Indiana man, 99, volunteers time, tractor to mow church lawn

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) – Paul Stump had no trouble springing into the seat of his 1953 Oliver 77 tractor at the St. Joseph County Fair earlier this month. In fact, he’s been doing it for over 65 years. A North Liberty native, Stump has been a fixture in the local farming community for decades. Stump, who will turn 100 in September, still devotes his skill, experience and dedication to his community church, where he works to maintain the grounds. Almost every Wednesday, Stump crosses the road to the Pine Creek Church of the Brethren to take care of the lawn with a tractor and mower. The grounds include over 30 acres of land, and the process takes about four hours. A church volunteer who helps Stump and has known him for two decades, Dave Hostetler, remains impressed by Stump’s drive. He described Stump as quiet, wise and hard-working. ‘œHe’s a super guy,’� Hostetler said. ‘œHe’s my idol and he can still do’� handiwork. Hostetler met Stump at the Pine Creek Church in 2000, when Stump convinced him to become an usher. Now the church’s head steward, Hostetler oversees various aspects of its maintenance and upkeep. He says Stump insists on continuing to take the tractor out and keep the grounds in good shape. ‘œWe are going to let him do it as long as he can do it,’� Hostetler said. ‘œHe wants to be contributing.’� The Pine Creek Church has a wooded grove on its property surrounding a creek. In addition to his weekly lawn work, Stump takes daily walks around the church grounds, picking up sticks and tidying up the landscaping. Stump lives across the street from the church, as he has for 97 years. His great grandparents bought the land and the family has lived there ever since. The church’s current building was constructed in 1982, and Stump said he sold some of his land to the church. ‘œI used to pasture cows over here,’� he said recently before he mowed the church’s grounds. While Stump uses the church’s tractor to pull the mower, he will sometimes take his most trusty tractor, the old Oliver 77, out for a spin. Stump recently had the Oliver 77 displayed at the county fair’s antique tractor show. He also drove it in the fair’s opening parade and nightly tractor parades. According to Zach Triplet, a family friend, Stump didn’t have the oldest tractor in the show, but he was the oldest participant. The Triplet family also participated the fair’s tractor parade. ‘œI’m in the middle,’� Triplet joked about the fair’s tractor parade and display show. ‘œPaul is the oldest and I have the youngest, my daughter is 6.’� During the fair, Stump’s tractor was displayed along dozens of other antique models. Accompanying his display was a frame containing the original bill of sale and the original purchase check, made out for $1,616. Stump and his wife, June, bought the 1953 tractor brand new in 1954. A picture of June and Paul taken about 10 years ago in front of the tractor at their home accompanied the frame displayed at the tractor show. ‘œI had her for 73 years,’� Stump said with a glint in his eye. June died in 2015 at the age of 93. The couple were married in 1942 and had two children. Although Stump’s iconic tractor has lasted him well over 65 years, it’s not his first. He originally bought it to replace an old Oliver 70. ‘œMy first Oliver had the steel wheels,’� he said, referring to a time before the 1940s, when rubber wheels became standard. In the 1980s, Stump bought another tractor, this time an International, complete with an air-conditioned cab for farm work, he said. Stump has a grandson who lives near Branson, Missouri, who will inherit the 1953 tractor someday. ‘œHe always loved to drive that,’� Stump said.