My parents were married in the wave of weddings that followed World War II. Dad came home from military operations in Europe to start a new life on the farm, and Mom became his partner in the enterprise. There was only one problem — Dad had an older brother who was destined to take over the family agricultural enterprise, and there was not enough work or income to support two families.

So Dad began to look for other opportunities. For a while he drove a cattle truck, bringing fattened animals to the sales stockyards in south Saint Paul. But then a farming assistant job became available in the neighborhood. There was an older couple with a large farm, and none of their children had decided to stay on to work it. Dad and Mom became the hired help, looking after the animals and the fields, a…