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While many women in the 1930s were raising families and running households, Magnolia’s Ruth Ashby was doing farm work and playing ball.
“I was the tomboy in my family,” said Ruth, who grew up with four sisters and one brother. “I helped my dad and my brother on the farm while my sisters worked inside.”
Ruth was born on Sept. 12, 1916, to Henry and Mary Vogt on a farm east of Magnolia.
She celebrated her 100th birthday Sept. 11 in Luverne with more than 200 people — 100 relatives and 100 friends —amid a bouquet of 100 yellow roses.
“I was surprised there were that many people at the party,” Ruth said. “Not very many of my friends are living anymore.”
At 100, she enjoys comparing farming methods of her era — shocking oats and barley, for example — to today’s GPS-programmed machinery.
There was no electricity or indoor plumbing, and, of course, horsepower in Ruth’s early days was measured in terms of actual horses.
When she married Howard Ashby in 1937, he supplemented their income by grading township dirt roads with horse-drawn equipment.
They bought a farm northeast of Magnolia for $75 per acre. “Can you believe that?” Ruth said.
And it was a big deal when they added a tractor — for $600 — to their farming operation. “I drove the tractor and my husband used the horses,” she said. “And I milked cows.” Plus, she helped with hogs, chickens, sheep and other farm duties.
Ruth may have grown up a tomboy out of necessity, but she enjoyed boyish pursuits for most of her life. For example, she’s been a sports fan and an athlete as far back as she can remember.
Among her fondest memories are playing kitten ball (an early form of softball) with children from neighboring farms.
“There were six kids in my family, and the Ashbys (Ira and Clara) had a whole bunch of kids, and Lyman Brooks had a big family,” Ruth said.
“We all lived in the same section, and we’d all get together and play kitten ball.”
Among those neighborhood ball players was her eventual husband, Howard, who shared her love for the game. They were among the Minnesota Twins’ earliest and most loyal fans after the professional club came to Minneapolis in 1961.
“We liked to go to the Twins games,” Ruth said, adding that she still follows the games on TV today.
As a teenager, Ruth was a pitcher and leftfielder for a community girls’ softball team organized by Buster Olson and Albert Brooks.
“We played in dresses,” she said. “Of course we didn’t have slacks back then.”
In her early 20s, Ruth organized a girls’ softball team and is proud of its winning record. “We had a really good team,” Ruth said.
As she and her teammates grew up, the players her own age had been pulled away from the game by the responsibilities of raising children and running households.
Ruth found herself a leader and a coach among players much younger than she was. A black and white 1960s team picture shows Ruth with girls 25 years her junior.
Among them was professional golfer Jerilyn Britz, Luverne, who played shortstop, and Ruth’s twin nieces Darla and Darnelle Schei, who were pitcher and catcher respectively.
Ruth also had farm and family responsibilities — and she taught country school for a number of years — but she and Howard had only two children, and the smaller family allowed flexibility to continue playing ball.
The Ashbys had two sons, Melvin, who was born with disabilities and died at 29, and Gene, who lives in Luverne with his wife, Barb.
Gene and Barb’s son, Chris, died at age 16 in a car crash south of Luverne in 2006. “He was my only grandchild,” Ruth said. “Gene and Barb are all I have left.”
Howard died in 2007 just one month shy of their 70th anniversary. “I had a good husband,” she said Friday. “He was a good husband and good father.”
And Ruth counts her blessings. “We traveled a lot,” she said. “We got to see every state — including Alaska and Hawaii.”
She’s also grateful for her health. She has her own apartment in Poplar Creek, and until recently she played competitive cards — pinochle, 500 and bridge.
“She’s pretty competitive,” Gene remarked with a raised eyebrow. “I didn’t get athletic ability from my mother, but I am competitive.”
Ruth is still smiling about her birthday party and has two Mylar balloons still floating in her apartment.
What is her secret to longevity? “Stay active and don’t smoke,” she said. “And go to church.”