I have this family story about fascism and farmers that I've been sitting on for a while, trying to figure out the best way to tell it.

Tonight, I just decided to say "fuck it" and let it out on its own.

My Seidel family has been in Berks County, PA since the 1750s, but we're new comers to the western side, having moved here in 1962.

Before that, we were in northern Berks, in Greenwich, Windsor, and the town of Virginville.

My dad always gets nostalgic when we drive up there and starts to tell stories.

Years ago, we were in a car together and my dad was trying to explain his grandfather to me.

He was, by all accounts, a character and a bit of a bastard.

He was a cattle jockey for a local vet. Almost died from passing out drunk in the snow. Had a horrible marriage after accidentally killing his friend in a car accident and marrying the deceased's pregnant girlfriend.

"You know," Dad said, "Herbert kept a Hitler mustaches all through World War II. It's not that he liked Hitler. He just really hated socialism."

I've been turning this over in my mind for almost a decade now.

Know what I think?

I think my great grandfather was a fascist.

It would have been one thing if my dad said "He kept a Hitler mustache all through WWII because he didn't feel like he should have to change his style."

Nope, it was political.

As such, I'm defining him with the ideology with which he aligned himself, not the one he opposed.

Here's the other thing: I have other Pennsylvania German friends who recount how their families were treated during WWI. They changed their names to seem less German even though they'd been in Pennsylvania for centuries. They stopped speaking the language in public.

No one exerted pressure on my grandfather to shave 25 years later.

Yeah, so I don't think he was the only fascist in Virginville.

Not only has the story stuck with me, but the way Dad told it stuck with me.

Immediately making excuses and minimizing it, but at the same time knowing that it was important enough to share.

I don't know what is the point of this story.

That fascism is nothing new in rural communities?

That it matters when we can tell whole truths about our family history?

That you should call a fascist a fascist rather than making excuses about socialism?

I'm going to milk my cows, who are descended from my great grandfather's cows, now.

You all have a safe night.