Only in a long while does a man come along to bless us with his everlasting knowledge. This man just happens to be my father Michael Ponto. I interviewed him on how he became a farmer and what he does when he is not farming. And what he did in high school like sports and the things he did other than school activities.

Where were you born?
Brookings, South Dakota


How many siblings do you have?
I have three sisters. My oldest sister lives in Aurora,, the youngest of them lives in Colman, And the middle one lives in Texas by Dallas. I am the youngest in my family.


What did you do for fun as a kid?
We went fishing, shot gophers, and went pheasant hunting. Once in a while we would go to a movie.


What did your parents do?
Farmed, they owned milk cows, hogs. They sold eggs for a while too.


What sports did you participate in?
Football. I played basketball when I was little.


Did you have a good football team when you played?
We struggled, went 2-7 my senior year. But I still made all conference.


What school did you go to?
Elkton Public


What did you do after high school?
I went on a combine crew in Kansas, until the radiator blew up and I got burns, and I had to come back. After I got better I went back to the farm. After helping my dad out me and some of my friends got a house on some farm land and eventually they moved out and I start my own farm.

Who where your friends in high school?
Mike Rhykus, Mike Maskus, Tim Jenson and Craig Biggar. Craig, Mitch and Mike where also on the football team.

What kind of pets did you have?
We had dogs, and some cats.


What where your hobbies back then?
I liked to go deer and pheasent hunting.



What are your hobbies now?
I golf , and go to basketball and football games to watch my boys play.


Did you know you were going to be a farmer after high school?
Yeah, that's what I always wanted to do.


What was your first job?
I was a custom combiner, but before that I threw bales for other farmers, but that was only around that part of year.

What was your first car?
Ford galaxy 500.


Did you ever get in an accident?
Yeah, once when I was 16 I ran into a steer with my dad's pickup. It was dark and one of the neighbor's steers got out and walked into middle of the road.


Why didn't you go to college?
Just didn't think it was for me, and it was easier to make a living without going to college back then.


How where sports different back then?
We weren't pushed as much to get in the weight room. Our football team just went there anyways without getting yelled at by the coaches.