By Sherri Coner
Once Southsider Sue Bosworth was on the tractor seat, she realized that right in the middle of that moment, her yesterday had caught up to her present day.
“It was like being totally in control,” she said about driving the tractor last year in the Morgan County Fall Festival. “I thought, ‘Oh look! I’m 74 years old and I can drive a tractor.’”
FIELD OF DREAMS
Bosworth’s favorite childhood memories rushed back, growing up and attending school on the Southside but frequently visiting her great-grandparents’ farm near Martinsville on many weekends as well as staying there all summer.
“I was always drawn to farm life,” she said. “I loved being able to go down there.”
On Saturday summer mornings, Bosworth accompanied her great-grandparents into town to run errands. Very often, she saw a few tractors parked near the Martinsville courthouse.
Riding down St. John Road in Morgan County, named for her great-grandparents, made visits even more special.
“They owned all of that land along St. John Road,” she said proudly.
When adulthood arrived for this feisty woman who pays absolutely no attention to age, favorite childhood moments were shoved farther back in her memory bank to make room for memories of marriage and parenting.
Once she became a bride, Bosworth and her husband moved from the Southside to Johnson County. They settled in Whiteland and raised their children, Christopher Baxter of Franklin and daughter Cheryl Kreuger of Fishers.
Bosworth’s children were grown when she and her husband divorced.
RETURN TO THE SOUTHSIDE
To end the long commute from Johnson County to her place of employment, she moved back to the Southside.
For the first time in her life, Bosworth independently chose a place to live and moved into an apartment alone. When looking out the windows of the apartment, her eyes were always drawn to a quaint little brick house across the road. It looked vacant, barely visible on the unkept lot where trees and bushes were overgrown, and the lawn was badly in need of a mower.
Then this independent woman decided that she wanted to buy that little house.
Keep in mind that Bosworth was divorced more than 30 years ago, when single women buying property wasn’t at all a common occurrence. Until the Equal Credit Opportunity Act was passed in 1974, banks could legally refuse to provide single women with loans and credit.
That was never a concern for this particular woman.
“I am an independent person,” Bosworth said with a grin. “I always have been.”
Her strong belief in taking care of herself and making her own decisions merged with an impressive employment history and just enough spunk to reach her goal.
Bosworth became a homeowner.
A few years later, she met and married Hank Bosworth, her husband of 24 years.
Raised in Kentucky, Hank happened to love tractors even though he didn’t own one.
Of course when his new bride heard that information, her heart skipped a little bit faster. She too was a tractor fan.
A FARM OF THEIR OWN
Intending to retire from law enforcement within the next couple of years, Hank and his farm-loving spouse decided to build a barn and add a tractor or two, so he had something to do with his retirement time.
Last year friends invited the Bosworths to attend the Morgan County Antique Machinery and Tractor Show at the Morgan County Fairgrounds in Martinsville.
Again, childhood memories wiggled right back to the front of Bosworth’s memory.
“I remembered being at the fairgrounds when I was a little girl,” she said. “It just all fell into place.”
Not long after the Bosworths made the decision to join the club, this recently retired litigation adjuster was appointed club secretary.
And soon after that, she got busy marketing and inviting area vendors to participate in a huge flea market event for the club.
“The year before, they had 19 vendors,” Bosworth said with a smile. “This year we had 48 vendors and over 100 tractors on display. It was the biggest show they ever had.”
Already, she is being teased by old-timers in the club, asking if she is ready to learn how to plow this year.
Any tractor driver worth her salt needs to know about plowing … especially when it’s an actual club activity.
“They call it Plow Day,” Bosworth said of the day that a club member donates access to a field for plowing enthusiasts. “Some people bring their tractors.”
As it turns out, Bosworth just can’t get enough of the tractor scene.
She recently drove a tractor in the Morgan County Fair parade.
She also plans to repeat her October experience from last year, driving a tractor at the Morgan County Fall Foliage Festival.
“This year I decided I want to wear a dress and cowboy boots and a hat,” Bosworth said with a laugh. “I’m really just a retiree looking to enjoy life.”
