By Naomi Snider reprinted from York News-Times
HENDERSON — Very few people live to be 100 years old, but Marvin Siebert of Henderson has made it “100 years and six months to be exact.” What’s his secret to living 100 and beyond? Get your hands in a little bit of dirt.
Siebert’s one-way ticket to happiness is gardening. Rarely will you find Siebert spending his time inside. Even on rainy days, he’d rather have a pruning shear in hand than a TV remote, or he is watching his flowers grow from the window. He has spent countless hours planting a flower bed of marigolds, roses, tulips, petunias, daisies, and more at Rosewood Court in Henderson.
One of the reasons why he still carries on his hobby of gardening is so he can pick flowers for his beloved wife Katherine, 99, who lives a few doors down in the Legacy Square Long Term Care Facility. Siebert said, “I’ll take a bouquet to her room, or I’ll take her a single flower and say, ‘This is for you and only you.'”
His favorite flower to take Katherine is a lily. “They are short-lived, but boy, they are very pretty,” said Siebert.
In a recent letter to the editor, Rosewood resident Erma Goertzen wrote, “He lovingly cares for them, and the flowers respond to him. He waters the daisies every day and spends most of his time on the patio.”
The master gardener said his love for gardening stemmed from his lifelong occupation of farming. Siebert was raised on a farm outside of Henderson, where he first learned how to till a field using a horse-drawn harrow. He attended a one-room schoolhouse in Lushton with seven of his siblings but was never interested in pursuing anything other than farming.
“I never graduated high school,” said Siebert. “I knew I always wanted to be a farmer. I knew more about farming at the age of 13 than the teachers did, so I quit after two years of high school. Never turned back. I borrowed Pop’s machinery and bought a few pieces of land on my own, all dry land.”
Siebert grew corn, wheat, and milo, and he commented that the harvest was indeed plentiful.
The biggest challenge for Siebert was adapting to changes in technology over time.
Siebert said, “I always tell my grandchildren, I started with a tractor of 15 horsepower and could only plant two rows at a time. Can you guess the horsepower of my last lawnmower? It was 21.”
According to Siebert, success was not about the end result or how much change was in his pocket by the end of every harvest. “I was never wealthy, but I was always self-sufficient,” said Siebert. “Now, I am retired, and I am living off of every dime I saved.”
Success to Siebert was “waking up every morning to watch the crops grow and mature in the most beautiful way.”
Along with being taught how to farm by his father, John C. Siebert, Siebert learned how to garden.
Siebert said, “I love flowers. There is beauty in each one. You look at some flowers and they are so perfect to where if you try to improve them, you’d mess with their perfection.”
Marvin and Katherine have five children together. He said he has lost count of how many grandchildren and great-grandchildren he has. Marvin’s three daughters, Shirley Ulrich, Mary Osborne, and Sharlene Doell, assist in the planting of flowers every spring at Rosewood. To Siebert, gardening is a family affair, and he hopes it continues for as long as he lives. Siebert said, “I enjoy seeing their faces as they come through the door.” Residents like Erma Goertzen admire Siebert for his dedication to gardening and making Rosewood look lively during the spring and summer seasons.
Goertzen said, “He is very much a gentleman. He’s very kind-hearted, and he puts so much work into caring for those flowers. I thought he deserved some credit because that’s all pocket money he is spending on that garden. It’s amazing for a man of 100 years old. He’s doing better than most people who are half his age, and he walks without a walker. He is one of a kind.”
Residents have described Siebert as loving, humorous, hardworking, and, as Goertzen said, “a true, Christian man.” He places a bouquet of flowers every week in the dining room hall of Rosewood for residents and their families to enjoy.
Staff members are also appreciative of the bountiful flower bed. Rosewood’s Patricia Walters said, “He is a wonderful man who does miraculous things at the age of 100. With him growing the flowers, he brings so much joy to the residents here. Both staff and residents really appreciate the steps he has taken to provide the flowers. He goes as far as picking flowers for each individual resident for their rooms. He will share his flowers with whomever.”
When asked what legacy he wants to leave behind, without hesitation, Siebert gave a very simple answer with a lot of meaning: “I want to be remembered for taking care of God’s creation — the flowers, the crops, the trees…my family.”
