Kathryn Dickinson Named Hempstead County Women’s Farm Bureau Committee Ag Woman Of The Month

For the month of April the Hempstead County Women’s Farm Bureau Committee selected Kathryn Dickinson as their Ag woman.

Hi, my name is Kathryn Dickinson. While most people may know me as a wife, daughter, mother, “Babby” or teacher, I am also a lifelong farmer. My parents were Benny and Lucy Coleman and shortly after they were married, they bought a farm in the Guernsey community west of Hope. My brother, two sisters, and I quickly learned the value of working on a farm. We spent our days caring for the cows, growing and harvesting vegetables, building and repairing fences, and working in the hayfields. When we weren’t hauling watermelons out of the patch or digging potatoes in summer, we were feeding the hay to the cows in the winter. If it was a farm job, we learned to do it.
There was always plenty of work to do on the farm, but along with that hard work came fun times with family and friends. There were many family gatherings with fish frys, trips to the lake, and my siblings and I had the opportunity to be involved in basketball and other school activities (proud graduate of HHS 1968!)
After graduating from high school, I left the farm to attend college, but found it just wasn’t for me at that point in my life. I began working as a secretary at Edith Brown Elementary while completing my teaching degree at Henderson State University. I taught first graders at Edith Brown, and then Clinton Primary, for 20 years. I concluded my education career after serving as Assistant Principal at Clinton Primary for 13 years. During this time, however, farming became a big part of my life again in an unexpected way.
I got the opportunity to move back to the farm when Denny Dickinson and I married in 1989. His farm was also in the Guernsey community, just one mile from where I grew up. He had farmed all his life, and soon I felt like I was back home. Right after we married, we started building broiler houses. We stopped building when we got to 10 houses. Now anyone who has ever been in the chicken business knows what a demanding job it is, and in addition to the chicken houses we had cattle, a garden, and processed many acres of hay each year. All the things that I learned growing up became useful as Denny and I worked together to make our farm successful. We became a blended family that knew the value of hard work and dedication. We were honored to be recognized as the Hempstead County Farm Family of the year in 1993.
Denny and I were involved in the Guernsey community as well as county activities. He served for many years on the Board of Directors for Farm Bureau, serving several years as president. We were also involved in the Guernsey Volunteer Fire Department where he served as fire chief and I served as president of the Ladies Auxiliary. Between the farm and our community involvement there wasn’t much free time, as all farm families can attest to.
My involvement in agriculture expanded even further after we sold our chicken houses in 2008. We entered into a partnership with Hope Livestock Auction and served as co-owners/operators for 5 years before leaving to continue expanding our own cattle business.
My life changed dramatically when we lost Denny suddenly and unexpectedly in September of 2017. Taking care of a farm took on a whole new meaning for me and my family, and I was suddenly faced with making decisions that were usually made by him. Life changed in a big way, but I learned to adapt and persevere so the farm that we had built together would continue to be a success. When times are hard, I just ask myself “What would Denny do?” and have faith that I am making the right decisions.
While farming is my life, I enjoy participating in other activities throughout the community as well. I am a Hempstead County Master Gardener, and our association is involved in several projects throughout the county that I enjoy. I am also a member of the Hempstead County Retired Teachers Association, Delta Kappa Gamma, First Baptist Church, and I currently serve as treasurer of the Guernsey Volunteer Fire Dept.
Although I didn’t expect it, it turns out that farming became my life, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. My parents taught me the value of agriculture in our home and in our community, and the hard work that goes into maintaining a farming operation. I was fortunate to move back to the farm and continue to use and build on those valuable lessons when Denny and I married. The world of agriculture has blessed me and my family in countless ways, and I am privileged to be a farmer for life.