49 Third St. SE, PO Box 1278, Huron, SD 57350 • Ph: 605-352-6401 • Fax: 605-353-7457
Reflections from the heart
BY: CRYSTAL PUGSLEY
Monday, Dec 13th, 2010
“The secret to life is to hang around until you get used to it.”
It began last January when Ben Radcliffe decided to write down all the changes he has seen in his 95 years of life. Six months and 200 typewritten pages later, Radcliffe’s original journal of memories was released in the form of his first book, “And That’s The Way It Was.”
Radcliffe, president emeritus of the South Dakota Farmers Union, said he wanted to write this book to preserve his earliest memory of riding in a horse-drawn buggy with his mother as she drove to the voting place in 1920 to cast her first vote. He was 4 years old.
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Ben Radcliffe of Huron holds a copy of his new book, “And That’s The Way It Was,” that was recently published. The book is a collection of memories covering his life, his family and his memorable strides through the South Dakota Farmers Union to help the family farmers. He has book signings planned in Tulare, Redfield and Huron this month.
PHOTO BY CRYSTAL PUGSLEY/PLAINSMAN |
“My kids have been urging me to write the story of my life, my childhood and all my experiences in the legislature and the Farmers Union,” Radcliffe said. “Last winter I was reading a book written by Larry King. It looked like the right format and it was my turn to start to write.
“I began in January and continued writing for about six months,” he said. “I was surprised it didn’t take longer. It comes from my heart. I bear my soul, my life, my wife, my disappointment, my first wife dying.”
Radcliffe has three book signings planned, beginning at Heartland State Bank in Tulare from 1 to 3 p.m. Tuesday; Redfield Carnegie Library from 1 to 3 p.m. on Dec. 18; and at the Huron Public Library from 1 to 3 p.m. on Dec. 19.
“I’ve seen a lot of advancements in the industry and men walking on the moon, but the most interesting advancement I’ve seen is what happened in agriculture,” Radcliffe said. “I farmed 20 years. I worked and urged the land to produce as much as I could and got 50 bushels an acre.
“On this same land, many years later, using a big tractor, satellite-guided, and in the fall he harvests 150 bushels an acre. I’m sort of envious. That is a major improvement, and, of course, we need that corn to feed the world. It’s an amazing story to tell that I’ve seen over the years.”
His former secretary at the South Dakota Farmers Union, Mary Davis, transcribed his handwritten pages for print.
“It started out like a pamphlet,” Davis said. “Last January, on my birthday, he handwrote and brought over his first pages.
“I could read his writing,” she added, laughing. “I got it typed and e-mail it to him. He’d call me back and we’d make changes. It kept going that way. There isn’t a farmer in the state of South Dakota right now who should not be thinking Ben Radcliffe and his efforts to save the family farm.”
Radcliffe’s book covers everything from dust storms of the 1930s, fashions of the 1920s, and personal reflections of raising his children, his passion for photography — which has earned him many a blue ribbon at the State Fair — and his devotion to his grandchildren.
“Grandchildren are like thieves in the night. They come and steal your heart and you are never the same again.”
“It’s an amazing story to tell that I’ve seen over the years,” Radcliffe said. “Ninety five years of history from 1915 to 2010. There’s a lot of stuff between the pages.
For the complete article see the 12-12-2010 issue. Click here to purchase an electronic version of the 12-12-2010 paper. | 
