{"id":34737,"date":"2021-06-09T13:48:45","date_gmt":"2021-06-09T17:48:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/physical-activity-sense-of-humor-keep-retired-farmer-fit-healthy-at-93\/"},"modified":"2021-06-09T13:48:45","modified_gmt":"2021-06-09T17:48:45","slug":"physical-activity-sense-of-humor-keep-retired-farmer-fit-healthy-at-93","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/physical-activity-sense-of-humor-keep-retired-farmer-fit-healthy-at-93\/","title":{"rendered":"Physical activity, sense of humor keep retired farmer fit, healthy at 93"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

CHAMPION, Wis. (CNS) \u2014 John Sloot, 93, a retired farmer from Winthrop, Minnesota, lives by the adage of his late brother, Vincent, a marathon runner, who preached: \u201cWhen you get near the end, you have to throw everything out of the closet.\u201d<\/p>\n

The adage loses some meaning translated from his native Dutch, but Sloot uses the marathon runner\u2019s expression to describe how he maintains his physical activity. The older he becomes, the more active Sloot seems to have gotten.<\/p>\n

In May, Sloot and daughter Bernadette Quist of St. Cloud, Minnesota, took part in the Walk to Mary in the Diocese of Green Bay, Wisconsin. They walked the final two miles of the 21-mile pilgrimage from the National Shrine of St. Joseph in De Pere to the National Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help in Champion.<\/p>\n

According to Pat Deprey, organizer of the May 1 Walk to Mary, Sloot was the oldest person to ever participate in the event, held each year (except in 2020) since 2013.<\/p>\n

Sloot has maintained a healthy lifestyle throughout his senior years \u2014 as well as a sense of humor.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople ask me, \u2018How do you do it?’\u201d Sloot told The Compass, Green Bay\u2019s diocesan newspaper, in an interview before the Walk to Mary. \u201cI say, \u2018I will tell you the secret. Just keep on breathing.’\u201d<\/p>\n

When he was in his 70s, Sloot said he read in Reader\u2019s Digest about the benefits of jogging. So he decided to start jogging around the yard of his 385-acre farm. \u201cI did it in the yard because we have some old-fashioned neighbors,\u201d he said. \u201cIf I\u2019m walking on the road and jogging, he\u2019d think I\u2019m (crazy).\u201d<\/p>\n

But after tracking his progress, he decided to jog in public.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was doing up to a mile and I felt pretty good. I said, \u2018I\u2019m going to go one mile out on the road and then turn around and come back \u2026 and the neighbor can think what he wants,’\u201d he recalled. \u201cI did that day after day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sloot said that he jogged two miles every other day for 20 years. \u201cI never in my life felt better,\u201d he said. \u201cI was so healthy and I could jump out of bed, put my shoes on and do my two miles. No problem. Then I had some health problems and backed off.\u201d<\/p>\n

To remain physically active, Sloot said, it\u2019s important to have some motivation. \u201cI figure I want to be fit and healthy because I ride horses and, in the winter, I do ice skating,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Ice skating is a hobby he acquired growing up in Holland. When he was in his 50s, he heard on the radio that Minnesota\u2019s New Ulm Figure Skating Club was looking for new members, so he decided to join.<\/p>\n

He performed in community ice skating shows in New Ulm until 2019, when he was 91. Last year\u2019s events were canceled due to COVID-19.<\/p>\n

Spiritual health, like physical activity, is important to Sloot, a member of St. Francis de Sales Parish in Winthrop. Growing up in Herwen, Holland, he recalls praying the rosary with his family.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen World War II started and when it got hot near the end \u2026 we were in the cellar every night. We would pray the rosary,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Sloot immigrated to the United States in 1953 at age 25. He settled in Minnesota Lake to work on the farm of a family who had sponsored his move from Holland.<\/p>\n

Two years later, he returned to Holland and on Feb. 16, 1955, he married his childhood sweetheart, Minnie.<\/p>\n

The Sloots became U.S. citizens in 1964. After renting a farm from their sponsor for 11 years, they bought two farms on 240 acres in Winthrop and later added 145 more acres. They mostly grew corn and soybeans and raised hogs.<\/p>\n

John and Minnie raised 11 children on their farm, which they sold to their son, Harry, in 1994. Minnie died in 2015.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow I\u2019m a retired farmer, but I still get involved in the farming a little bit,\u201d said Sloot. \u201cI spend more time riding a horse than riding a tractor.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2017, Quist accompanied her father to Holland to celebrate his birthday with relatives.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was the start of a pilgrimage to Fatima and then to Lourdes,\u201d she said. \u201cThat was a time of reuniting with his devotion to the rosary. We would pray the rosary as a family, especially during Christmastime and during Lent, but then after Mom had passed, he said he would like to do this pilgrimage.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sloot has been one of the rosary leaders at St. Francis de Sales Parish and promotes the devotion to Our Lady of Fatima.<\/p>\n

As he reached the finish line at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help with his daughter, Sloot said he was sure he could have completed another mile. \u201cBut now, we need lunch,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people my age, they walk with walkers and wheels,\u201d Sloot said. \u201cI can still walk and jog a little ways. I don\u2019t think I could beat you, but I can give you a run. Life is fun if you make it that way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2013 \u2013 \u2013<\/p>\n

Lucero is news and information manager of The Compass, newspaper of the Diocese of Green Bay.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Credit: Source link<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CHAMPION, Wis. (CNS) \u2014 John Sloot, 93, a retired farmer from Winthrop, Minnesota, lives by the adage of his late brother, Vincent, a marathon runner, who preached: \u201cWhen you get near the end, you have to throw everything out of the closet.\u201d The adage loses some meaning translated from his native Dutch, but Sloot uses […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":34738,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[86],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nPhysical activity, sense of humor keep retired farmer fit, healthy at 93 - WORLD CATHOLIC NEWS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/physical-activity-sense-of-humor-keep-retired-farmer-fit-healthy-at-93\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Physical activity, sense of humor keep retired farmer fit, healthy at 93 - WORLD CATHOLIC NEWS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"CHAMPION, Wis. (CNS) \u2014 John Sloot, 93, a retired farmer from Winthrop, Minnesota, lives by the adage of his late brother, Vincent, a marathon runner, who preached: \u201cWhen you get near the end, you have to throw everything out of the closet.\u201d The adage loses some meaning translated from his native Dutch, but Sloot uses […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/physical-activity-sense-of-humor-keep-retired-farmer-fit-healthy-at-93\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"WORLD CATHOLIC NEWS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/World-Catholic-News-109605280463871\/?modal=admin_todo_tour\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-06-09T17:48:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/T0905-0322-CNS-WALK-TO-MARY.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"708\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Worldcatholicn1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Worldcatholicn1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\">\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\">\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/\",\"name\":\"WORLD CATHOLIC NEWS\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":\"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/?s={search_term_string}\",\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/physical-activity-sense-of-humor-keep-retired-farmer-fit-healthy-at-93\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/T0905-0322-CNS-WALK-TO-MARY.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":708},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/physical-activity-sense-of-humor-keep-retired-farmer-fit-healthy-at-93\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/physical-activity-sense-of-humor-keep-retired-farmer-fit-healthy-at-93\/\",\"name\":\"Physical activity, sense of humor keep retired farmer fit, healthy at 93 - WORLD CATHOLIC NEWS\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/physical-activity-sense-of-humor-keep-retired-farmer-fit-healthy-at-93\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-06-09T17:48:45+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-06-09T17:48:45+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/491272a1cdc8eb55245d48e5044377c8\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/physical-activity-sense-of-humor-keep-retired-farmer-fit-healthy-at-93\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/491272a1cdc8eb55245d48e5044377c8\",\"name\":\"NEWS DESK\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f27f47f91f7d6f43179d283d82de5681?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"NEWS DESK\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34737"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34737"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34737\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34738"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34737"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34737"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34737"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}