My Other Mother: Bev Turner
There are people put in your life God intends you to interact with, Bev Turner was one such lady. Her life story goes back before the birth of my parents. My Grandmother Rhita Sweet went through a separation and divorce and needed a job. Bev stepped up and got her a job in Kalamazoo. She held that job for about thirty years. Grandma Sweet was a secretary when they typed on a manual knuckle-busting typewriter. She had bent fingers and she could type about 120 words a minute. I can get about twenty words a minute and could do better if I had more index fingers.
Bev intentionally finished third in her Gobles High School class. She did not want to give any speeches. Bev grew up in Kendall, Michigan, an eastern suburb of Gobles. Actually, it was a village in its own right but it lacked a high school. It was a farming community. Back in the twenties and thirties, they grew a lot of mint and other produce crops. My dad's family lived in Kendall also. They farmed crops and animals as most did back then. He would tell of mint distilling accidents from steam, plugged pressure valves and cooling the spearmint oils. They used horses as well as tractors then. Farming was and is still a dangerous occupation.
Bev met her husband Jack and they moved to Lawton, MI. They had a grape farm where they contracted to the Michigan Wineries plant in Lawton. They also started raising and showing Shorthorn beef cattle. They had three children, Linda, Sandra, and Randy. Our families reconnected when I was in high school. Those that have raised families understand the daily pressures of living. Your immediate family tends to get you into a different orbit and you loose track of friends.
I was lucky to meet the Turners in my formative years. They taught me lessons I use to this day. Perseverance in the face of trouble, loyalty to family, to solve a problem and not to be one are a few that come to mind. A good stockman learns how to treat livestock with compassion and to feed them first. Jack used to haul his fat cattle to the Chicago Stockyards. Halstead Street and John Updike are intricate with the yards. I was fortunate to visit the stockyards and saw the vastness of it all. The yards have become but a memory if they are more than a tourist view now.
Linda was my first serious girlfriend. As a male, I never did figure out why it did not work. I doubt diagramming it now would help. I had the pleasure of escorting Sandy to a Prom at Lawton High. I am proud to tell you I had no desire to date Randy.
Between all the fun times, Bev was the touchstone people turned to. Bev always gave the best advice, she would be quiet as needed and she to my knowledge would keep a confidence forever. Bev was the additional mentor and Mom we all need. Bev was a complement to my birth mother. Sometimes I think Mom and Bev would tag team me. Bev was a lady with multiple talents. She always did it right. She would stand there and give you the "eye", point her moving, well-directed finger up and making you feel a bit down in size. She did give a good scolding if you deserved it. She also gave unshakable love. Her faith in people might have wavered once in awhile but was solid. Once she decided you were in her inner circle, it was permanent. Bev had this incredible mothering drive. She would help in all the ways that she could. She made sure her 4-H kids were ready for projects and would insure they were ready and qualified for trips or awards. Bev was a mixer and a catalyst. She put people in a room and they would warm up to each other and become friends.
I went to numerous auctions, cattle shows, and Shorthorn association picnics with them. I learned how to judge cattle and a bit about people along the way. Things started getting not so fun with grapes and the herd was getting bigger.
In 1968, two years after I started college, they decided to move to Dafter, MI. This is about thirty miles south of the Upper Peninsula Locks. The farm they bought was in clover country. Clover would grow on a volunteer basis from previous crops. Cattle did well and they had a run in shed to get out of the weather. The first year or so they did fine on the hay stored up. They decided to run down to Battle Creek Farm Bureau and get a load of winter protein for the cow calf operation. If you are putting the timeline together and you remember the PBB fire retardant poison that got into cattle feed you are right on. This disorder caused cows to have a gestation period of two months longer and resulted in an impossible delivery. Starvation was from excessive hoof growth that impaired them from walking and grazing. Cattle were "depopulated" to a place like Kalkaska. They turned up their shirtsleeves and went to work cleaning up the property. They removed the six to eight inches of soil around the barns and yards. They hauled in new fresh soil, tore out old wooden feed bunks, and trashed the grain mixer used to mix the concentrate with corn as it had crevices that were impossible to clean.
They followed the "rules" for cleaning and passed the Michigan inspection. New equipment and new cattle purchased. It turned out the State of Michigan and Dept of Ag had no idea how to clean up PBB. The new cattle picked up this toxin also. I saw the last of their cattle and it broke my heart to see both owners and cows suffering. Bev and Jack were optimistic, they had to raise cattle on different ground and they did.
Jack passed away in 1996. Bev moved in with family. They nicknamed her "meals on wheels". She was a wonderful cook and immersed with her family. Bev was a huge source of comfort, love and security to those that loved her. Bev passed away 11/16/2009.
Bev you are the best. I cherish the time with you and just being your friend. May God keep you in the palm of His hand as you share eternity with Jack.
Love as always, Mike.
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