 Ernest Joseph Stangeland
1919-1987
 Ernest's wife Lucille Marie Hudson-Stangeland
1927-1996 |
Ernest
Stangeland was the 3rd child of Emma
Kloster-Stangeland and Joseph
Stangeland. He was reared on the family farm near Ossian, Iowa. Emma and
Joseph were third generation descendants of Norwegian immigrants. They spoke
Norwegian on the farm and in the Iowa community; Ernest didn’t learn English
until he started grammar school. Their farm was primarily a dairy farm, they
maintained a herd of milk cows, raised hogs, chickens, and for a while had a
sheep herd. From when the farm was built in about 1904 until the early 1950's
draught horses were used to till the soil, plant and harvest the crops, and do
the other heavy labor. To feed the animals they grew about 100 acres of corn
and also grew alfalfa, oats, and for the family maintained a large vegetable
garden. Ernest learned farming from his father and older brother
Thomas and when he returned from his
wartime service in the Navy in 1948, he took over the farm. He farmed it
successfully until about 1954. His wife
Lucille did not like the farm life
so they sold their part of the farm and moved to Milton, Florida 1956. Ernest
got a job on a road building crew for a year then got hired as an airplane
mechanic at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola. He worked there until he
retired in about 1975. He helped manage an apartment building in Milton for a
few years during retirement, traveled to see relatives, and generally lived a
relaxed life during his final years.
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