Mansfield, Bert

From Spearfish Lake Tales Wiki

Bert Mansfield ran a large dairy farm outside of Bradford, Michigan with a thousand or two cows... He milked three shifts a day out there, every day, and it was no secret that a lot of his milkers were illegal aliens.^GM5

Bret was the father of two boys, probably twins, named Brett and Brock. The brothers, both Class of 1988, bullied other kids at school and complaints were ignored as Bert sat on the school board. He responded with the phrase, "Can't he take a joke?"^GM5

Steve Sharp was bullied too often and, when the brothers tried playing chicken, rammed his mother's Buick into their pickup, killing all three.^GM6

Bret denied any blame attaching to his boys and initiated a feud with Steve's father, Phil Sharp at the crash site, leading to him being led away in handcuffs.^GM6 The town of Bradford was split between families that liked Phil and those aligned with Bert. Mansfield's arrogance and the smell of the farm drove many away and Sharp was purposeful in his retaliation. Mansfield's farm was repeatedly raided by the INS and having his laborer's deported. An accidental spill brought lawsuits from the Defenders of Gaea. Mansfield lost re-election to the school board. By 1998 the vendetta had cost Mansfield his wife and his farm... bankruptcy and three heart attacks.^GM8