NORTH MANCHESTER - Emery Schilling dedicated his life to raising livestock and growing crops; however, he never thought his life would be as fruitful as his work.
Schilling, a retired Huntington County livestock and crop farmer, celebrated his 102nd birthday June 15 at Peabody Retirement Community, North Manchester. He has been a resident of the retirement community since 2005.
Schilling said he never gave it much thought that he would live to be 102, but he said he is glad God has kept him on Earth this long.
He is known around the retirement community for wearing his signature white baseball hat that has a patch that says "Pioneer Seed Corn." He said the hat was given to him as a gift from a Pioneer Seed Corn salesman 25 years ago.
He can hear well, but has difficulty with his sight. He uses a wheelchair to get around at Peabody, where he is in the Alzheimer's memory enhancement unit.
He said he is proud of his accomplishments as a livestock and crop farmer and raising his sons, David, of Columbia City, and Allen, of Auburn.
David, 72, has been a farmer since 1962, and Allen, 68, retired from Dana Corp.
David described his dad as always being a hard worker.
"I remember raising livestock on our farm in Whitley County and his love for farming grew on me," David said.
Allen, 68, also remembers his father as a hard physical laborer.
"It was early to bed and early to rise as I remember going to livestock auctions and helping out with milking cows," Allen said.
Schilling said he appreciated his sons' help on the farm. They raised short-horned cattle, hogs and sheep.
"We always had something to do on the farm," Schilling said.
Schilling was born June 15, 1907, in Wabash County, to Matthew and Ida Leonhardt. He had three brothers and five sisters.
Schilling graduated from Bippus High School in 1925.
Schilling said his father Matthew influenced his love of farming. He did not attend college, but started farming with his father at their home after graduating high school.
Schilling married Anna Pearl-Potts and met her when she was a school teacher. They dated approximately six months before they married June 9, 1935. She died in 1974.
A photo of him and his wife is displayed on a dresser in his room, as well as a collage of family photos of grandchildren and his sons and their families.
Schilling recalls his days of raising livestock and farming.He said he used John Deer, International and Allis-Chalmer tractors to complete his work.
He entered cattle and hogs in fairs to show and won awards in the Huntington County Fair.
Schilling said his favorite thing to grow was corn and soybeans. The best thing he liked about being a farmer was being independent and being his own boss.
He lived in Huntington County for 35 years where he raised all types of livestock including hogs, sheep, and cattle. He also grew corn, wheat, oats, and beans in Huntington County.
The family then moved to Wells County where they lived for a year and moved to Whitley County.
Emery worked as a farmer up until the last 10 years before he went to live at Peabody Retirement Community.
Judy Knecht, a Peabody Retirement Community clinical staff nurse, is one of the nurses that cares for Schilling. She said she has cared for him for a year and is amazed at how sharp he is at 102.
"Emery is as independent as he can be, and is a wonderful guy who has many stories about his farming and livestock days," Knecht said.
Schilling said advice he would give to others is that they should enjoy living their life.
"I have always lived my life by the golden rule, 'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,'" Schilling said.
