Omer Hackman of Brownstown recently celebrated his 90th birthday.
He has been a farmer all of his life and has always lived within a half-mile of where he was born, except for the two years he served in the U.S. Army.
First, he was in his childhood home with his parents and siblings in Grassy Fork Township. Then after he was married, he lived with his wife, Alvona Begley Hackman, on a farm close to where he grew up, and they still live there.
A 90th birthday party was organized by Omer’s children, Jeff Hackman of Brownstown and Darla Hackman Abosch of Bel Air, Maryland. The celebration was Oct. 12 at Jeff’s house.
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“The party was wonderful, and there was a great crowd,with many of our close friends and family there,” Alvona said. “Darla picked us up and took us over there, and we saw a lot of cars.”
Alvona, 85, said Omer enjoyed the many birthday cards he received, and the celebration was fantastic with nearly 60 people in attendance.
“The party went better than I thought it would with my family and the ones that live around here,” Omer said. “They surprised me, and we had a nice party, and it seemed that everybody had a good time, and there was a lot of good food.”
Born Oct. 13, 1929, in Jackson County, Hackman is the son of the late Amos Hackman and Katie Duwe Hackman.
Omer said one of his earliest memories was walking to school every day. He said the one-room schoolhouse is still standing.
“I was in the first grade, and one day, I had a stomach ache and didn’t want to go to school,” Omer said. “Mom got after me with a switch to make me go to school.”
Omer has been a carpenter, a farm machinery mechanic at Cordes Hardware in Seymour and Hunley Sales and Service Inc. in Austin and a farmer all of his life. He also is a veteran of the U.S. Army.
“I went into the service in 1950 and did basic training in Kentucky,” Omer said. “Then I served for two years and traveled to Germany while in the Army.”
Omer said he ate like a king when he served overseas, especially in the mornings. He said he would walk past the stove, and the cook would ask how he liked his eggs. He said they would also get as much bacon as they wanted. He was in luck because bacon is one of his favorite foods.
“While we were over there, I drove the vehicle staff cars for the officers,” Omer said. “It wouldn’t be uncommon for me to drive a general or colonel around, sometimes all over Germany.”
It wasn’t until after he was done in the Army that Omer and Alvona got together. Alvona was born in Kentucky but moved to live with her grandparents in Crothersville after her parents divorced.
“I remember a bunch of us boys went to Snow’s Restaurant on Main Street in Crothersville one day,” Omer said. “A couple girls were talking to Alvona, and I saw her and told my friend that’s the girl I was going to marry.”
Alvona said they both noticed each other, and it was less than a week before he asked her out.
“I made a date with her a couple of days later,” Omer said. “We went to Austin to the theater there and saw an old cowboy movie.”
On June 17, 1956, Omer married Alvona at St. John’s Lutheran Church Sauers. The couple have now been married for 63 years and are members of St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Brownstown.
“I think a lot of the people in Seymour would remember Dad working at Cordes Hardware,” Darla said. “He’s got such a great work ethic, and when he went to work at Hunley’s, he’d leave home first thing so that he could get to work very early and have time to sit and have some coffee.”
Omer has been a mechanic for around 60 years and learned a lot about the trade after he started working at the hardware store.
“I have worked on tractors, combines and just everything,” Omer said. “I started at Cordes and then worked there about all my life.”
Darla said before her father became a mechanic, he started out as a carpenter and did that for several years.
“Mom and Dad built the house they live in from scratch, even the kitchen cabinets and everything,” Darla said. “I think he was involved in building a lot of the houses in Brownstown.”
Jeff said his dad now helps him take care of their cows, such as watering them and other chores.
“On a typical day, I like to go outside and work,” Omer said. “My wife has other ideas and wants to keep me in the house.”
When it comes to Jeff and Darla’s childhood memories of growing up at home, they recall growing up on the farm.
“When we were young and Jeff and I were still living at home, Dad would sometimes get calls, like at 10 p.m., from other farmers,” Darla said. “They’d be wanting his help to fix a baler or a combine or something.”
Darla said their dad would then go out and work on the farm equipment really late at night. If he fixed someone’s tractor, it would be truly fixed, and that was really something.
“Dad made holidays really special for us, too, and always made it fun, especially Christmas and Easter,” Darla said. “It would always be a big deal, and I think he got that from his dad, Amos, who made things fun for Dad and his siblings, and he always wanted to find the biggest Christmas tree.”
Darla said as a child, they would be headed off to church on Christmas Eve, and their mother would take her and her brother out to the car, and they’d wait there for Omer. He would stay back to find presents and put them under their Christmas tree so they would find them when they got back from church.
Jeff said his dad always wanted to get up early and get moving. Omer worked at Hunley Sales and Service in Austin for the last 20 years or so and then retired from there.
“I’ve been around here a good while, 90 years, and the more you work and have your mind on work, the longer you live,” Omer said. “But now, we get to sleep in in the mornings, and it’s pretty nice.”
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The family of Omer and Alvona Hackman
Son, Jeff (Paula) Hackman of Brownstown
Daughter, Darla (Gary) Abosch of Bel Air, Maryland
Grandchildren, Jennifer (Patrick) Lockhart of Sellersburg, Daniel Hackman of Brownstown and Elizabeth Abosch of Champaign, Illinois
Great-grandchild, Lennon Lockhart of Sellersburg.
Brothers: William Hackman of Seymour and Leon Hackman of Brownstown; those deceased are Eugene Hackman, Hubert Hackman and Earl Hackman
Sister: Lois Sommers of Brownstown
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“The more you work and have your mind on work, the longer you live.”
Omer Hackman
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