Submitted photo Pictured are Christine, David, and Vernon Hansvick, skating on the rink their dad made for them on their acreage on the edge of Vesta, circa 1961.  

We have been learning about Marshall’s David Hansvick, the second of three children of Dottie (Penske) Hansvick and John Hansvick. Dave grew up in the small town of Vesta. His family lived on the edge of Vesta, but both parents came from immigrant, farming families. The Hansvicks originated in Norway, while the Penskes were ethnic Germans.

“My dad’s family farmed many places and moved around a lot because of the Depression. One of their farms was on Wood Lake, where they actually farmed the lake bottom because it was so dry during that time. That was actually some of their best crop land.”

Dave’s Grandpa and Grandma Hansvick eventually settled on and succeeded with their farm two miles west of Vesta where they frequently hosted family gatherings during Dave’s childhood.

He also described Grandpa and Grandma Penske’s farm operation.

“That farm is about two miles northwest of Vesta. My cousin Janice owns that family farm now, renting it to someone who farms the land.”

Dave explained how his Grandpa Penske augmented his farm income during the Depression years.

“Gus Penske was my Grandma Penske’s husband. He was one of three guys in the area who were big into bootlegging. My mom had this clear memory from her childhood that related to Gus’ activities. Mom’s older brother, Allen, got her up one night when she was 5 years old. He said, ‘Dottie, you’ve got to come out to the barn with me.’ She helped Allen carry large jars of clear liquid from the barn and hid them out in the cornfield. A little later that night cars drove into the yard and guys got out with flashlights. They were looking all over the barn, but they left after a while.”

Dave heard more of his Grandpa Penske’s life as Dave grew older in Vesta.

“It was a big deal to be Gus Penske’s grandson in Vesta. Old guys would come up to me and say, ‘Oh, you’re a Hansvick. Do you know about your Grandpa Penske?’ I heard that Grandpa Penske never drank the whole time he was (moonshining). I think he stopped moonshining when he bought his farm. My cousin once told me, ‘That’s how he was able to buy the farm.’ After he moved off the farm and into Vesta with my grandma, he’d walk down each afternoon during the week, buy a single beer at the Municipal Liquor Store, and then walk home after finishing it.”

Despite not living on a working farm, Dave and his brother, Vern, still had outdoor chores.

We’d take care of the lawn, my brother and I. There was mowing the lawn. We had apple trees and there was a driveway that circled the house. My mom was fairly particular, so we had to go out and rake the apples off the driveway multiple times during the day because if (Dad) came through with the gas truck and smashed them, there’d be a lot of flies. I remember constantly raking apples off the driveway.

His chores did not much cramp Dave’s boyhood schedule.

“My closest friend and neighborhood kid, younger than me, was Dale Redeetz, whose house was behind our little alfalfa field, and Tom Hingle lived about a block away. Everybody was close in town. Those were probably two of the closest.”

Dave described one of the Hansvick kids’ big winter activities.

“In the wintertime, I probably spent more time with my brother. But we’d still go downtown. The Vesta Fire Department would flood an area so that we had a community skating rink. Most of the time it was down in the left field of the ball diamond. Then my dad would actually get the fire truck, bring it (to our place), and make our own staking rink on our yard. So, we’d have our own, little skating rink there, too. But you would go down (to the community rink to skate) with kids in town.”

There were other winter activities as well.

“In the wintertime two or three of us guys would get together, walk down our routes around town, down that particular alley, you know, and end up in the café. There everything was pretty laid back. You’d go into the café, grab a bottle out of the pop machine, and bring it up to the (counter). You just got your own and put it up on the counter with your dime. We’d go sledding at Mayflower Hill out by the dump, a mile out of town toward Seaforth to the east. Mayflower Hill at the time seemed huge, but when you grow older, it isn’t that big. We’d get a ride out there and go sledding and tobogganing up and down the hill. There would always be groups of kids out there.”

Sometimes Dave and his friends created an ice-skating adventure on the Redwood River near Vesta.

“We’d go down the river and skate two (west) miles out of town, which got to be a long skate, because it probably ended up being at least four miles (with all the river’s meanders). We’d go out there four miles, walk up to Grandma Hansvick’s, and then Dad would pick us up in the truck when he’d come by.”

Dave remembered outdoor activities dominating their winters.

“It was more of the outdoor stuff, but I remember going to friends’ places and playing air hockey games. We didn’t really go over and watch TV because if you had TV, it came in so snowy that you really couldn’t see it.”

Vesta summers brought an even wider range of outdoor activities.

©2026 William D. Palmer.