By his family – a tribute on Father’s Day
When it comes to raising kids, John Wittman has had some practice. Being a father to four girls and two boys isn’t always easy, but he must have done something right because his kids think he is the best!
John is the oldest of six children born to Paul and Marlene Hill Wittman, and the grandson of John and Grace Hill. His family says that when he was little, he would raise cain until his mom took him to Malad so he could spend time on the farm in Daniels with his Grandpa Hill. John spent his summers helping on the farm and grew to love the Daniels Valley. When John was in high school his family moved to Pocatello. He didn’t want to move to Pocatello, so he moved in with his uncle’s (John C. Hill) family and finished his senior year at Malad High School. There he participated in wrestling, earning a spot in the state tournament. After high school, he worked at the Garland Sugar Factory and for his father-in-law, Richard Goddard, on the farm in Samaria. Later he went back and worked for his Uncle John C., farming the land he loved.
John married his high school sweetheart Susan Goddard. They have six children. First, came the four girls. Their dad was always pestering them about their dolls. At breakfast one morning, John was teasing Melanie and playing keep-away with her doll. Somehow in all the action, he ripped the doll’s head off. He told her to buck up and then gave the doll’s head to the dog!
The family spent every weekend in Daniels at the Hill Homestead. There are lots of fond memories of riding four-wheelers and roasting marshmallows with the Hawkins’ family.
In 1993 John and Susan decided to try farming on their own. They bought the old Nicholas place in Elkhorn. On top of working his own land, John leased land from Enid Harris, Gene and Wanda Edwards, and many others. The family spent all of their free time cleaning up the Nicholas Place. John has worked hard turning the land into the farm it is today, and he wanted to instill that work ethic in his kids. He gave his oldest daughter, Kim, a shot at driving the tractor, but John’s never been known for his patience so that didn’t last long! Instead, John found his best rye pullers in his girls. He had them get up at six every morning to go pull rye and then they were off to the Drive-In to work at night. Stefanie was out pulling rye before she was even big enough to see over the wheat. One time Tammy got pulled over on their way back into town because someone reported they were shooting across the road. What was thought was guns were actually garbage bags being used to haul off the rye because the girls had waited too long to get their pulling done. John went and found the cop who pulled them over and told him to leave his rye pullers alone.
John always teased the girls that he was going to trade them in for boys. Well to their surprise, 14 years later he got his wish. J.P. and Justin are his pride and joy. Rarely do you see him without the two boys by his side. John has instilled his passion for farming in the boys. By the time J.P. was three, he could tell you where every piece of land was, what was being farmed on it and what piece of equipment they would use to work it. He loved harvest and couldn’t wait to ride the “comi” with his dad. Justin is the spitting image of his dad. The boys work hard on the farm and receive their payment in toys – four-wheelers, snowmobiles, guns, and dirt bikes. They have any toy animal/tractor you can imagine. They have created their own toy farm all over the house. The front room floor is always littered with different tractors and corrals. Next time you drive by their house, check out the boys’ wheat crop growing in the front yard.
John enjoys watching the boys play sports. Their baseball games are the only thing that gets him off the farm at a decent hour in the summer.
John says he works so hard all summer, so that he can play hard in the fall and winter. He loves to hunt and snowmobile. John’s trophy mounts can be found in the house in town, the trailer at the ranch and his new little piece of heaven in Daniels. J.P and Justin love to hunt too. J.P. got his first deer this past fall and his dad couldn’t have been prouder. The girls may have never been into hunting, but they still enjoy shooting. John takes the whole family up trap shooting almost every holiday.
His favorite time of the year is winter. His great love is snowmobiling and he goes as often as the cows allow him. His snowmobiling reputation is known by many, and now his boys are finally getting old enough to be able to go on rides. There is nothing they love more than heading over to Preston or Afton to go riding with their dad. Justin says this is one of his favorite things to do with his dad. John looks forward to taking his family on a weekend snowmobile trip every January. He works hard to find enough snowmobiles and to get everything organized. It’s a great opportunity to share his passion with his kids.
Our Dad has done a great job teaching us what is important in life and how to love our families. We’re so grateful for our dad and for all he does for us. We want to wish a Happy Father’s Day to him and all fathers out there.