It’s been a balance between a life called to ministry, a business in buildings and construction and a love-affair with the family farm that’s kept John Wilkins busy all his years.
Growing Up in Mining Country
"I live within 15 minutes of where I was born. I’ve been here my whole life," John said, smiling. Here, specifically, is Oronogo, Mo., just north of Webb City, Mo. “Really, this is mining country. Used to, you could drive underground from here to Webb City. Oronogo, Webb City, Joplin, these cities were all established as mining towns. 'Jack' or zinc ore, and lead is what they mined here. That’s where the expression 'The town that Jack built,' came from,” John explained.
Looking out across John’s fields dotted with trees and one large hill covered in trees, you’d never guess he’s the owner of an 8-acre rock pile, remnants of what was hauled out of the ground from surrounding mines years ago.
“You can’t really tell what it is because of the trees, but it’s on my and my neighbor’s property,” John noted.
"Tiff, that’s what a lot of it is. It was hauled out here. Underground tiff is a quartz that is almost clear, it breaks off in squares, and when you shine a light on it underground it just sparkles,” noted this pastor, construction worker, and one-time miner perhaps?
John smiled and admitted that it was hard to live in this part of the country and not at least dabble in mining. “But we didn’t do it big time.”
John is quick to say he’s not big-time in much of anything, though.
Values For a Family and a Business
President of 4W Metals, his family-owned metal building company, (named after his four children, Sherri, John Jr., Christi and Charles), John said his kids each own one-fourth of the company he founded after years in the construction business left him tired and looking for something a little different. John recalled when the legal documents were being drawn up, the lawyer explained to John that he may want to make some provisions for himself, in case his children decided to “oust him,” as president at some point in time. John was quick to respond, “I trust my kids more than anybody else.”
Trust, honesty, quality of product and straight forward service–those were the values instilled over the years in all his kids, grandkids and great-grandkids.
“Money-wise, we’ve done our best year ever,” John noted. “Our record was no downs during the ice storms,” John said, of the quality of his buildings. “We’re seeing that people will pay for quality and honesty. We’ve been greatly blessed.”
In the Lord's Service
In April of 1949 John was licensed to be a preacher. Since that time he has pastored a church continuously for at least the last 52 years. John said he’s performed several thousand marriages.
“I have couples celebrating 50 year anniversaries and more, that I married.” “That is so rewarding to me.” John remembers meeting his wife, Billie, leading her to the Lord, baptizing her, then marrying her not long after, “and from there, living a life with her. That was in 1953,” John smiled.
As a pastor John’s also had to perform many funerals in the area, which, he said, has made him have to take a good look at life, and death. “Life has a lot of funny twists in it. My way of thinking, without God’s help and strength, you just wouldn’t do it,” John said.
John said he has seen his three fields of work transform over the years. “Back years ago we held a lot of two and three week revivals, but that doesn’t happen anymore,” John reminisced. “People are busy, they have their own ideas and opinions. We have lost considerably in the last 25 to 30 years as far as the church being the center of people’s lives.”
“I feel we’re missing great things in life when I don’t know who my neighbor is and I don’t care to. But if we can bear each other’s burdens…” John trailed off.
“The church (used to be) a basis for life. They relied on the Lord. Somewhere along the line we’ve become more self-sufficient,” John noted.
John sits on the board of the Missouri Baptist Children’s Home. Over the years he has kept foster children, and his children have kept foster children, and he’s facilitated in the adoption of many children as well. When it came time to tally the grandchildren and great-grandchildren, he explained he had 10 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren, but that wasn’t counting the foster children, which greatly added to those numbers.
“If you’re a Jack-of-All-Trades, you’re a master of none,” John cautioned, and then smiled, admitting he’s probably guilty of both, but he’s not sorry for his many involvements.
At the Farm Today
John bales his own hay and runs a commercial cattle herd with Angus influence. “There’s not two or three in the whole bunch I haven’t had since they were born,” he noted. John said he has a few soybeans planted on 80 acres. He sells his cows mostly in Coffeeville, Kan., but has sold some at Joplin Regional in Carthage, Mo., as well. He used to feed his calves out himself, on a ration developed by the University of Iowa that consisted of corn, alfalfa and enough soybean meal and mineral to complete the mix. “I ground it myself and we’d feed them out for 120 days then slaughter and sell them to locals,” he smiled.
John said that while he’s always lived on a farm, it’s never been a big farm. “I can be out here and forget everything else. But I’m in the building business. I’ve paid for a hay barn a dozen times over out here, but I still don’t have a hay barn,” John smiled. He may be a small farmer, but he’s definitely dabbling in just enough to be dangerous. “Don’t even get me started on the pigs,” John laughed.
Yes, that’s right, this small-time farmer also continues to feed out around 100 pigs for slaughter every year, similar to how he used to do the cows.
John noted the change on the farm over the years, from thrashing, to the modern equipment of today. I was born in the 30s, the worst of the depression was over, but our family never had much. I started preaching at 15. “I’ve always liked people, you have to, in my lines of work,” he said.
Times have changed in all the areas of John’s life. But according to John, the preacher, farmer and construction man, and his philosophy on life, “If you’re happy, you can do a lot of things.”
