(Photo: Iowa Soybean Association / Joclyn Kuboushek)
Rural Route 2: Beyond the remote
June 1, 2026 | Bethany Baratta
Somewhere along the way, commercial card companies decided that dads like at least one of these three things: fishing, grilling or the remote control. If this seems familiar, you probably have a stack of these cards on a dresser somewhere, or you’re preparing for Father’s Day (June 21).
The traits of my dad
Maybe my dad falls in one — or all — of these categories, but these are attributes of my dad I think about first:
Veteran:
Dad joined the U.S. Army after high school and served during the Vietnam War. This military discipline means he’s always at least 10 minutes early — but never, ever late. He’s continued that spirit of service through his local American Legion.
Farmer:
Farming was always the goal, even with the detour to Vietnam. After the war, he returned to the farm to work alongside his family. Raising livestock would later give his five kids (including me) opportunities to show livestock at the county fair and beyond. A large garden meant that even the busiest nights consisted of homegrown meals.
Teacher:
He taught me how to stack hay bales, drive the skid loader, and feed bucket-bottle calves. I still remember the smell of the wood-burning stove that kept us warm during repairs or while we were tinkering in his shop.
Adventurer:
Camping in Yellowstone National Park, fishing in Minnesota, and yes, even visiting Mickey Mouse in Orlando, provided the best road trips with the family. Time away from the farm, though well-spent, still meant daily calls with fill-in caretakers to check on the farm.
Mr. Fix It:
Duct tape, wire, pails of extra nails, screws and bolts, and a toolbox were usually never far away — and every tool had its place. He’d know when he could fix it and when it was time to call the professional (usually).
Master navigator:
If he’s driven a road once, he’s driven it a hundred times. And knows it by the road name and not by the color of the house right after the railroad tracks or by other features that wouldn’t make the map.
Scrabble enthusiast: I play quiz, and he turns it into quizzers and finds the triple letter score space. And he doesn’t need the dictionary.
Faithful:
No matter how busy the weekend was, church was non-negotiable. You could usually find him singing in the choir, and, for 25 years with my mom, leading third graders closer to their faith.
Here's to dads
This Father’s Day, I hope you get to go fishing, light up the grill and/or kick back and relax in your favorite chair watching your favorite show (with or without a nap). Here’s to the dads, like mine, who taught us how to swing the hammer, lift us over the gate when we weren’t quite strong enough, and remind us that farmers don’t truly take a day off from the farm, their families, or their faith.
Written by Bethany Baratta.
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