Van Etten, George A.

George A. Van Etten

Birth

George A. Van Etten was born December 9, 1932 in Schenectady, NY, the son of the late Percy Van Etten (1903 – 1964) and Mary Helen Matula (1906 – 1992). His siblings were:

• Lawrence (Barbara) Van Etten
• Elizabeth (Simon) Van Der Snoek
• Ida (Fred) Saburro
• Mary Clark

Education

George A. Van Etten graduate from Cornell, as did his wife, Jan.

Occupation

George Van Etten was a career NY State employee in various capacities, this day job helped to support his dream, Van Etten Farm. His life's work was his 300 acre farm, were he planted 50 acres of Christmas trees. He had 40 head of cattle, as well as chickens and pigs. He gave fall hayrides and cut and sold firewood, maybe you to have visited Van Etten farm, on the hill. He was a long time member of the Helderberg Kiwanis, Knox Fire Dept., Knox Reformed Church, and a 4-H leader.

Marriage & Children

George A. Van Etten married Janice T. Van Etten. Their children were:

• Jeffrey (Patsy) Van Etten
• Judy (Andy) Niedzielski
• Sue Mason
• Nancy (Keith) Stewart
• Andrew Van Etten
• foster son Raymond (Cindy) Butler.

Death

George A. Van Etten, 76, of Knox died peacefully in his sleep, at home on August 22, 2009 after a long illness.

George A Van Etten
Birth: 1932
Death: Aug. 22, 2009
Burial: Knox Cemetery, Knox, Albany County, New York, USA
Created by: James Seidelman
Record added: Sep 07, 2009
Find A Grave Memorial# 41693785

Obituary

Van Etten, George A.: Newspaper Obituary and Death Notice

Times Union, The (Albany, NY) - Friday, August 28, 2009
Deceased Name: Van Etten, George A.
KNOX George A. Van Etten, 76, of Knox, died peacefully in his sleep at home on August 22, 2009 after a long illness. Born in Schenectady, he was the son of the late Percy and Mary Van Etten. The husband of 52 years to Janice T. Van Etten. George is the father of Jeffrey (Patsy) Van Etten, Judy (Andy) Niedzielski, Sue Mason, Nancy (Keith) Stewart, Andrew Van Etten and foster son, Raymond (Cindy) Butler. He loved his 16 grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. He was the brother of the late Lawrence (Barbara) Van Etten, Elizabeth (Simon) Van Der Snoek, Ida (Fred) Saburro, and Mary Clark. A funeral service will be conducted at 1 p.m. on Saturday, August 29, 2009 at Knox Reformed Church followed by interment in Knox Cemetery. Relatives and friends are invited to call at Fredendall Funeral Home, Altamont, on Friday, August 28, 2009 from 4 to 7 p.m. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Knox Reformed Church, P.O Box 86, Knox, NY 12107 or the Knox Volunteer Fire Dept., P.O. Box 131, Knox, NY 12107. FredendallFuneralHome.com
Edition: Final Edition
Page: D6
Copyright, 2009, (c) Times Union. All Rights Reserved.

George A. Van Etten
Funeral Information
Home: Knox, NY
Date of Death: August 22, 2009
Place of Birth: Schenectady, NY
Birthdate: December 9, 1932
Age: 76
Funeral Service: Saturday, August 29, 2009 1:00 PM Knox Reformed Church, Knox, NY
Visitation: Friday, August 28, 2009 4 PM to 7 PM at Fredendall Funeral Home, Altamont, NY
Interment: Knox Cemetery, Knox, New York
Biography
Knox- George A. Van Etten, 76, of Knox died peacefully in his sleep, at home on August 22, 2009 after a long illness. Born in Schenectady, he was the son of the late Percy and Mary Van Etten. The husband of 52 years to Janice T.Van Etten. He was a career NY State employee in various capacities, this day job helped to support his dream, Van Etten Farm. His life's work was his 300 acre farm, were he planted 50 acres of Christmas trees. He had 40 head of cattle, as well as chickens and pigs. He gave fall hayrides and cut and sold firewood, maybe you to have visited Van Etten farm, on the hill. He was a long time member of the Helderberg Kiwanis, Knox Fire Dept., Knox Reformed Church, and a 4-H leader.

George is the father of Jeffrey (Patsy) Van Etten, Judy (Andy) Niedzielski, Sue Mason, Nancy (Keith) Stewart, Andrew Van Etten and foster son Raymond (Cindy) Butler. He loved his 16 grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. He was the brother of the late Lawrence (Barbara) Van Etten, Elizabeth (Simon) Van Der Snoek, Ida (Fred) Saburro, and Mary Clark. A funeral service will be conducted at 1pm on Saturday, August 29, 2009 at Knox Reformed Church followed by internment at Knox Cemetery. Relatives and friends are invited to call at Fredendall Funeral Home, Altamont, on Friday August 28, 2009 from 4 to 7pm. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Knox Reformed Church P.O Box 86, Knox, NY 12107 or the Knox Volunteer Fire Dept. P.O. Box 131, Knox, NY 12107.

Social Security

George A. Vanetten: Social Security Death Index (SSDI) Death Record

Name: George A. Vanetten
State of Issue: New York
Date of Birth: Friday December 09, 1932
Date of Death: Saturday August 22, 2009
Est. Age at Death: 76 years, 8 months, 13 days
Confirmation: Verified
Last known residence:
City: Altamont; Thompsons Lake
County: Albany
State: New York
ZIP Code: 12009
Latitude: 42.7090
Longitude: -74.0262

Additional Media

In the Helderberg Hilltowns, Berne has 130 exemptions for a total value of $7.6 million; Knox has 138 exemptions for a value of $8.5 million, Westerlo has 83 for a value of $2 million, and Rensselaerville has 99 for a value of $7.3 million.

These exemptions can make the difference between a farm staying in business or not.

One example is the Van Etten farm in Knox. The 300-acre farm was the fulfillment of a lifetime dream for Janice and George Van Etten. The couple met as students at Cornell’s ag school.

After they married in 1957, they saved their money, living on one salary, so they could buy a farm. In 1959, the Van Ettens traveled up the Hill to Knox in an old Model T to look at a farm for sale.

“We went putt, putt, putt up the Hill to God’s country, God being the only one that wanted it,” said Mrs. Van Etten with her characteristic wit.

The Van Ettens purchased the 200-acre property for $11,500.Twenty-one years later, they added another 100 acres of land that lay between their two parcels. “George said he put the farm back together,” said Mrs. Van Etten. There they raised cattle, chickens and pigs, and Christmas trees on the soil that was too poor to raise crops.

Mrs. Van Etten recalled of her husband, “He always said, ‘You never plant more trees than your wife can shear.’ He always called me his branch manager.”

Mr. Van Etten was hard-working and committed to his farm. As raccoon rabies worked its way up the East Coast in the early 1990s, Mr. Van Etten had perhaps the first rabid raccoon in the county at his farm. He killed it with a pitchfork.

“He was heading for my cow barn,” Mr. Van Etten said at the time. None of his 40 cattle were vaccinated for rabies. “I had to protect them,” he said.

Mr. Van Etten died in 2009. His widow continues to run the Christmas tree operation on the farm.

The law requires a farmer to gross $10,000 annually in order to receive the agricultural exemption. Mrs. Van Etten has priced her trees at $35 each this year and hopes to sell enough to meet that mark.

Otherwise, she said, she could lose the farm since she would have to pay much higher taxes, as if the land were building lots.

What’s to be done to keep an elderly farmer on her farm?

Of course we can all make the scenic trek to Knox to buy Christmas trees from Mrs. Van Etten, certainly appropriate in a season of good will. She has spent a good part of her life tending to other’s needs, from teaching school to hosting Fresh Air kids from the city.

But we believe a more permanent solution is needed. The law should be amended, as it has so many times in the past, this time to accommodate a situation like Mrs. Van Etten’s. We understand that a gross figure must be set to apply to most cases so that people with land who aren’t farmers can’t take advantage of the system.

But surely, there must be a way to craft an amendment that would let someone who has farmed her land for half a century or more to continue to do so with the exemption even if she can’t always meet the $10,000 mark.

Mrs.Van Etten planted those Christmas tree seedlings herself and was also proud of doing work on a tractor and other farm chores. She deserves to stay on her farm. A change in the law would not only benefit her but all of us — with beautiful open space; homegrown trees, not trucked in, not adding to our carbon footprint; less cost for taxpayers than homes built on those lots would incur; spin-off benefits to businesses since farm visitors might shop or dine at nearby Helderberg establishments.

The benefits would be similar if other elderly farmers across the state could stay on their land. We reap what is sown; we must plant the seed now of a more liberal law for a healthier future.

— Melissa Hale-Spencer

Post date: December 12, 2013

Sources

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