Ray Pederson was born to Delores and Leroy Pederson in May 1945 at the Iverson Maternity Home in Echo, Minnesota. Ray explained that Echo institution and the circumstances of his birth.

“It was just a home where the ladies who were expecting went to have their babies. It was not a hospital. [The doctor] didn’t make it. They had a midwife there.”

Ray’s folks operated a 240 acre farm about two miles from Belview from 1943 to 1956, so that was Ray’s childhood home. The Pederson’s grew both cash and feed crops and raised hogs, chickens, a few steers, and maintained a small dairy herd until Ray was about twelve years old. He chuckled when I asked whether he had farm chores growing up.

“Oh, yeah. Lots of them! I drove a team of horses when I was seven, Maude and Prince. Dad would hook [them] up when it come harvest time; he had the shocks all done; and we had a threshing machine. All I had to do was shake the reins a little and the horses knew where to go. My dad had a 3-tined fork and he’d pitch [the grain shocks] up into a bundle rack. And then . . . you hauled them up to the yard and either blew the straw up into the hay mow of the barn or into a straw pile outside.”

Ray’s siblings growing up included his younger sisters; Darlene, Laurie, and Rosalie. He also has a younger brother, Scott, who was born after Ray left the family home. The Pederson’s also suffered two childhood tragedies; the first when Ray’s oldest sister died in 1948 from a cancerous tumor at only three months and the second when Ray’s oldest brother, Loren, died of a heart defect in 1959 when he was only three weeks old.

Ray smiled as he recalled weekly trips to Belview and what the community offered.

“We’d go on a Saturday. Maybe you had to pick up your basic staples like sugar and flour. We had the local hardware store, the Post Office, three cafes, the pool hall, and the elevator. We had a Legion Club, a liquor store, and what’s called the Odeon Hal. It’s on the national [register of] historical places. We had three churches and one out in the country, Rockdale Lutheran. We had a high school and a grade school. We had rail service — Chicago-Northwestern [and] our depot where they could drop off stuff that came by rail. We had a garbage pick-up, a lumber yard, Minneapolis-Moline — Ben Gryting Implement, [and] two mechanic businesses for automobiles and trucks.”

Ray and his siblings attended the Belview Public Schools. He has warm memories of his class and of one of his elementary teachers.

“I counted one time and there were twelve of us from start to finish, but when we did finish there were fifteen in my graduating class. Marcella Sundquist taught me about responsibility and accountability — very likable and she made classes interesting so that you would want to pay attention, rather than goof off and raise Cain.”

He explained the benefits of attending a small high school.

“Basically, the closeness of the relationship that you had with your fellow students. I considered the girls of my class my adopted sisters because you could always confide in them. When the class size was that small, you made your own fun. This was the ’50s and the ’60s — a different era. On one occasion we picked up the cheerleaders about five o’clock in the morning; took them out to where there was a duck slough; and took them duck hunting. (Ray laughed) We had sock hops after basketball games. We’d go out and we’d polish the floor with your white socks. (Ray laughed again) You’d just play 45 rpm records and that sort of thing.”

Ray was active in school, participating in band, choir, school plays, and team sports. But by high school Ray explained it got to be too much for his dad.

“Dad wanted me on the farm. (Ray chuckled) So, I couldn’t spend as much time [at school] as I would have liked. I would have played all three sports, but he said, ‘You’re either going to help me put the crop in or help me take it out.’ So, I chose football and basketball.”

Ray graduated with the Belview High School class of 1963 and enrolled in Mankato State College. He wanted to major in Business Education, hoping to teach high school business and coach football and basketball. He explained how life and the military draft had other plans for him.

“I was attending Mankato State University at the time. My dad injured his back and I had to help him out on the farm, so I dropped out of school and I lost my 2-S deferment — we had the draft back then. I knew my draft number was coming up and I decided I wanted to be in the Navy.”

Ray received his draft notice while he was completing his enlistment with the Navy. So, he had to resolve that complication.

“I got a release from my draft. So, technically I enlisted, but realistically, it probably was a draft notice.”

Life quickly accelerated for the young man from rural Belview.

The Lyon County Museum is organizing an exhibit about the impact of the Vietnam War on Lyon County. If you would like to share Vietnam experiences or help with the exhibit, please contact me at prairieviewpressllc@gmail.com or call the museum at 537-6580.