2012 century farms

A Messenger Publication Serving Farmers in Northwest and North Central Iowa

June 2012

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2012 Century/Heritage Farms

BOONERichard Stumbo, BooneSharon Phipps, BooneDaniel McCoy, BooneBarbara Snedden, Ogden

BuENA ViStACalvin Anderson, Albert CityNellie Meyer, Sioux Rapids

CALHOuNKeith Sexton, Rockwell CityPatrick Casserly, AuburnBasil Bergquist, Rockwell CityJohn Gordon, Lake CityJohn Ausberg, FondaEdna Steinberg, MansonRichard Higgins, FondaLinda Powell-Henricks, Rockwell

CityLoretta Koeppen, JolleyScharn family, Lytton

CARROLLJeanett Liechti, ArcadiaMichael Haubrich, ArcadiaCecelia Wadle, ManningKline Farms, CarrollDavid Muhr, Coon Rapids

CERRO GORDOScott Sprau, MeserveyMargaret Mateer, Sheffield

CHEROKEEJanice Abrahamson, CleghornBetty Stewart, Cherokee

Eric Wester, CleghornCLAY

Joyce Thomsen, RoyalErnest Hanson, DickensTom Hegel, PetersonLeah Sanderson, Webb

CRAWFORDCecelia Thelen, VailJames Jess, Schleswig

DALLASEsther Brooks, WoodwardLaNelle Glass, AdelTurner Family, RedfieldDorothy Hill, RedfieldHoward Bauman, GrimesRobert Safley, LindenKeith Killmer, PerryWilma Turner, RedfieldGloria Ward, Perry

DiCKiNSONDaniel Perkins, Estherville

EMMEtDavid Jacobson, Graettinger

FRANKLiNArthur Rodemeyer, HamptonCleo England, Iowa Falls

GREENEJohn Clark, DanaPat Casserly, ChurdanBates Farms, Churdan

HAMiLtONLaVerne Lutjen, Boone

HANCOCKJesse Schwichtenberg, GoodellJerry Zwald, GarnerHollatz Trust, GarnerMervin Krauss, CorwithLuverne Schmidt, Garner

HARDiNTom Roberts, Iowa FallsKeith Lettow, BuckeyeGeorge Stotser, HubbardVera Valde, Steamboat Rock

HuMBOLDtGilbert Sandven, HumboldtDavid Fevold, HumboldtJaclyn Lerdal, Humboldt

iDARoger Hanson, Ida GroveMarilyn Anderson, GalvaRobert Tank, Battle CreekFloyd Renze, Ida GroveKeith Rochau, HolsteinJean Cipperly, Ida Grove

KOSSutHKenneth Bormann, BodeJohn Kruse, West BendDavid Smith, AlgonaLaurel Peterson, Swea City

LYONAlfred Korthals, GeorgeBetty Roach, Rock Rapids

OBRiENAlan Geise, Sutherland

Richard Smidt, PrimgharMoore Trust, HartleyCarl Akeson, Archer.Steven Berntsen, PaullinaMary Ingram, PrimgharCharles Getting, Sanborn

OSCEOLAJerome Monier, Sibley

PALO ALtORitchie Berkland, CylinderMary Yoch, West BendCarroll Tindall, Graettinger

PLYMOutHDavid Poeckes, RemsenRobert Plendl, KingsleyBob Johnson, Le MarsGerald Gengler, Le MarsPaul Ahlers, RemsenEmmett Sitzmann, PlymouthMalcolm Brodie, PlymouthKen Hoffman, WestfieldRussell Schmidt, IretonClark Tindall, Le MarsJohn Johnson, AkronDel Kellen, Le MarsJohn Conover, Ireton

POCAHONTASDonna Burke, FondaRobert Siddall, LaurensDean Oleson, LaurensClaire Cox, LaurensGeorge Goode, Laurens

Donald Hertz, LaurensKyle Maas, Palmer

POLKJohn Hall, AnkenyCharles Elson, Bondurant

SACJodi Biher, NemahaLowell Diersen, Sac CityAudrey Bettin, OdeboltJohn Currie, OdeboltGerhardt Hameister, LyttonEdna Scherle, LyttonMignon Strain, Sac City

SiOuXRonald Morse, BoydenLinda Conover, IretonJohn Degen, HawardenJohn Haverals HawardenMyrna Vander Hamm, IretonDennis VanDerWeide, BoydenMarjorie Conover, HawardenArthur Franken, Sioux CenterLoren Sohl, Boyden

StORYRussell Carleton, Nevada

WEBStERClara Brain, DuncombeMaxine Sweatt, HarcourtJohn Ryberg, GowrieBrain Farms, Duncombe

WOODBuRYRoger Heinle, Whiting

Brian Briese, CorrectionvilleRay Johnson, MovilleSteven Mulfinger, HornickDarrell Kruger, AnthonLeo Uhl, MapletonLynette Mennen, Sargeant BluffsVince Johnson, Sloan

WRiGHtRobert Engh, GoldfieldMargaret Lubbert, GoldfieldMargaret ONeill, ClarionRuth Siemens, Goldfield

2011 Century/Heritage Farm Awards2011 Heritage

Farm AwardsGREENE

John L. Clark, DanaHARDIN

Jason Leverton, SteamboatRock

MARSHALLAnn Lee Nichols, Union

POLK & STORYMike and Julie Helland,

HuxleySTORY

Margaret Nelson, Cambridge

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Featured story


By DARCYDOUGHERTY MAULSBY

Farm News staff writerPOCAHONTAS For Lee

Halder and his wife, Linda VanderZeyden, its satisfying to see fourof their five Century Farms fromtheir kitchen window.

Land buying has been a tradi-tion in our family, said VanderZeyden, who grew up a mile southof the farm where she and her hus-band live west of Pocahontas.

Vander Zeydens great-grandfa-ther, Gustav Schryer, began pur-chasing Pocahontas County farmsin Dover and Marshall Townshipsafter emigrating from Germany.Halder, who also has Germanancestry, noted that his grandfa-ther, Frank Halder, homesteadedone of the familys MarshallTownship farms in 1885.

For generations, PocahontasCounty has provided acres of fer-tile land for growing corn

Halders father, Charles Halder,enjoyed exhibiting his best ears ofcorn at the shows that were onceheld across Iowa and the Midwest.He competed in the Allee Show atNewell, the Pocahontas CountyFair when it used to be held inFonda, the Clay County Fair andthe Iowa State Fair. He would shipears of corn to the ChicagoInternational, said Halder, whonoted that his father won countlessribbons and trophies through theyears.

In 1948, the corn was especial-ly good and made 100 bushels peracre, Halder said. This won hisfather a high yield contest and$100 from the Pocahontas

Chamber of Commerce. Charles Halder was an innova-

tive farmer who planted test stripsso he could see what farming prac-tices worked best. He also put anattachment on his horse-drawnJohn Deere planter that droppedstarter fertilizer, Lee Halder said,who graduated from Ware HighSchool in 1952 and farmed until1998.

Corn wasnt the only crop thatthrived in the rich soils ofPocahontas County. During theGreat Depression, VanderZeydens grandfather, MartinRebhuhn, raised potatoes for theforerunner of the Hiland PotatoChip Co.

He saved the farm with hispotatoes, which he raised on about40 acres, Vander Zeyden said,who still has her grandfatherspotato planter and potato digger.Hed get about 300 bushels peracre and would sell 100 pounds ofpotatoes for $2.

Vander Zeyden understands therisks and opportunities that areinherent to farming, since she left ateaching career to begin operatingher familys farm in 1985 whenher father was ready to retire. After

she married Halder in 1988, thecouple began building their futuretogether on the farm. Tragedystruck one cold, windy Novembernight in 1989, however, when afire destroyed their home andthreatened their lives.

The following spring, the cou-ple decided to build a new houseon the farm and begin their livesanew. After the Halders moved inlater that year, a friend approachedthe couple about hosting his com-panys Christmas party. Theyagreed, the party was a success andsoon requests for meal catering

started pouring in. We found ourselves in the

restaurant business, VanderZeyden said, who later decidedthat the farms dilapidated barn,which had been built in 1906 andwas once well-known in the areafor barn dances, could be a perfectfit.

In 1997, the couple moved thebarn onto a new foundation 70 feeteast of where it originally stood.By 1999, the massive remodelingproject was complete. Since thenHalderwood Farms (www.halder-wood.com) has hosted countless

high school proms, weddingreceptions and other celebrations.

The barn and the familysCentury Farms hold many fondmemories for the couple. Theland means a lot to us, VanderZeyden said. Through good timesand bad, weve held these farmstogether.

The family intends to keep itthis way, Halder said. Yourerooted in the land when you have aCentury Farm.

Contact darcy dougherty maulsbyby e-mail at [email protected].

Family honors five Century FarmsHalder/VanderZeyden

Century FarmEstablished: 1912Generations: 4thtownship: MarshallAcres: 160Awarded: 2012

-Farm News photo by Darcy Dougherty Maulsby

Lee HaLder and his wife, Linda Vander Zeyden, of Pocahontas County, said they are proud toown five Century farms.


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Boone County


By KRISS NELSONFarm News staff writer

OGDEN Young life is abun-dant on the Crosman CenturyFarm located just south of thiswest central Boone County com-munity.

Small children, as well as aspring-time herd of calves, keepthis particular Century Farm near-ly as active as it once when it wasfirst settled in 1903.

The original 120 acres, was pur-chased for $150 an acre and isowned by Dan and JeanineCrosman and their son and daugh-ter-in-law, Eric and Emily Crosman.

Dan and Jeanine Crosman owna part of the farm ground, whileEric and Emily Crosman own theacreage and part of the farmlandand live on the acreage as well.

The farm first became a part ofthe Crosman family when DanCrosmans great-grandparents,Aaron Ulysses and Emma F.Crosman, moved to Iowa.

The couple rented farm groundand farmed in the Boone Countyarea for several years before buy-ing the ground in BeaverTownship.

The farmland made its waythrough the family including DanCrosmans grandparents, Trelleyand Helen Crosman; several greataunts and great uncles; other auntsand uncles; his parents, Jack andNorma Crosman; and his sisterLinda and her husband MichaelMcCoy.

Dan Crosman grew up just amile away and remembers visitinghis grandparents farm.

They always had large gardensand it was a family get togetherwhen it came time to harvest pota-toes, Dan Crosman said.

I knew when it was gettingtime for the school year to start.We would be harvesting potatoes,Jack Crosman said.

There was a lot of canning andalways a good meal there, NormaCrosman said.

Extraordinary events that havechanged the landscape of the farminclude electricity in 1940, butalso a tornado that hit the farm onApril 18, 1941.

Jack Crosman recalls being senthome early from country schooldue to the impending bad weather.When the Crosman childrenarrived home, they decided to headout of the house to get their choresdone. But they were stopped bytheir older brother and told to getdown into the basement.

They sat and listened, Crosmansaid, with what felt like foreverand thinking their brother musthave been joking with them.

It was just then their brothercame running down the steps forsafety.

What was thought to be two tor-nadoes that combined into onelarge twister, which wiped outalmost the entire farmstead onlysaving the house which was justslightly twisted on its foundation.

Jack Crosman said his parents,Trelley and Helen Crosman, hadbeen away for the day shopping inDes Moines and when theyapproached the farm, and saw thedamage and didnt know the fate

of their children until they sawthem safe in the yard.

I cant imagine what wentthrough their heads wonderingwhat had happened, JackCrosman said.

Trelley and Helen Crosmanraised chickens for the nearby Hy-Line company.

He raised thousands of chick-ens as layers, selling the eggs backto Hy-Line, and did that for many

years on a pasture until they want-ed him to build a confinementbuilding. He didnt want to anddecided it was time to get out ofthe business, Crosman said.

The farm operation has seencattle, pigs and sheep, makinglivestock an integral part of theCrosman farm. Currently, the fam-ily manages a cow-calf herd and ahog confinement is going up nextdoor as a way Eric sees to keep thefarm growing.

The only way to be able tokeep the farm is to keep it grow-ing, Eric Crosman said. Likeputting up a swine barn now, myboys or my brothers kids canmaybe continue the farm on.Thats what started the farm livestock; thats whats going tokeep it going.

Jack and Norma Crosman agreeand said it has always been a dreamto keep the farm in the family.

So when Eric decided to movehere, Norma Crosman said, wewere happy to have anotherCrosman on the farm.

I have a lot of big shoes to fill.The farms been around a lot ofyears. I still run things by mygrandparents, Eric Crosman said.

Dan and Jeanines other son,Paul Crosman, married to Melissa,drives truck and farms and oper-ates a beef cow herd alongsidewith Dan Crosman.

Essentially the Crosmans helpeach other in all aspects of thefarm.

Contact Kriss nelson [email protected].

Farm teems with youths, young stockCrosman

Century FarmEstablished: 1903Generations: 4th, 5thtownship: BeaverAcres: 120Awarded: 2010

-Farm News photo by Kriss Nelson

erIC CrOSMaN and his sons Brock, in foreground, and Jakob,get ready to do cattle chores on the Crosman Century farm.


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Farm News staff writerSTORM LAKE Cecil Bill

Chindlund always knew he wantedto be a farmer, and hes gratefulthat his familys Century Farm hasafforded him this opportunity fordecades.

I love my job, Chindlund, 84,said, and Im glad I can still beinvolved with the farm. He saidhes seen countless changes inagriculture during his lifetime.

The Chindlund familys farmnear Storm Lake can be tracedback to Anders AndrewKinderlund, a Swedish immigrantwho passed the farm onto his son,Alfred Kinderlund. By the timeAlfreds son, Les Kinderlund, alsoChindlunds father, was runningthe operation, rural electrificationwas beginning to transform farmlife in Buena Vista County.

Shortly after World War I andinto the early 1920s, Chindlundsaid, the neighbors went togetherto buy light poles and wiring andhelped the power company set thepoles.

He noted that his familys farmhome, which was built in 1913from a plan supplied by Sears &Roebuck, was already wired forelectricity.

Tractors were also revolutioniz-ing Iowa agriculture. LesKinderlund was one of the firstfarmers in the area to beginswitching from traditional horse-power to mechanical horsepower.He had a Titan tractor by the mid-1920s, and in 1939 he purchaseda new Farmall F20 from a dealerin Newell.

We used that tractor with thecorn picker, Chindlund said. Oneof the familys most memorablecrops, he said, occurred in 1943,when it raised 183 bushels peracre of DeKalb 422 corn.

That was a lot of corn in thosedays, Chindlund said, who notedthat the achievement earned hisfamily the champion corn crop ofBuena Vista County that year.

Working smarter paid offFor a mechanically-inclined

young man like Chindlund, thefarm offered plenty of places tohone his abilities. WhenChindlund was 16, he rigged up abracket on the Farmall tractor sohe could take his new Motorolaradio to the field when he wasplowing. I used to listen to a lot ofbaseball games, because they camein the best. The neighbors couldhear my radio from a quarter of amile away.

Chindlunds creativity andentrepreneurial streak continuedwhen he began farming full timeafter graduating from HayesConsolidated High School nearStorm Lake in 1946. He started acustom-baling business and laterran a custom corn shelling busi-ness for 25 years. As his operation

grew, he looked for new ways tofarm more efficiently.

I remember all the years wewalked beans, and I wished therewas a better way. Thats why Imade my own weed wiper in the1960s. It could be mounted on a460 Farmall and would wipe her-bicide on the tall weeds and corn.

Chindlund, who later made hisown bean bar, also found other

innovative ways to use his talents.He began selling trailers for the

Jet Co., in Humboldt, a job that hestill holds after nearly 40 years. Healso served on the Buena VistaCounty Farm Bureau for 37 years.

Interacting with other farmershas long been a part of life forChindlund, who used to participatein the Hayes Township FarmersClub, following in the footsteps of

his parents and grandparents. Twenty to 25 local families

belonged to this club, which metmonthly at a members farm. TheFriday gatherings included a busi-ness meeting and perhaps a speak-er, along with a big meat-and-pota-toes meal. It was always interest-ing to get together and talk aboutcurrent events, Chindlund said,who is glad that he and his wife,Betty, could rear their seven chil-dren Alan, Anni, Susie, Norm,Jeff, Joan and Jenni on thefarm.

While Jeff and his wife, Jean,now operate the Century Farm,Chindlund enjoys running thecombine and helping out with thecorn and soybean operation.Carrying on the familys farmingtradition is important toChindlund.

People sometimes say, Werejust farmers. I say, if youre stillfarming, youre on top of things.Be proud of it. Were proud of ourrural history and our CenturyFarm.

Contact Darcy Dougherty Maulsby

at [email protected].

innovation defines Chindlund Century FarmChindlund

Century FarmEstablished: 1909Generations: 5thtownship: HayesAcres: 320Awarded: 2009


BILL aNd BeTTy Chindlund, said they are glad they could reartheir seven children alan, anni, susie, norm, Jeff, Joan andJenni on their Century farm.

-Contributed photo

THe CHINdLuNdS used atwo-row corn picker duringmany harvests past.


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Farm News staff writerROCKWELL CITY When

the Sexton family looks back onthe history of its Century Farm, thestory includes a legacy of over-coming obstacles, focusing on thefuture and maintaining family ties.

My great-grandfather, JosephStumpf, evidently was optimisticabout the future of farming in thisarea, because he acquired enoughfarmland that each of his four sonswho were interested in farmingwere able to have their ownplaces, said Keith Sexton.

Stumpf, Sexton said, purchased240 acres of Calhoun Countyfarmland in 1911 for $27,000. AGerman immigrant, Stumpfassumed mortgages of $13,000and drainage taxes of $489, whichtotaled roughly $168.70 per acre.On these acres, Stumpf and hiswife, Anna, reared six boys andfour girls.

Although Stumpf was on targetwith his optimism of farming inthe long term, he did not keep backenough cash reserve to make itthrough the lean times that fol-lowed the stock market crash ofthe late-1920s, Sexton said.Rather than allow the farms to beforeclosed upon, the four Stumpfbrothers who were farming in thearea helped their dad by assuminghis mortgages on their farms.

On Sept. 22, 1931, Stumpftransferred a farm to his son, Alex,who was Sextons grandfather.When Alex Stumpf moved to thisfarm, he was single and lived withthe hired man and his family.Stumpf later married Regina

Peiffer, and the couple reared sixdaughters on the farm. Dad want-ed us to be ladies, so he had a hiredman do the chores, recalled Mary,Sextons mother, who was born onthe farm shortly after her parentsbuilt their new house in 1926.

I helped my mother with thegardening and canning.

After she married a local farmer,Dale Sexton, the couple lived andfarmed near Sherwood. When herparents retired from farming, theSextons and their young familymoved to the farm.

From kindergarten through sec-ond grade, Keith Sexton attendedthe country school Twin LakesNo. 5 that was located across the

road just east of the familys farm,the same school his mother attend-ed as a child. I remember the olderboys would come over to our farmevery day to pump the water thatwe used at school, Sexton said. Hegraduated from Rockwell CityHigh School in 1967.

Growing up on the farm was aneducation in itself, Sexton said.Sometimes when Dad was work-ing in the field, Grandpa Stumpfwould come out, and I would walkaround the farmstead with himwhile he pointed out which yearthe various corn cribs and otherbuildings were built.

Decades of changeSexton, who started farming in

1979, still owns a 1957 Farmall

350 tractor that his father pur-chased new from a dealer inRockwell City. He also has thewagon that was used to harvest thecrops at that time.

When they picked corn in theear, they increased the wagonsheight with sideboards and pulledthe wagon behind the picker tocatch the ears that came out of themachine, Sexton said. In thedrought year of 1956, two wagonslike this were enough to hold a fulldays worth of harvest.

This equipment is quite a con-trast to Sextons newest tractor,which features the latest technolo-gy. Its like my cell phone in thatit has more features than Ivelearned how to use, Sexton joked.Hes a past president of the

Calhoun County Farm Bureau andpast president of the Iowa CornGrowers Association.

Sexton and his wife, Barb, areglad that theyve had the opportu-nity to rear their three children daughter Kyle, 27; son Brian, 26;and son Brent, 20 on the farm.After the family received itsCentury Farm award in 2011, ithosted a celebration in earlySeptember for nearly 400 guests.

This farm has been good to ourfamily for 100 years, Sextonsaid. If our children choose tomake this farm a part of their life,we will work with them to accom-plish that goal.

Contact darcy dougherty maulsbyby e-mail at [email protected].

Sexton Century Farm reflects resilienceSexton

Century FarmEstablished: 1911Generations: 4thtownship: twin LakesAcres: 240Awarded: 2011

-Farm News photo by DarcyDougherty Maulsby

daLe aNd Mary sexton, left, said they are pleased their son, Keith, and his wife, Barb, both onright, have carried on the familys farming tradition

-Contributed photo

THIS reCeNT aerIaL shotshows Keith and Barbsextons farm, which is north-west of rockwell City.


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Carroll County

By DARCY DOUGHERTYMAULSBY

Farm News staff writerCARROLL For the Grote

family, growing up on a farmbetween Breda and Mt. Carmelmeant hard work, simple pleasuresand strong family ties.

I was one of 13 kids, saidJack Grote, of Carroll, who wasborn in 1934. While we livedabout nine miles from Carroll, wehardly ever went there, becausemost of our life revolved aroundthe farm.

That had been true ever sinceGrotes grandfather, Ben Grote,purchased the farm in 1907 andmoved his family there when hisown father, Herman Grote, was 8.The Grotes maintained their ethnicheritage, Jack Grote said, who canrecall the older generation speak-ing German when they didnt wantthe children to know everythingthey were saying.

Life on the farm followed manytraditional ways, as well.

Grote recalled that there wereabout six families in the localthreshing ring. I liked the bigmeals at threshing time, he said.The women would have home-made pie and everything, and thefried chicken didnt come fromKFC.

After the threshing season wasover, the Grotes got together withthe Rettenmiers, Luchtels,Vonnahmes and other neighborsfor a picnic at Black Hawk Lake,where children enjoyed swim-ming. South of the ballroom therewas a slide that dumped you intothe lake, which was always fun,

Grote said. This end-of-summer ritual pro-

vided a brief break before schoolstarted in the fall. When Groteattended Mt. Carmel High Schoolin the late 1940s and early 1950s,Catholic nuns taught the classes,including the manual trainingcourse for agriculture.

We were taught to pick thebiggest ears of corn to keep forseed next year, Grote said, whograduated in 1952.

Grote can remember whenfarmers checked-rowed their corn,and everything was 40 inchesapart. A good yield meant 70 to 75bushels per acre. He said he grewup picking corn by hand. Onetime a neighbor pulled up into thefield across the road with a cornpicker and a wagon. The end gateon the wagon was open, though,and the corn flew out the back. Illnever forget Dad saying, Ill stilltake mine by hand.

Herman Grote did invest insome of the latest equipment, how-ever. In 1941, he purchased a newFarmall B for $695 from a dealerin Carroll, said Grote, whose fam-ily still owns this tractor.

Another major investment

occurred in 1955, when HermanGrote purchased the Century Farmfor $250 an acre.

Everyone pitched in with choresaround the farm, noted Alice GroteHamilton, of Jefferson. She andher sisters helped their mother,Colette, gather eggs, clean thecream separator, render lard, assist

with gardening and canning, andwash laundry using a wringerwasher. Colette Grote was also a4-H leader for many years,Hamilton said, who was a memberof the Maple River Top Notchers4-H Club.

Going to the Carroll CountyFair in Coon Rapids was the high-

light of the year, Hamilton said.She said she enjoyed the midwayrides and games.

As the children grew older, theboys found ways to make extramoney. Jack Grote and his olderbrother, Norbert, nicknamedFiddle, had a cattle chute and de-horned cattle for farmers in Carrolland Crawford counties.

They also sheared sheep forfarmers throughout the area.

Some family members, likeGrotes brother, Jim, moved awayfrom rural Iowa. While Jim rearedhis family in Phoenix, Ariz., hisson, Jeff Grote, always enjoyedreturning to Iowa to visit the fami-ly farm. About five years ago, heand his wife, Melanie, and theirthree children moved to the farm,which now includes three windturbines that were built in the areafour years ago.

Today, the familys CenturyFarm is operated by Rick Grote, aterritory manager for PfizerAnimal Health; Mike Grote, whoworks for Farner-Bocken, inCarroll; and a nephew, PatORourke.

Theres a sense of pride in own-ing Century Farms, said JackGrotes wife, Doreen, who grewup on a Carroll County CenturyFarm in Roselle Township, whereher great-grandfather, John Pietig,purchased 240 acres in 1906. Wethink of how hard our familiesworked to maintain these farms,and were glad that we can carryon the tradition.

Contact Darcy Dougherty Maulsby

at [email protected].

Grotes recall 1940s, 1950s farm lifeGrote

Century FarmEstablished: 1907Generations: 3rdtownship: KneistAcres:160Awarded: 2008

-Farm News photo Darcy Dougherty Maulsby

JaCk aNd dOreeN grote own two Century farms in CarrollCounty, one in Kneist township and one in roselle township.


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Cerro Gordo County

By CLAYTON RYEFarm News staff writer

MESERVEY Fred Spraumoved from his birth place inIllinois and bought the SprauCentury Farm in 1907 in GrimesTownship in Cerro Gordo County.

Originally, it was 200 acres, but100 acres of it remain today in thefamily hands of Scott and JeneeSprau, and Scotts sister, PamCarlson, and her husband, BobCarlson.

Fred Sprau had 12 children.Sterling Sprau, Scott Sprausfather, was the tenth child. Thefarm was bought by Sterling Sprauand three of his siblings.

Sterling Sprau was born in1921 in the farm house that standstoday and died in the same housein 1990.

Scott and Jenee Sprau movedinto the family farm house in1991.

An accident caused the originalbarn to burn down in 1970.

Many of the 12 Sprau childrenremained in the area. Scott Sprauremembers growing up with a lotof cousins.

Sprau said the farm had cattleand hogs when he was growing up.It still has 12 beef cows and hefeeds their calves.

When she was growing up nearby, Jenee Sprau recalls her fathertalking of the days when childrencreated their own entertainment.He would set a purse on a gravelroad attaching to a string. Hewould hang on to the string whilehiding in the ditch.

A car would pass by and see thepurse lying in the road. The car

would stop, and as it was backingup, he would pull the on the string,pulling the purse into the ditch and

out of sight. When the car wentback and forth trying to find thepurse seen on the road.

Jenee Sprau decided to try thatherself to see if it still worked. Itdid.

Pam and Bob Carlson live near

the Century Farm at Sheffield.They are parents of Toby, whoteaches high school math inPhoenix, Ariz.; Becky, in NewZealand; and Zach, serving withthe Peace Corps in Mozambique.

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Contact Clayton rye at [email protected].

Still owns 100 of original 200 acresSprau

Century FarmEstablished: 1907Generations: 3rdtownship: GrimesAcres: 100Awarded: 2011

-Farm News photo by Clayton Rye

PaM CarLSON, left, with Jenee and scott sprau stand next to a few head of scott spraus cat-tle. Beef animals have had a long presence on the farm.-Contributed photo

Fred SPrau unloads corninto a corn crib on the sprauCentury farm. the photo isundated.



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Cherokee County

By DOUG CLOUGHFarm News staff writer

CLEGHORN It could haveall ended with World War I.

Bachelor farmer Elmer Wester,when his draft number came up,sold all of his cattle and machineryat auction and prepared to do hispart for America.

He leased the farm for a yearand waited for his orders to arrive... and waited.

As the war ended before hisdeployment, Wester never went toEurope, so he worked for thefarmer who leased his land for theyear-long period of the lease.

Then he bought cattle andmachinery back and continued tofarm.

The Wester farm lineage wouldnot end with Elmer, nor the nextthree generations for that matter.

In 1888, Gustav Andersson Elmers father came fromSweden and, like so many otherimmigrants of the time, had hisname changed to lessen the num-ber of certain last names comingfrom overseas.

Wester was taken from hisSwedish city of descent,Vestergotland. Gustav andAlfreida Wester had six children.Family assumptions think theWesters were multi-commodityfarmers, purchasing the original240 acres of the farm on March 1,1911. The couple lived two mileseast and a mile north of the currenthomestead.

Elmer and Mabel Wester werethe first in two Wester-farmingcategories. They began a cattle andcalving operation that exists today;

and they were the first to live in ahouse on the farm. The farm homewas built in1872.

Elmer and Mabel Wester alsoraised hogs and chickens. TheWesters were also grain farmers,feeding his crops to livestock. Lifewas good for the farmer who wasready to call it quits, but didnthave to, for his country.

Elmer and Mabel married onMarch 25, 1920. After all eightchildren were born, the coupleconsidered tearing down the houseand building new. Instead, thehouse was refurbished, providedwith a small basement and becamethe home of son Venon Westerwhen he married. Vernon Westerbecame the familys third genera-tion owner.

Like his father, Wester was acattleman and grain farmer. Hefarmed with his brother DaleWester, for a few years. Vernonsson, Eric Wester, remembers hisown youth on the farm well:Every kernel of his corn went toour cattle, and that wasnt enough.We would haul a 300-busheltruckload of corn from town everyday and two loads on Saturday.

Vernon Wester was well-known

for finishing more than 2,000 headof cattle yearly. Cattle trucks cameand left every week to haul livebeef to market. Daughter JoannePetersen also remembers milkcows and chickens.

Our mom (Ruby) would takethe cash from milk and egg salesand turn it into the groceries thatwe didnt provide for ourselves,Petersen said.

Sometimes on Mondays, ourdad would ship cattle by rail ortruck to Chicago, said EricWester. On one particular visit toChicago, he topped the market.

When he got home, he wentstraight to the school, where ourmom worked as a nurse, to tell her.Later, Mom said, I never wanted a

Cadillac, but if I did, that wouldhave been the day to ask for it!

So now the fourth generation Verdene Salem, Joanne Petersenand Eric Wester works on andmanages the land. Salem, and herhusband Dan, live in Carroll.Petersen and her husband, Gene,live on the farmstead home that isnow approaching its sesquicenten-nial mark. Eric Wester and wifeSara will soon be moving into thehome which was built for Vernonand Ruby Westers retirement in1995.

Last summer, the trio hostedWesterfest a celebration of theWester way-of-life a way thatcontinues today.

Eric Wester farms the land. I

earned an animal science degree inthe early 80s, Wester said.After working as a product man-ager at Harkers Distribution in LeMars, I decided to go from helpingout on the farm on evenings andweekends to farming full-time.

Wester has been downsizing hiscow-calf herd ever since the Lordhas given good grain prices.

He farms corn, beans and somealfalfa with help from his highschool freshman son, ChrisWester. Weve always been peo-ple of strong faith in the Lord.Weve been very blessed andthats not by accident.

Contact Doug Clough at douglas-

[email protected].

Celebrating the Wester way of lifeWester

Century FarmEstablished: 1911Generations: 3rdtownship: LibertyAcres: 560Awarded: 2011

-Farm News photo by Doug Clough

erIC WeSTer and his sister Joanne wester Petersen stand outside the familys barn, which hasseen many cattle over the years.


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Clay County


Farm News staff writerPETERSON From a preach-

er to a farmer to an implementdealer, the story of Tom and MaryJo Hegels Century Farm reflectsthe history of this northwest Iowafamily.

My family helped start theMaple Grove Church of God yearsago, said Mary Jo Hegel, whosegrandfather, Louis Batcheler, aChurch of God preacher, paid $90an acre for 160 acres of ClayTownship land in 1911.

Batchelers daughter, Lucy, wasborn on the farm in 1914, in thesame house where her daughter,Mary Jo Hegel, now lives. In1933, when Lucy Batcheler wasengaged to be married to TedKosta from Hartley, the ClayCounty Fair provided a memorablesetting for their Sept. 23 wedding.

During the depths of theDepression, there was a weddingpromotion to get people to come tothe fair, Hegel said. Her parentswere chosen to win this promotion.Local merchants donated every-thing, from the wedding dress tothe flowers to the gifts, and myparents had quite a crowd for theirwedding at the grandstand.

By 1948, the Kostas movedtheir young family to the farmwhere Lucy Batcheler grew up,Hegel said, who was 5 years old atthe time. Ted Kosta raised crops,cattle, hogs and chickens, andthere were always plenty of choresto do. Hegel and her younger sis-ter, Pat Kosta, helped with fieldwork, from cultivating to haying.

I liked growing up on the farm,because I loved being outdoorsand experiencing all the seasons inthe country, Hegel said, whograduated from Sutherland HighSchool in 1961.

When Hegels parents retired in1975, she and her husband movedto the farm. I took a lot of razzingwhen I first started farming in Iowa,because my rows of corn werentplanted straight, Tom Hegel said,who had grown up on a NorthDakota wheat and cattle ranch.

The Hegels will never forget theviolent hailstorm that hit their areaon July 7, 1977. It destroyedeverything, but 40 acres of corn,Mary Jo Hegel said, who notedthat her father had always said the

farm wasnt in a hail zone.Since the couple had no hail

insurance, they were grateful that aneighbor, Muriel Paulson, soldthem corn to feed their hogs andgave them a year to work off thedebt. We bought hail insuranceafter that, she said.

In those years, corn was sellingfor about $2 a bushel, Tom Hegelsaid. He sold Crows seed corn.

When his crop yielded 200bushels per acre in 1981, hereceived a large trophy for thisnoteworthy accomplishment.

Around that time, the Hegelsdecided to expand the swine sideof their business into a 60-sow,farrow-to-finish operation. TomHegel became president of theClay County Pork ProducersAssociation, and Mary Jo Hegel

served as president of the countyPorkettes organization.

The couple helped establishedthe Chop Shop restaurant, whichhas been a Clay County institutionfor 30 years.

In 1984, the Hegels moved innew directions when they pur-chased an existing Allis Chalmersdealership in Everly. Interest rateswere skyrocketing in those days,Tom Hegel said, who rememberedhow the Federal Land Banks ratespushed 20 percent.

Fortunately, the dealership,which is now known as Corn BeltEquipment, survived the farm cri-sis of the 1980s, Mary Jo Hegelsaid, who was the bookkeeper formany years. There were also someperks from running a dealership,Hegel said they were among thefirst farmers in his area to have aglobal positioning unit and yieldmonitor in his farm equipment.

Corn Belt Equipment continuesto be a family-run business for theHegels, who farmed until the early1990s, when they began leasingtheir farmland. The Hegels contin-ue help out their children whooperate the dealership, and thecouple says it appreciated theopportunity to live and farm innorthwest Iowa.

Mary Jo Hegel credits her hus-band for playing a key role in theirCentury Farm.

If he hadnt wanted to farm, wemight not have been able to keepthe land in the family, she said.Getting a Century Farm awardwas always a goal of mine, and itmeans a lot to us.

Contact darcy dougherty maulsby [email protected].

Hegels remain rooted to the landHegel

Century FarmEstablished: 1911Generations: 3rdtownship: ClayAcres: 160Awarded: 2011


TOM aNd Mary JO Hegel live on the Century farm where shegrew up and are glad their family could be part of the Centuryfarm award ceremony at the 2011 iowa state fair.

-Contributed photos

Mary JO Kosta Hegel andher younger sister, Pat, helpedtheir father, ted, with the fieldwork.


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Crawford County

By DOUG CLOUGHFarm News staff writer

VAIL When AndrewGallagher purchased 160 acres ofland with brothers Patrick andWilliam, he did so with the bless-ing and watchful eye of his moth-er, Mary Ann Gallagher. The yearwas 1911 and the boys fatherpassed away seven years previous-ly. It was a time in American his-tory when many women who lost ahusband would remarry out offinancial need, but not Mary AnnGallagher.

She must have been one of themost modern women of hertime, said great-granddaughterCecelia Thelen. And its a state-ment that is difficult to refute.

After all, Thelen said, it was agood nine years before womenwere even allowed to vote inAmerica.

Our great-grandmother wascertainly a great business personand banker she said. She raisedAndrew, Patrick and William tocarry on as competent farmersand two more sons, Vince andEmment, to be successful in themercantile trade.

Her daughter, Marie,remained single and was a schoolteacher, while daughter Annamarried and raised a family.

As Gallaghers boys grew,married and had families, theland ownership changed. AndrewGallagher maintained his owner-ship of the north 80. He and hissons were known for breedingand selling purebred Herefordcattle on his Bluegrass 80.

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sales boasted that their bulls hadsired cattle in seven states Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska,Ohio, Louisiana, Colorado andArkansas.

Third-generation owners, andsisters, Cecelia Thelen, of Vail;Margie Nagl, of Maple River;Mary Wulf, of Omaha; PhyllisPoggensee, of Deloit; and GeriRicke, of Westside, still refer totheir 80-acre parcel as theBluegrass 80.

Im 72-years-old, Thelensaid. Our 80 acres has beenbluegrass for as long as Ive beenalive at least.

Andrew Gallagher, the sistersgrandfather, married MargaretOBoyle in 1908 and had sons,including the girls father,Lawrence, and one daughter,Lillian.

Gallaghers sons found that theBluegrass 80 continued to fill theneed for grass to support thelarge purebred herd their grand-father and uncles had began.

Our Aunt Lillian was (in) allof our hearts and souls, Thelensaid. She took care of our grand-parents and uncles and nevermarried. She taught us to cook,

sew and make our own clothes.Lawrence Gallagher married

Bernadette Siegner in 1939. Thecouple had seven daughters andtwo sons, including the five mod-ern day proprietors of the land.

Today, we remember thethree generations in order, quiteeasily, Thelen said with a smile Gallagher brothers,Gallagher brothers and Lilian,and now Gallagher sisters.

Thelen still remembers her

fathers active farming days.Our dad was raking hay in his

early 80s, Thelen said. Iremember him pulling himself upon a tractor with his cane.

Kevin Ricke currently farmsthe land, continuing to keep allaspects of the farm with family.

In 2007, the last of theAndrew and Margaret Gallagherchildren passed away; at thattime, the Bluegrass 80 was deed-ed to the granddaughters. Geri

and Kevin Ricke have a commer-cial herd of cattle from whichthey sell bulls, heifers and per-form 4-H projects; however, thefive sisters have converted the 80acres to crop production cornand soybeans.

We continue to keep the landin the family both in ownershipand who farms it, Thelen said.

Contact doug Clough at [email protected].

Five sisters oversee farms productionGallagher

Century FarmEstablished: 1911Generations: 3rdtownship: HayesAcres: 80Awarded: 2011

-Farm News staff writer

CeCeLIa THeLeN looks through a number of scrap books she's organized regarding their fami-ly's history. thelen not only enjoys tracking her lineage, she puts books like this together for fami-ly members when they turn 16.


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By DAVE DEVALOiSFarm News staff writer

PERRY Esther Brooks has apretty good idea why shes stillliving well and enjoying life at age93. She attributes it to her hardwork from 50 years of living andworking on the farm.

God made me strong then so Icould be 93 now, Brooks said.When she lived on the farm withher husband, Nace Brooks, shetook care of 300 chickens. Myson says Id lift 5-gallon pails offeed in both hands.

Esther Brooks grew up on afarm in Boone County. She spentmany years away from the farmlife after graduating from PerryHigh School, going to college atAmerican Institute of Business inDes Moines and then marrying ayoung soldier, who headed out forduty within weeks of the bombingof Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941,and the United States officialentry into WWII.

After the war ended, EstherBrooks followed her husband tomultiple stateside Army posts forseveral years before landing backin central Iowa on farmland herfather gave them in Boone andDallas counties.

The main farm, with the farm-house, barn and Other outbuild-ings were in Boone County alongHighway 144 north of Perry, andthey also had a small parcel inDallas County near Woodwardthat had fertile cropland, but build-ings.

It was that Dallas County parcelthat became a Century Farm in2011. The Boone County farm

will reach the cen-tury mark in a fewyears.

Esther Brookssaid it is a privi-lege to haveworked the groundand to continue toown it today. Noteveryone gets to

own Godsground, she said.It means a lot to

have some of Gods wonderfulearth.

Im proud that my familywould give back and try to keep itgoing and improving.

She said her family followedsound conservation methods, likecrop rotation and grassed water-ways, even if it meant getting a lit-tle less income from the fields.You dont get money out of(grassed) waterways, but it takescare of the soil. Its to your advan-tage to take care of Gods greenearth, she said.

Back to farm lifeEsther Brooks said her husband

was ready to settle down, live andwork on a farm after traveling

extensively in the Army, eventhough Nace had never beentrained as a farmer or lived on afarm.

He didnt want to follow in hisfathers footsteps (as a morti-cian), she said. A farmer is hisown boss. Hed been in the servicelong enough and had people tellinghim what to do all the time.

Brooks said her father made apledge to her to teach Nace every-thing he would need to know to bea successful farmer. And he didmake a farmer out of that boy, shesaid. In the early years, they bothworked full time on the farm anddivided the duties.

I raised chickens and had thegarden. Nace raised the cattle andhogs and the corn and beans.

Esther Brooks said she raised asmany as 300 laying hens, whichshe bought as chicks. She alwaysintended to buy only hens.Sometimes there would be some

roosters mixed in there, but I knewwhat to do with them. I was a farmgirl. So, Id cut off their heads andpluck the feathers, and wed eatthem for dinner, she said.

Esther Brooks had a route inPerry where she sold her eggs. Iwas known as the egg lady, shesaid. Brooks said town peoplecould easily have purchased theireggs from the market, but theyknew they were getting a betterproduct from her.

They never paid me any morethat theyd pay in the market, butthey know they were fresher, lessthan a week old, she said.

Known as the egg lady, shemade friends that lasted genera-tions throughout the Perry area.Children of her former customersstill visit her today, she said.

Esther and Nace Brooks laterraised 10 dairy cows and made ahabit of naming each one.

Im not sure why it was we did

that but one would be Maudeand another Dorothy. We calledthat first baby Surprise becauseshe was. The milk was picked updaily and taken to the town ofSlater in 10-gallon cans. Estherdid the milking twice daily. Hedidnt know how to milk a cow,she said. She learned the rhythmof milking a cow, as a child.

Esther and Nace Brooks workedon the farm for 50 years. In the lateryears, Nace started working for thepostal service, first as a substitutemail carrier and then full time.

By that time, they had sold thelivestock and grew only row crops.Later, they rented the cropland to anephew, who continues to farmthat cropland today.

Nace Brooks passed away in2000 and Esther remained on thefarm until 2004, when she movedinto Perry.

Contact dave deValois at [email protected].

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Owning a piece of Gods groundBrooks

Century FarmEstablished: 1911Generations: 3rdtownship: BeaverAcres: 90Awarded: 2011

-Contributed photo

eSTHer aNd NaCe Brooks lived on this farm in Boone County, just north of Perry, but alsoowned and worked acres in dallas County, near woodward. the dallas County land was deemeda Century farm in 2011.

estherBrooks


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Dickinson County

By KAREN SCHWALLERFarm News staff writer

ESTHERVILLE Dan andDiane Perkins live in the housethat his great-grandparents builtduring the 1920s. The house haschanged over the years, the farmhas changed, but the strong familyties that bind them to the landremain strong.

Its cool that we are the fourthgeneration to own (this land), saidDan Perkins. I feel like we haveaccomplished something here. Wehave made a big deal out of (theCentury Farm status) because itwas something that was so impor-tant to my dad.

Though the farm holds anEmmet County address, its locat-ed in the northwest quarter of sec-tion 24 of Richland Township,near Superior, so it actually sitswithin the Dickinson Countyboundaries.

It was May 10, 1911, whenBenjamin and Anna Perkins, DanPerkins great-grandparents, pur-chased an 80-acre tract for lessthan $100 per acre that would laterto be known as the east 80.

In October 1939, Robert andGertrude Perkins, Dan Perkinssgrandparents, purchased whatwould become known as the west80 from Charles and Edith Lewis.

The estate of Benjamin Perkinstransferred the east 80 to AnnaPerkins in October 1951. There isno recorded bill of sale or realestate contract between AnnaPerkins and Robert and GertrudePerkins, according to Dan Perkins.

Everyone remembers it differ-ently, he said.

However, in January 1964, awarranty deed was issued for theeast 80 acres, transferring it fromAnna Perkins to Robert andGertrude Perkins.

Harry and JoAnn Perkins, Dansparents, purchased the east 80from Robert and Gertrude Perkinsin January 1969. Then in March1978, Dan Perkins and his mother,JoAnn Perkins, purchased the west80 from Robert Perkins.

It was New Years Eve 1988when Dan and his wife, Diane,purchased his mothers interest inthe west 80. In 1990, they pur-chased the acreage from his par-ents.

In December 2001, Dan andDiane purchased the remaining 68acres of the east 80 from his par-ents, and are now sole owners ofthe tract.

The farm doesnt look any-thing like it did when (the Perkinsfamily) moved there in 1969,Dan Perkins said. Its the samehouse, but its been remodeled,and we added a garage. And theold corn crib was remodeled into ashop building in the early 1970sand the barn is gone now.

Perkins said that much of the

old grove was torn down andreplaced. His father built a Butlermachine shed in the early 1970s,and Perkins built a Morton truckshop in 2005 to store his familystransport business vehicles.

The Perkins rented the farm in2002 to solidify that Estherville-based transport business, whichthey had been doing for severalyear.

For the generations of Perkinsfamily members, lifes alwaysbeen about the farm.

My dad has fond memories ofrunning over there to see his

grandparents, Perkins said,adding that over the years,Benjamin and Anna Perkins livedon the east 80, and Robert andGertrude Perkins lived on the west80.

They spent a lot of time togeth-er fishing and doing chores togeth-er, Perkins said. He often livedwith them because there wereeight kids in a two-bedroom housethere.

Perkins said he started farmingstraight out of high school, andthat his grandfather was an impor-tant role model, teaching him how

to farm.I got started farming with my

grandfather, he said. He farmedthe ground because my dadworked in Estherville. My grand-father was as much involved inhelping me learn to drive a tractoras my dad was.

The Perkins have three sons,and right now theyre not sure ifany of them will want to farm. Sothey wonder if there will be a fifthgeneration of Perkins to continueowning the acreage, plus 160acres of land that has been in thefamily for the last century.

As the Century Farm yearapproached, the Perkins familiescontributed anecdotes for a memo-ry book and a recipes for a cookbook.

JoAnn Perkins compiled anddistributed the books, which willserve as lasting remembrances forfuture Perkins generations.

Until then, the Perkins familycelebrates the tenacity, hard workand true grit that lies behind themaking of a Century Farm.

And for some family membersespecially, its meaning goes rightto the core.

We couldnt wait until 2011came, said Dan Perkins. Wespent 10 years getting ready forthis. We made a huge thing out ofit because of what the CenturyFarm status meant to my dad because of the time he spent withhis grandpa, growing up on thefarm.

Dad said to me once, Im gladI lived long enough to see this.

Contact Karen schwaller [email protected].

time, memories bind them to the landPerkins

Century FarmEstablished: 1911Generations: 4thtownship: RichlandAcres: 80Awarded: 2011

-Farm News photo by Karen Schwaller

daN aNd dIaNe Perkins said they are proud their family haskept the family farm intact for 100 years.


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By KAREN SCHWALLERFarm New staff writer

GRAETTINGER Tuckedbetween winding paved roads thatoutline some small lakes aroundEmmet County, lies the pristinefarm home of David and DelaineJacobson.

Located in High LakeTownship, their Century Farm isjust a handful of miles northeast ofGraettinger, and was established in1910.

While it has been in theJacobson family for 100 years asof 2010, the family was recog-nized for the award at a ceremonyin Des Moines in 2011.

It was David Jacobsons grand-parents, Baste and GudveJacobson, who came from Norwayand purchased the 160-acre tractfrom a previous owner.

Records show that they pur-chased the farm for a grand total of$6,055, which amounts to $37.25per acre. This cost included a 2.5-acre lot on Ingham Lake, 2 milesnorth of the farm.

They built a large, square clay-block house in 1920 and rearedeight of their 10 surviving childrenthere. The current Jacobson familylives in the same house.

The basement was dug withhorse and scraper bucket, whichmy dad also had a hand in,Jacobson said of his father,Blanchard Jacobson.

The house had a generator in thebasement, as well as an indoor toi-let, also in the basement. A secondtoilet was added to the upstairsduring the 1950s.

As with many rural people then,they got hooked up to electricitythrough the Rural ElectricAssociation in 1947.

Gudve Jacobson died in 1929,leaving Baste with eight childrento rear. Baste returned to Norwaytwo years later to marry again andbrought his new wife, Aletta, toGraettinger to his farm.

Blanchard and Lily Jacobsonwere married in March 1936. Thefollowing year they moved to thefarm, while Baste and Aletta builta small house on the lot nearIngham Lake. In 1937, a tornadotook the barn, garage and brooderhouse. The barn was replaced thatsame year. The Jacobsons pur-chased the farm in 1946 at a costof $23,000, or $143 per acre.They reared three sons there. Adaughter died at the age of 3 frommeningitis.

Blanchard and Lily Jacobsonretired in 1974, and David andDelaine began farming in 1975.Before that, Jacobson spent fouryears in the U.S. Air Force, andhad then been living and workingin the Minneapolis, Minn., area.He and Delaine, who had never

lived on a farm before, had twochildren by the time they movedback to Jacobsons childhoodhome in Graettinger.

Delaine Jacobson said she wasntsure about farm life to begin with,but she had grown to enjoy it. Shehas many great memories of herrural Iowa life, having now livedequally as many years as a citygirl, as she has a country girl.

They purchased the farm fromhis parents estate in 1994. Itsvalue per acre at that time wasapproximately $1,600 per acre.

David Jacobson said that of thenine children in his grandfathersfamily, Blanchard was the onlyone who chose to remain on thefarm and pass down the farmingheritage.

There used to be a corn crib, hoghouse and chicken house on thefarm, which are not there today.

Blanchard built a new corn cribduring his time on the farm.

We milked cows when I was akid, Jacobson said. We had fourhorses, and Dad used them to farmpart of the time.

The Jacobsons tore down twochicken houses and replaced themwith a large machine shed, in orderto accommodate contemporary farmmachinery needs. The family raisedhogs fr

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