GENTRY — What better way to enjoy the spirit of St. Valentine’s Day than to share the story of a local couple whose love and partnership have spanned more than fifty years?
When Drexel Hall and Barbara Howerton married in October, 1960, they knew early on that teamwork would be a necessity. This would be a challenge at times considering their very different backgrounds. Barbara lived in Siloam Springs where she graduated from high school. As a teenager she worked with her parents in the family’s grocery store, enjoyed art and, with her mother’s encouragement, learned everything she could about sewing. After high school, she enrolled at John Brown University and chose a business major over art since it seemed the best path to a career. She continued to develop her sewing skills.
At this point, she had not met Drexel Hall, a Gentry farm boy who had figured out early what he needed to know to generate a living. Learning to make his own way was a necessity because he had lost both his parents to pneumonia within one month of each other when he was only six years old. His grandmother raised him until he was 10. He then went to live with the Shields Family on Fairmont Road. This becameDrexel’s second family and he continues to feel grateful to have had “two sets of good parents in his life.”
He helped out on the Shields’ farm and began to develop his business skills. He started by buying a cow and leading it home because he had no way to haul it. He worked his way up to buying and selling cattle by the truck load. He also raised chickens and bought farm equipment, purchased a farm, learned to auctioneer and bought part interest in a sale barn, all before his high school graduation in Gentry in 1952.
In addition, Drexel was an ace baseball pitcher. He played in a tri-state league and eventually caught the attention of the St. Louis Cardinals, who recruited him after a trial game in which he struck out every batter who faced him that evening, including Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris. Lured by an attractive signon bonus, Drexel agreed to a contract with the Cardinals with the understanding that he first would fulfill his duty to the army. However, just days before he was to ship overseas, he was involved in a tragic hunting accident that left him with severe facial wounds and cost him the sight in his left eye.
After his recovery, he attempted to pitch again but the loss of vision proved to be too much of a hindrance. He gave up his baseball dreams but continued dealing in cattleand other operations and even tried his luck at riding bucking broncos and bulls in rodeos. He added a hundred-head dairy herd to his endeavors and that kept him closer to home, although he was still conducting other business. He did all this by the time he was in his mid-twenties.
Meanwhile, Barbara was in her second year of college and staying busy with her studies and social activities. She was approached after a Sadie Hawkins party by a friend who wanted her to meet Drexel. Even with her hair in pig tails and black freckles painted on her face, Drexel thought she “still looked pretty good.” They were introduced but, with their busy schedules, finding time to date proved challenging.
As fate would have it, they later ran into each other at Barnett’s Dairyette in Siloam Springs one evening and had a chance to talk long enough to set up a date. After that, they would sometimes go out for a soft drink late after Drexel had finished the milking but the tired farmer had trouble staying awake if they went to see a movie.
Although initially unsure if she would “take to the farm,” Drexel decided within a few months to buy a ring and propose to Barbara on her birthday. They wed that fall with Barbara, naturally, sewing her own wedding dress and accessories.
Barbara then dedicated herself to learning the ropes of being a fulltime farm wife. With no prior farm experience, she learned, however, she could and got her share of teasing from the neighbor farmers as she figured things out, sometimes by trial and error. She found that reading farming magazines helped some. Drexel took care of the milking and Barbara bottle-fed the baby calves, sometimes having up to one hundred at a time to care for. The liquid feed was mixed in an old Maytag washing machine and Barbara had a system in place to get all the hungry mouths fed.
The Halls eventually added three daughters and a son to their family. They kept the dairy for about 25 years, until the mid-1970s when they moved from the farm into Gentry. Over the years Barbara continued her passion for sewing by making clothes and costumes for their children. She also sewed for others and specialized in formalwear alteration. Drexel continued his interest in cattle.
Throughout their 50-plus years together, their partnership has remained strong. Through every phase of their lives, the couple has found ways to help and support each other. When the kids were young, Barbara made sure they got to see their father at night, even when it meant staying up a little later until he came in from milking.
Barbara was always available to assist when an extra person was needed to get something done on the farm. In exchange, Drexel repaired things for her inside the house.
A few years ago, Drexel decided to build a small house next to theirs for Barbara’s mother and then took an active role in caring for her the six years she lived there.
Now that the sight in Drexel’s right eye is significantly fading and Barbarais finding it necessary to use a walker to get around, the couple continues to depend upon each other for help as their partnership takes new turns. She servesas his eyes by getting his medication out for him and other things he cannot see to do. Drexel helps carry in groceries after Barbara’s trips to the grocery store.
Community News, Pages 8 on 02/15/2012