Bruce Pochardt was born Jan. 11, 1948, in Tyler to Louis and Grace (Pearcy) Pochardt as the third of three sons. The boys grew up on a farm seven miles northwest of Lynd.

Bruce described his folks’ operation.

“Back then it was corn, oats, and alfalfa. We always had a few head of livestock. Mom had chickens for eggs and meat. They had hogs when I was real little. The horses left when I was old enough to remember it. The B John Deere replaced them.”

Bruce and his spouse, Crystal, also farmed the land until retirement, raising their family on Bruce’s childhood farm home. He explained the farm’s long family history.

“My grandmother owned it. My dad farmed it as far back as I go. Now my brother lives there and farms the home place, which was a Century Farm in the 90s, so it’s been in the family about 125 years.”

Bruce’s dad was farming when Bruce and his brothers were kids, but also had a side business. Bruce explained how this affected the Pochardt boys.

“Dad barbered in Minneota and farmed, but most of that got shoved onto us once we were old enough. We’d carry water and feed to the chickens. That was light duty. Then you got to carry baskets of silage from the silo to the feed bunks. We also baled small, square bales.”

Bruce and his brothers assumed greater responsibilities as they grew.

“You worked your way up from the B John Deere and the hand-lift cultivator to bigger stuff like the four-bottom plow. A lot of it you just learned on your own.”

The family also spent time with extended family.

“Two aunts and uncles (on his dad’s side) lived within a mile. Everybody got along pretty well. We were in the attorney’s office with the two brothers at estate [settlement], and he said, ‘This is different. All the siblings are here and they all talk to one another.'” (Bruce laughed)

Bruce attended the Lynd Public School District.

“The school bus picked us up until we were old enough to drive. Most of our young life we had only the one car.”

Bruce was not keen on school. He chuckled as he described sharing his educational goals with Lynd school staff.

“They always asked me, ‘What do you want out of school?’ And I said, ‘Well, myself.’ ”

He recalled that the Lynd school grew during this time, “They built the new gymnasium in ’62 and all the new classrooms down there with it. My brother, Terence, scored the first points in that new gym.”

While Bruce was not a fan of school, he enjoyed his classmates.

“The whole [class] was pretty tight-knit. There were twenty people, give or take. You’d know the whole school, more the upperclassmen than the younger ones. I still enjoy going to class reunions.”

Bruce also enjoyed participating in sports. “From 9th grade on I had cross-country in the fall; basketball after that; and track in the spring. We ran that old park road to the old park entrance many times. Mike Mills, who started Mike’s Café, had a little cattle ranch down there and he’d drive back and forth. Every once and a while I’d get lazy; stop him; and get a ride back to where nobody’d see me and go up to the school.” (Bruce laughed)

He remembered some intense competitions.

“Balaton (a big rival) beat us three times during senior year. They had a fellow who was 6’9″. Playing Hanley Falls we scored more than 100 points two times. One time we scored over 100 and Hanley Falls in the 90s. That was the most points scored in a game in Minnesota. Of course, their little gymnasium up there was about the size of this room.” (Bruce laughed)

Sometimes the competition was between friends.

“Francis Maeyaert and I were on the cross-country team. He always came in second behind me, but one day he beat me at the Slayton Golf Course meet. He remembers that to this day (Bruce chuckled) and so do I.”

Bruce described Lynd’s businesses during those years.

“There was a lumber yard and the grain elevator attracted quite a bit of grain. He paid a couple cents more, which at that time meant a lot. He had access to the railroad. Back then they’d have one or two cars stop to get filled. There was the Hartsell Store. They had merchandise. The other place, Corky’s, was more drinks. Cecilia Hawes had the beer joint/pool hall down the street.”

Bruce was aware of the Vietnam War before registering for the draft. He graduated from Lynd High School in 1966 and began farming.

“I thought I would start farming, though the draft always loomed in the back of your mind. My brother, Terence, went (into service) and I got a deferment for farming because he was gone. But as soon as he came home, no excuse I could come up with got me out, so I was drafted.”

Bruce explained that a friend and classmate was also drafted into the Army in early 1968. Their lives quickly accelerated.

“Francis Maeyaert went in the same day. They put us on a plane in Minneapolis and flew us down [to Fort Campbell, Kentucky].”

Bruce loved the plane ride, but arrival at Fort Campbell for Basic Training was another matter.

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