Albert Frederick Lindley (1917-2000)

Albert Lindley

  Darrtown High School

Class of 1935

Bernice Weiss

 Darrtown High School

Class of 1937

Following his graduation from Darrtown High School in 1935, Albert Lindley worked as a hired hand for farmers in the Collinsville area. He was also employed part-time by Milford township to help maintain area roads. Fred Lindley, Albert's son, recalls his father relating stories about hand-shoveling gravel from the bed of the Seven Mile Creek into horse-drawn gravel wagons to be hauled to area roads and how horse-pulled graders were used to level the roadways after the gravel was deposited. When Albert acquired enough money to purchase a team of work horses and farm implements, he became a tenant farmer.

Upon their marriage in 1937, Albert and Bernice Lindley established their first home on a tenant farm located on the north side of Millikin Road, approximately 1/4 of a mile west of the Rt. 747 intersection. At the time, Albert's parents, Clarence and Mary Lindley were tenant farmers on the "Howe" place, which was located at the top of the hill on Wayne-Madison Road, approximately 1 mile north of Howe Road. Around 1939-40, Albert's parents purchased a farm (see "Clarence and Mary Lindley Acquire Farm" news article), which was situated on the north side of the Oxford-Middletown Road, approximately 1/4 mile west of Jacksonburg. Albert and Bernice then moved from the Millikin Road farm and began tenant farming the "Howe" farm.

In 1945, Herman L. Sanders, owner of the Butler County Lumber Company in Hamilton, approached Albert about farming a Milford Township property that Mr. Sanders had recently purchased. Subsequently, in early 1946, Albert, wife, Bernice, seven-year old son, Freddie and five-year old daughter, Betty Jean moved to the 240-acre Sanders Stock Farm at 3700 Hamilton Richmond Road (State Route 177), approximately one mile south of Darrtown.

Albert and

Bernice LIndley

- 1930's

The location of the photo at the left is unknow. The photo at the right was taken in the back yard of the Paul and Lois Weiss home on Oxford Street in Darrtown (immediately west of the southwest quadrant of the Darrtown village square.

Bernice and

Albert LIndley

- 1950's

Three Generations of Butler County Farming

From the Hamilton Journal News (circa 1948)

"DARRTOWN - Three generations of Lindleys farming in this community chat with George Wilson, right, Butler County extension agent, during one of his farm visits. The Lindleys are, left to right, Clarence Lindley, R.R. 1, Trenton; his son, Albert, R.R. 5, Hamilton, and Albert's son, Fred. Young Fred holds the halter on his 4-H Angus steer project."

Fred Lindley (age 11) with 4H steer - 1949

Fred Lindley (age 13) with 4H steer - 1951

Betty Jean Lindley (age 11) with 4H steer - 1951

Fred Lindley (age 18) with 4H steer - 1956

4-H Projects - Steer competition - Butler County (Ohio) Fair

ABOVE: (circa 1950) Leroy Lindley, brother of Albert, appears at the fuel tank on the farm at 3700 Hamilton Richmond Road. Note the hand-pump on top of the tank, a funnel temporarily resting on the tank, and the 5-gallon, metal, gasoline can, with a screw top, at the right foreground. There are two structures at the left background: the smaller one is an abandoned "out house" and the larger one is a chicken house.

ABOVE: (circa 1950) Leroy Lindley stands between his Allis-Chalmers tractor and Massie-Harris combine. Wheat is being transferred from the combine to a grain wagon. Fred Lindley stands on the wagon that is receiving the grain.

ABOVE: Albert Lindley is seen in this 1950's photo, as he nears the end of the corn rows in this field on the Sanders Stock Farm. This view is looking north from the gate that opened into the field from the farm lane; the field was bordered at the left by Route 177. The trees in the background line the Four MIle Creek. Albert is cultivating corn with his Allis-Chalmer tractor. Note the broad fenders and the cultivator frame attached to the front of the tractor. The photo was taken by Paul Weiss, brother-in-law of Albert.

RIGHT:

Betty Jean Lindley - flower girl - Ben Barbour and Mary Ellen Bufler  wedding - Circa late 1940's

BELOW: The Albert Lindley Family (circa mid-1950's) L-R: Albert, Freddie, Betty Jean, and Bernice Lindley in the living room of their home at 3700 Hamilton-Richmond Road.

LEFT: Albert and Bernice Lindley - circa 1960's

The photo above was taken in the Lindley living room of the farm house at 3700 Hamilton-Richmond Road.

Bernice played the piano - seen at the rear left.

Note the television set behind Bernice; the round object in the upper-left corner of the TV was one of the controls used to operate the TV. Changing channels provided some exercise, as one had to walk to the TV and rotate the channel selector. This was the Lindley's first color television; their first TV was a 13" black and white model that sat on a table in the same location.

Al Lindley ends cattle business and leaves farming

As indicated the sales bills at the right, in late 1961 and early 1962, Al Lindley ended one chapter of his life and began another.

     > In November of 1961, Al and the Sanders brothers, Mike and Bud, sold their mutually-owned herd of registered Aberdeen Angus cattle.

     > Three months later, in February of 1962, Al sold his farm equipment at auction.