sell 2,000,000 in nine weeks. The original has ong passed the 4,000,000 mark. “Man alive!” Ernie explained in his Tennessee Irawl, on one program after his guest singer finished. “When that gal gets through singin’ it’s too wet to plough!” In private life Ernie Ford is as easy going as Ln old hound dog. He explains it this way. “I can hit back as contented as a June bug in a barrel of nash. Each time a check comes in it gives me the Lame feeling it used to do in hanging up another ham in the smokehouse.” Irrespective of this man’s humor about his arming background he is still a farmer at heart, Lnd an active one, too. It is a fact that Ernie’s experience does actually go back to helping his grandfather farm with nxen back in Tennessee. And that was one of his irst desires — to own some land — after he made ais first money. “And when I bought my Ranch I wasn’t much Further along than grandpappy,” Ernie explained. He hesitated, grinned, and added, “You’ll notice pow I emphasized the word ranch for out here in California everyone who owns two acres or more, and a cow or two, calls it a ranch.” After getting some money in the bank Ernie did considerable traveling around looking for a >mall farm. Not one already built into the category of a model show-off farm, like so many Hollywood stars owned, but rather one that he could use his nwn ingenuity in building up. Up in north of San Francisco he found just what he was looking for. It was a 540-acre farm. ‘Just as soon as I saw it I knew it was what I wanted,” Ernie said. “It was rolling country like my Tennessee and it had lots of trees and plenty of water.” “When I started to wreck an old shed,” continued Ernie, “a big old pack rat came out and looked me straight in the eye and said, ‘Old Ern, you go back to Tennessee and leave us alone,’ but we went right on improving the place.” Then in a serious mood he added, “I’ve always wanted to build up a herd of Hereford cattle and this was an ideal place — climate, pasture, shelter and an abundance of water.” It was Ernie’s idea to harness one of the springs for irrigation, and to use another to supply water to the house and barn. To show Ernie was a good neighbor, and after arranging to have an abundance of water, he placed a water hydrant out by the public road for neighbors to use as well as to serve in case a fire broke out in the area. “When I was a youngster on the farm we didn’t have all this mechanized equipment,” Ernie explained. “I remember one mule that pulled a live-foot cultivator while I ‘geed’ at him to make him turn right and ‘hawed’ to go left. I had the J’eins around my neck so I could hold on to the plow handle with both hands.” “Have your farming and livestock projects been successful ventures?” Ernie was asked. “Yes, I reckon they’ve been,” he answered. His ‘yes sparkled. His forehead wrinkled. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “You know,”

WALKERTON, INDIANA. THURSDAY, JUNE 6. 1968

farmers are alike and often expect too much for we always put down a milk pail that will hold more milk than the cow can give.” Ernie then went on and explained that his ranch wasn’t bought for a place to escape to but that it offered a challenge to him to improve the property and build it, as well as his livestock project, into an overall, money making enterprise. Since starting his first farming and ranching project he has expanded it considerably. The Ford family live in a ranch type home in Portola Valley, 45 miles from San Francisco, and within easy driving distance to their ranch. Their sons, Brion and Jeff, are now away at school much of the time. “Our little ranch had another fine quality, too,” Ernie said. “It was an ideal place where we could take our two young sons so they could be closer to nature and realize that there were other great things besides freeways and supermarkets.” The farm has not been exactly a vacation spot, for when Ernie, his wife Betty, and the two boys arrived at the farm, everyone got into the act and worked. Ernie tells seriously that their farm is a place of security, for he and his family would move there should anything happen to his professional career. This is of course quite remote! For there isn’t another individual in the entertainment world who is more sought after than Tennessee Ernie Ford. “Someday, I won’t be as busy as a worm in a bucket of hot ashes, in fact, I’m just apt to slow up,” he said. “Come to think about it you’ve never seen a coffin with pockets in it. So I guess I won’t worry, for worry never helped a crop or a calf or even a comedian. I’m a farm boy through and through and after my singin’ and funnin’ is over I’ll be going back to the country. I’ll catch up on my huntin’ then. My idea of huntin’ is an old mule and an old Long Tom shot gun, a pair of bib overalls, and watchin’ squirrels cutting hickory nuts and spittin’ the shells down from the tree tops.”

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