Meet Your Neighbor: Ed Hudson

Ed Hudson is a familiar name in and around Winfield, but how well do you know Ed? Some of you very well and others not so well. No matter which category you fall into by the end of this story, we hope everyone will know Ed a little bit better.

Ed was born at Burlington Hospital on Dec. 2, 1935, to Dean and Wilma (Cummings) Hudson. He had two siblings, William and Lawrence. Ed was the oldest of the three siblings and the only one still living.

He met his future wife, Shirley Nelson, in 6th grade while attending school in Morning Sun, and they were married at the Morning Sun Methodist Church on Dec. 4, 1953, following Ed’s graduation from the Morning Sun High School that same spring. They became parents of six children, Kenneth, Keith, Karl, Kyle (deceased), Konnie and Kathy. They have 14 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.

They have been living on their farm approximately three miles southeast of Winfield for 60 years. They recently celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary. Ed continued his education at Greer’s School of Mechanics in Chicago. Following his graduation from there, Ed began a long and varied series of careers.

From 1954-1956, Ed worked as a hired hand for Talmage Mehaffy and his son, John. Ed began farming on his own in 1956 by renting 80 acres from a Davidson, the same landlord that his father-in-law Omar Nelson had. He also farmed some land owned by Mayor Leland McCash and began farming on his own until retiring from farming in 1990.

He started working in Winfield with officers Bill Ibbotson and Terry Wasson. In 1974, Ed embarked on a second career when he was sworn in as deputy marshal in Winfield. He became friends with Sheriff Droz, and in 1980, he became the fifth member of the sheriff’s posse.

In 1986, at the ripe old age of 50, Ed enrolled and graduated from the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy and became a full-time Henry County Deputy, a position he held until 1992. After working four years at L-W Farm Service, Ed returned to law enforcement and was a full-time police office in Winfield until he retired in 2001. When asked what his favorite job was, Ed replied, “The job I was doing at that time.”

“I always was interested in flying,” said Ed, whose interest was piqued when Durbin Chrisinger took him for a ride in his Cub.

In 1972, Ed earned his pilot’s license in Mt. Pleasant. He rented the planes he flew from Ray Brazil, and they included a Piper 140, a Cessna 172 and a 182, but his favorite plane was a 280 Piper. In addition to flying his parents to Nebraska to visit renters on a farm and to observe ditch and drainage, he flew most of his family members to various occasions for various reasons. The only land lover was Shirley who suffered from motion sickness when airborne.

Ed also flew some passengers that few private pilots have an opportunity to transport. (and perhaps don’t want it!) Ed flew prisoners to and from different prisons. Ed said he “never had any problems with the prisoners. They all had their own problems,” he said. The fact that each prisoner wore a travel belt and was accompanied by an officer while on the plane may have also been beneficial in keeping peace on the plane!

“No, but I came close,” answered Ed when asked if he ever had to draw his gun.

Ed declined to share any of his outstanding adventures while enforcing the law explaining that due to circumstances, he would not share them ”Because of the need to protect the guilty.” However, Ed did share one unusual incident that occurred on his watch. In the middle of the night, Ed was called to Mt. Pleasant to assist with the apprehension of a suspect that was seen wandering around the Iowa Wesleyan campus.

A portly and elusive fellow, it took four officers to capture him and put him into the back seat of a police car where he was whisked away to spend the night in the pen. With his background in farming, Ed had made short work of capturing the suspect. He told the other officers to shine their flashlights in the offender’s eyes while Ed snuck up and grabbed him. Just how or why Mr. Pig ended up wandering around the campus was never revealed nor was he ever charged with a crime. He was bailed out the next morning.

Both before and after his retirement, Ed was busy with home and community services. He made each of his grandkids a rocking horse out of solid walnut. Ed served on Winfield’s Benefited Fire Department for 38 years. He was a member of the Henry County Farm Bureau where he served as vice-president for two years, as president for two years and as a voting delegate for three years.

From 1968 until 1970, Ed and Shirley were active in the Louisa Center Community Church. Following its closure, the church was moved to Wapello where it is on display at the museum there. Since 1970, Ed has been a member of the Winfield United Methodist Church where you will find Ed and Shirley nearly every Sunday morning. When asked if he wanted to share any advice he said. “No.” So while the story of Ed’s life will continue, this article won’t! Thanks to Ed for being a good sport and sharing his story with us.

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