MONROE - It was a very happy Harold Lelle who turned 98 at the end of June. He says there was no reason not to be.
His even disposition has led him through a life during which he's found success, the love of family and complete happiness.
He was born June 30, 1919, on a farm 4 miles south of South Wayne. He grew up with three siblings, and they were all often busy helping on the farm. Lelle remembers farming with horses and hitching them up to work in the fields back in the day.
His parents owned a 16-acre farm they inherited from his grandfather. He said they had a little of everything - chickens, ducks, sheep, cows and more.
There weren't a lot of toys then, Lelle recalls, but he says they had a wheel with a long rod they would put through it to ride on, and a sled box they could use in the wintertime. The family didn't often get into town, but when they needed groceries in South Wayne they would often ride with neighbors, who had the faster horses.
He attended Watson Country School, about a mile walk across the field, he said, and their buck sheep, Jiggs, would accompany them. Lelle says he would boot them off to school and would often be waiting for them when they returned home. The one-room schoolhouse had a stove in the back and a water jug they would fill from the well outside.
Lelle wasn't a big fan of school, but he enjoyed history. After eighth grade, he decided to go to high school in South Wayne. After four days, he cut his neck on a barbed wire fence while playing ball. He decided after that he would just stay home and work on the farm, which he loved to do. He also picked up extra jobs as a hired man for a few neighbor farmers.
When he was 22, he married his wife, Betty, and the couple rented a farm south of Orangeville for two years. They then rented another farm and moved between Monroe and Browntown until 1947, when their son, Richard, was born, and then they purchased their farm by Argyle. In March of 1948, they moved to the farm where Lelle still lives today.
Lelle served on the Jordan Township Board for two years until 1960, when he was named a special deputy for the Green County Sheriff's Department. Lelle says a couple of friends talked him into the job and he went for it. In 1966 when it came time to hire a deputy, he was interviewed and landed the full-time job. There was no school or police academy, he said.
He says his first squad car was a station wagon, before the time of EMS, and he recalls often hauling injured people to the hospital in it. He says he enjoyed his start in law enforcement.
"There was always something going on," he said, smiling.
By 1968, Lelle was appointed to the chief deputy position and more people and deputies were encouraging him to run for sheriff. A group of 11 deputies signed their names to help get him elected. When he ran in 1979, he was beaten on the Republican ticket. But when he ran again in 1981, he was elected on the Democratic ticket. He was the first Democrat ever elected in Green County, he said. In his campaign ad in the newspaper, he promised voters he would add a night patrol.
The family left the farm when Lelle became sheriff, living in the quarters at the jail. Betty quit her job at Swiss Colony and cooked for the prisoners and quickly became well known for her food. One man, he recalls, came to the jail in the winter specifically for Betty's cooking.
Lelle belonged to the Kiwanis and the Moose Club when they lived in town as well.
He served as sheriff until January 1985 and didn't run again. The couple moved back to the farm. There, he got involved again with Our Savior's Lutheran Church and became a supervisor on the Jordan Township Board, serving for 16 years total. He said he enjoyed being involved and keeping busy.
The couple enjoyed heading to their home up north often with friends and visiting Las Vegas regularly. Lelle still enjoys gambling but now closer to home. He has three grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren he loves dearly.
Lelle's son, Richard, has owned Lelle's Bar in Woodford since 1979, and it's where Lelle now spends much of his time. He washed dishes up until about five or six years ago and still enjoys washing potatoes.
Richard has picked him up every day since he stopped driving - about five years ago - to enjoy coffee and lunch with friends. Betty died in 1994, a month before Lelle underwent six bypasses on his heart. His health has been good otherwise, and he has since moved in with his grandson, Tim, Tim's wife, Patty, and their three sons.
"They keep me busy," Lelle said. "They're all good to me. I'd sure miss it if they weren't around."
His even disposition has led him through a life during which he's found success, the love of family and complete happiness.
He was born June 30, 1919, on a farm 4 miles south of South Wayne. He grew up with three siblings, and they were all often busy helping on the farm. Lelle remembers farming with horses and hitching them up to work in the fields back in the day.
His parents owned a 16-acre farm they inherited from his grandfather. He said they had a little of everything - chickens, ducks, sheep, cows and more.
There weren't a lot of toys then, Lelle recalls, but he says they had a wheel with a long rod they would put through it to ride on, and a sled box they could use in the wintertime. The family didn't often get into town, but when they needed groceries in South Wayne they would often ride with neighbors, who had the faster horses.
He attended Watson Country School, about a mile walk across the field, he said, and their buck sheep, Jiggs, would accompany them. Lelle says he would boot them off to school and would often be waiting for them when they returned home. The one-room schoolhouse had a stove in the back and a water jug they would fill from the well outside.
Lelle wasn't a big fan of school, but he enjoyed history. After eighth grade, he decided to go to high school in South Wayne. After four days, he cut his neck on a barbed wire fence while playing ball. He decided after that he would just stay home and work on the farm, which he loved to do. He also picked up extra jobs as a hired man for a few neighbor farmers.
When he was 22, he married his wife, Betty, and the couple rented a farm south of Orangeville for two years. They then rented another farm and moved between Monroe and Browntown until 1947, when their son, Richard, was born, and then they purchased their farm by Argyle. In March of 1948, they moved to the farm where Lelle still lives today.
Lelle served on the Jordan Township Board for two years until 1960, when he was named a special deputy for the Green County Sheriff's Department. Lelle says a couple of friends talked him into the job and he went for it. In 1966 when it came time to hire a deputy, he was interviewed and landed the full-time job. There was no school or police academy, he said.
He says his first squad car was a station wagon, before the time of EMS, and he recalls often hauling injured people to the hospital in it. He says he enjoyed his start in law enforcement.
"There was always something going on," he said, smiling.
By 1968, Lelle was appointed to the chief deputy position and more people and deputies were encouraging him to run for sheriff. A group of 11 deputies signed their names to help get him elected. When he ran in 1979, he was beaten on the Republican ticket. But when he ran again in 1981, he was elected on the Democratic ticket. He was the first Democrat ever elected in Green County, he said. In his campaign ad in the newspaper, he promised voters he would add a night patrol.
The family left the farm when Lelle became sheriff, living in the quarters at the jail. Betty quit her job at Swiss Colony and cooked for the prisoners and quickly became well known for her food. One man, he recalls, came to the jail in the winter specifically for Betty's cooking.
Lelle belonged to the Kiwanis and the Moose Club when they lived in town as well.
He served as sheriff until January 1985 and didn't run again. The couple moved back to the farm. There, he got involved again with Our Savior's Lutheran Church and became a supervisor on the Jordan Township Board, serving for 16 years total. He said he enjoyed being involved and keeping busy.
The couple enjoyed heading to their home up north often with friends and visiting Las Vegas regularly. Lelle still enjoys gambling but now closer to home. He has three grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren he loves dearly.
Lelle's son, Richard, has owned Lelle's Bar in Woodford since 1979, and it's where Lelle now spends much of his time. He washed dishes up until about five or six years ago and still enjoys washing potatoes.
Richard has picked him up every day since he stopped driving - about five years ago - to enjoy coffee and lunch with friends. Betty died in 1994, a month before Lelle underwent six bypasses on his heart. His health has been good otherwise, and he has since moved in with his grandson, Tim, Tim's wife, Patty, and their three sons.
"They keep me busy," Lelle said. "They're all good to me. I'd sure miss it if they weren't around."