Cal Joe Harder

Cal Joe Harder was born on October 25, 1935 in Ponca Nebraska on the Harder family farm.  As a young boy, Cal was inquisitive, curious, and determined. When he was just 11 years old, he designed and built a plane, complete with hand controls and steering column, and successfully took flight, using one of the great hills on his farm as his runway. He also designed a working wagon that he would use to pull his four younger siblings. He found joy in learning how things worked and never stopped fixing and creating things such as appliances, building and completing all electrical work for a two-story storage unit made from a grain bin, or designing dining tables, bunk beds, and chairs for Barbie and her friends for his great-granddaughter.  Incredibly gifted, Cal was soon fixing farm equipment where others would have given up and relied on others (others like himself) to fix what seemed to be broken and useless. Despite having only an 8^th grade education, Cal excelled with capable hands, quick thinking, an analytical mind, and a can-do spirit that was not only infectious but inspiring.

Cal enlisted in the Navy when he was 20 years old. Maybe it was on the USS Randolph where his love of chocolate was solidified. He may have been seen a time or two buying a 1 pound Hershey Chocolate bar from the Military canteen and eating every bit of it himself. He served honorably for four years as a fireman and welder, earning the respect of his shipmates and receiving a medal for good conduct.

On a Spring day, it happened. Cal Harder stood at the end of the lane of the family farm, in blue stripe coveralls, having returned from years at sea, when a beautiful blonde in a green coupe drove by. Intrigued, Cal timed his trips up that lane so that he could wave to the woman with the long beautiful hair driving by each morning and delight in receiving a wave back. Through some sleuthing (that Hallmark movies could learn a thing or two from), he discovered that she lived only a few miles up the road from his farm. “There’s no way she isn’t going with someone,” he told his Uncle Bud. “You don’t know that!” Uncle Bud insisted and drove him into town. There at the Star Café, a handsome Cal Harder (who had acquired a slight southern accent from his time in the service) asked a beautiful Janelle Krause on a date. Without hesitation, she said yes. Through the years, Janelle asked Cal what he ordered that day at the Café. “I have no idea,” he answered. They were smitten. Nothing else mattered except that the woman he had begun to fall in love with said yes.

On May 15^th, 1960, a beautiful love story began. “That is when my life began,” Cal told Janelle. They could have married after the first official date at the Orpheum Theater in Sioux City. “But that isn’t how things were done back then,” Janelle regretfully said.  With the patience Cal was known for, they managed to wait and were married on March 19, 1961 at the First Presbyterian Church in Ponca, Nebraska. “Finally,” Janelle said, “we would never have to say goodbye at the end of our dates and painfully wait for the next time to see each other again.”

On November 2, 1961, Kellee Rachelle was born and another daughter, Wendee Ivette was born on June 7, 1964.  The “fabulous four” was established. Pitchforks were shortened to fit the hands of a child, lessons were given on how to hammer a nail into a board that would later transform into fixing a fence, a child learned how to feed the hogs (and how to successfully pick up a piglet to avoid the wrath of a protective sow), how to stand up for one another, and how to work hard, love hard, and live with purpose. The Harders farmed for 37 years surviving incredible odds including the F5 tornado on July 28th, 1986, the biggest tornado reported in the United States that year. The tornado took trees, ripped away memories, and destroyed their family home, and still – their love persisted. In addition to farming, Cal also ran the road grader for 14 years (and earned great praise for how well he kept the roads), served as a deacon and custodian at church, and was an accomplished and gifted welder of stars, Christmas trees, and sculptures for his wife’s garden.

Cal Harder died on January 26, 2021, after a brief illness. He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Janelle (Krause) Harder; daughters, Kellee (Rick) Nelson and Wendee (Kari) Harder; grandchildren, Sarah (Mike) Hamilton and Cory (Kristi) Nelson; great-grandchildren, Brinklee Nicole Hamilton, Mikey Leroy Hamilton Jr., Evan Matthew Hamilton, Aubrey Lynn Hamilton, Auston Martin-Francis Hamilton, Kenzie Jo Nelson, Brooke Caroline Nelson, Natalie Jade Nelson, and Maci Janelle Nelson; sister, Linda (Michael) Rowell; brothers and sisters-in-law; and many cousins, nieces, nephews, and many friends.

We will miss the way he held each of us, how he knew instantly what our hearts needed, and the right encouraging thing to say. We miss his appetite, not only for every dish his wife made for him but also for his zest for fun, like building snow hills with his tractor for grandchildren to slide down and finding genius ways to launch fireworks during epic fourth of July celebrations.

We will miss the way he sat back in his chair after eating his favorite chocolate-covered cherries, eyes closed, and a look of sweet pleasure in his smile, his playful banter over which homemade chocolate pudding to claim, and the sound his fork made against his plate, not missing a morsel, because he knew how lucky he was to have a wife who cooked and baked so well.  And we will forgive him for enjoying all these things without ever gaining a pound.

We will miss his impeccable style of dress and his perfect smile. We will miss everything he knew to do, every twinkle in his eye, and we will find comfort in knowing he would fix every one of our broken hearts with his beautiful hands if he could.  We will look for him in the flags, in the eagles, in the fields he couldn’t stay away from, and we will find him in each other- especially in the soul and spirit of his beautiful wife whom he loved so dearly.

And Cal and Janelle’s love story continues.