– Arlan Forde, at Aase Haugen

Arlan Forde is 100% Norwegian and grew up on a farm just north of Sattre, Iowa. “I was the youngest in my family,” says Arlan. “And I lived just four miles from where I was born until I went to the U.S. Army and I spent some time stationed in Germany.” He says they farmed the land and milked cows in addition to have a few chickens and pigs. “I remember taking eggs down to the Sattre store with my brother,” he said. “We’d trade them for food, like flour. My mom used to make the best bread from that flour.”

Arlan married Marjorie and they raised two children. They started out farming with horses and then got a tractor. “Seems like we got another tractor about every two years after we started that!”  Their family continued to grow and he said with a smile, “I have a bunch of grandkids today!” A couple of his granddaughters live close by and on the day we interviewed, he was set to go out for a ride with his daughter. “I like fall,” he said. “The leaves are nice to look at.”

When asked what his favorite food is, he said, “Oh, I’ll eat just about anything!” But he did admit that he likes ice cream and was happy to hear that Aase was serving ice cream all day on Wednesday that week!

Arlan is about 88 years old and says he doesn’t have any secrets to a long life, but he added, “My mother lived to be almost 100, so I come from a long line.”  He says he likes living at Aase. “The people are good to me here and the food is good too!”

We are happy you are a part of our Aase Haugen family, Arlan!

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