For 47 years, Ron Vandenberg was an important part of this cooperative.
“Bergie”—as everyone knew him—passed away Sunday at age 78.
In an interview for the forthcoming book on the cooperative’s centennial, Vandenberg said his time with the coop started because he needed gas money.
“I was in FFA in high school, and the coop asked for people who wanted to work on Saturdays and once in a while after school,” he said. That part-time job in 1958 led to a lifetime connection with the coop.
During one busy stretch, the bookkeeper told Bergie he logged 131 hours one week, 127 the next, and 120 the week after that. “The next week, it rained for two or three days—I think I slept most of that time,” he said. He says he did not pay attention to the time or hours—he just knew he had to do the job.
“I enjoyed my work. And we had a lot of fun,” he said. “We worked hard, but when we played, we played hard.” Vandenberg was known as the one who could keep fellow employees at ease with practical jokes and stories, even visiting the co-op often after he retired a few years ago.
He already knew the area, having grown up south of Pella, but hauling a variety of items to customers meant Vandenberg became well acquainted with area roads and customer routes. “People would say to me, ‘How do you know all these people?’ Well, after 48 years, I told them you know where every farmer lives.”
“I enjoyed working with the farmers. The farmers were super nice people to work for, and we’d visit, and I got to work outside,” he said. “If they’d have put me in a factory, I’d be a lot crazier than what I am now.”
“There’s good guys who work here and who I enjoyed working with here,” he said in the 2019 interview. “We had a lot of fun together.”
Funeral services will be Friday at 10 a.m. at Third Church in Pella. Visitation will be Thursday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Garden Chapel Funeral Home.