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A life well lived: ‘Hop king’ Herman Goschie led by example

By Dixon BledsoeHerman Goschie treated others the way he would want to be treated – with kindness and respect.

Susan Goschie has many fond memories of her late father, Herman Goschie.

She’s thankful for the countless lessons he taught her.

“The most important thing he taught me was treating everyone with fairness, no matter who they were or their circumstances,” Susan said.

When Herman met someone new – a community member, a Fortune 500 executive, or a laborer looking for a job, he did so without judgment.

“He was the same as a father – tolerant of paths he would not have chosen,” Susan said. “However, if I chose unwisely or came up short, my discipline came from the disappointment in his blue eyes.”

Susan Goschie’s recollections are a testimony to the man who earned the love and respect of many in the community he lived and served.

Herman Goschie passed away Aug. 8, 2011 at the age of 88, but his lessons live on.Vernice and Herman Goschie were married 66 years.

His contributions to the Silverton-Mount Angel communities, the hop and farming industry, Rotary, his church and the Silverton Hospital were almost innumerable.

Herman and his wife of 66 years, Vernice, raised four children – Susan, Gayle, Gordon, and Glenn. In the case of the kids, the hops didn’t fall very far from the vine.

Growing up Goschie puts a frame around Herman’s accomplishments, ethics, spirituality, benevolence and credo for living a good life.

“I learned from my Dad to use my time and talents, to the best of my ability, to serve family, community, God, and country,” Gordon said.

Gordon, who is the financial manager of Goschie Farms, adds, “Dad should be remembered for his honesty, integrity, commitment and generosity.”

Herman witnessed horse-drawn farm equipment evolve into computerized machinery with GPS systems.
Susan, who recently retired from heading the Silverton Hospital Network’s community relations and marketing department, recollects a time when the best summer nights “were those when I fell asleep hearing the banter of the night field crew or lulled by deep voices of the men from the Mount Angel Monastery singing as they picnicked by the Abiqua.”

As the oldest child, she remembers how important diversification was to the family business, growing everything from hops to grain, pumpkins, strawberries, Marion berries and beans.

“The latter three crops meant no summer vacation. Like all farm kids you were the first one in the field, stayed there when it started to rain and the last one to leave at the end of the day,” Susan said. “That is the first lesson my Dad taught me – a powerful work ethic. It has served me well for my entire professional career.” The old hop dryer that Herman first used at his grandfather’s farm at Lone Pine.

Gayle, who serves as vice president of the Silverton Hospital Governing Board and manages Goschie Farm’s hop and wine grape business, remembers the long, hard days during the growing season but also the social aspect of growing up on a farm.

“As a farm business we didn’t have the sophisticated repair shop we do now. When a piece of equipment needed repair, welding for example, the tractor and disk or whatever needed attention was driven into Mount Angel to the machine shop,” Gayle said.

“It seems incredible now as our present farm shop operates much like an Indy 500 pit stop. But as a kid, the repair would happen with a fair amount of discussion and local flair. Since I would be included, either as the tractor driver or riding along in Dad’s pickup, I learned a lot from these casual discussions of farm work with other farmers. It happened with other types of businesses as well – if Dad went to the bank, we all went inside for a chat,” she added.

When asked about his father’s greatest accomplishment and what he learned growing up, Glenn’s thoughts are clear.

“Through hard work and diversification, his greatest accomplishment was laying a strong foundation for a farm that has and will endure for years. He did this while demonstrating his commitment to his community, church, and agriculture at large.

“Dad didn’t talk to us about how to live. Instead, by his example, I learned the importance and rewards of integrity and service to the community.” said Glenn, who manages several crops and serves as the manager of maintenance for farm operations.

Herman’s perfect attendance as a 66-year Rotarian taught his children that community service was a commitment, and that reliability and accountability were virtues.

His spirituality and faith was demonstrated through his regular attendance at and benevolence toward Trinity Lutheran Church in Mount Angel.

He was selected Silverton’s First Citizen in 1993. He lead by example, and the entire family was honored with Silverton’s Lifetime Achievement award in 2006.

As a stalwart in the Oregon, national and international hop scene, Goschie was invited to Yugoslavia in 1984 to receive the industry’s most prestigious award, the International Order of the Hop, an award daughter Gayle also received.

Darin Rybloom, manager of the Roth’s store in Silverton and a fellow Rotarian, is effusive in his admiration.
Rybloom said Herman set the standard in Rotary as past president and with his perfect attendance over 60 years.

“I knew him as a quiet giant – one of those gentlemen who didn’t talk a lot but commanded ultimate respect,” Rybloom said.

“I recall being in Rotary for just a few years and a meeting in which no one jumped at the chance to run for president. The room went quiet as Mr. Goschie rose to speak. Instead he just pointed at me. That is how the vote went, because of the respect people had for him.”

Growing up Goschie required a maternal flair, too. Vernice was the farm bookkeeper, home manager, and “director of child management,” Susan said.

While Herman would take his children around the farm and to town on errands, their mother would get a brief break from the “child management” job she loved then and loves to this day.

Vernice is quick to talk about her husband’s attributes.

“Herman was just as fair to anyone as anybody could be,” Vernice said. “He had such a great rapport with the workers, which was so important as they worked around the clock. At his memorial, it was very touching to hear how much he was respected.”

Bill Winter, the president and CEO of Silverton Hospital for 21 years and now President Emeritus, said he was blessed to work with Herman Goschie for two decades..

“Herman was the one who established the first Charitable Foundation at Silverton Hospital. Since he led its beginning, my guess is that about $10 million has flowed through the Foundation,” Winter said.

A hop inspector visits Herman Goschie as little Susan stands on a hop bale listening. Through that arm the Foundation helped build all three phases of the current hospital, remodelled the Emergency Room, and provided a new CT scanner as well as other equipment, Winter said.

“It was Herman’s hard work and vision that made this Foundation happen in the 1980s at a time when the hospital needs were great,” Winter said. “Another wonderful contribution to Silverton Hospital has been his daughters, Gayle and Susan, who could be called ‘chips off the old block’.”

“While I will miss his humor, curiosity and wisdom, I have inherited the first two and am working to achieve some of the last,” Susan said.

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