DeKam Construction

Mitchell Technical College. His wife, Mary, teaches special education in Beresford for grades kindergarten through third grade. They were married in 1989 and live on the farm site where his mom grew up. Todd and Mary’s daughter, Maggie Vander Laan, is a photographer based in Beresford. Her business is called “Maggie Mae, Creative Co.” She’s been a traveling photographer, shooting weddings as far away as Arizona, Texas and Las Vegas. She photographed 28 weddings last summer. But, with four-year-old daughter Nora at home, she’s going to travel less and shift her business towards doing more photos of seniors and families locally. Maggie’s husband, Merritt O’Connor, works in animal welfare at Smithfield in Sioux Falls.

When they’re not caring for the cattle and sheep, Todd and Levi like to hunt, fish and ice fish. Louis’ hobby started by accident when, on a farm sale, he purchased a Deere 4020 which his dad had originally sold from the Beresford Deere dealership. Todd said, “We used that tractor every day for quite a few years.” On a neighbor’s sale, Louis bought a John Deere R, the first diesel John Deere made. They discovered that tractor had also originally been sold from his dad’s dealership. He added a diesel JD 720 and a rare edition of a 3020.

He also has a Deere AR in the collection. “I’d been John Deere all my life and I never knew they made an AR,” he said. The AR was a variation on the A used on small grain farms which could also be modified for use in orchards and groves. Louis said, “After I buy one, Todd says ‘Now that’s enough.’ But a month later when I go to sell one, he says ‘Oh no, don’t sell.’” Carol got them started on another activity when they purchased a buggy on a cousin’s farm sale. “The buggy was just the beginning – you need a horse and harness and more. But it’s a lot of fun,” she said. They have since purchased an Amish-built buggy. Through the ups and downs of the past 60 years and the tough times of the 1980s, Louis said he succeeded in cattle feeding and farming because of stubbornness. But Todd said, “The best thing Dad taught me is to always think about it before you say it – although I don’t always follow that. And he’s been good at teaching me patience.”

DRAIN TILE DESIGN, PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND INSTALLATION RURAL WATER & DIRT WORK TREE REMOVAL

FAMILY OWNED & OPERATED SINCE 1973

605-376-2290

dekamconstruction.com

Louis and Carol Vander Laan with their horse and buggy.

Specializing in farm drain tile and general contract work in South Dakota

Moisture Management Solutions to Increase Your Yields

Freeman Rural Mail Carriers in 1913. Alex Wipf, Jacob A. Gering, Andrew W. Gross, and Jacob W. Gross.

CONNECTING TO THE PAST

By Garrett Gross

In the September 2017 issue of Farming Families, we ran a feature on the value of family heirlooms and memoirs. In that story, we published a photo from 1913 that featured four Freeman rural mail carriers. This image is of significance to me personally as two of the men in the photo, Andrew W. Gross and Jacob W. Gross, are brothers of my grandfather. The photo showcases four Indian motorcycles used by the men to deliver the mail to addresses all over the Freeman area.

Over the years, we have published thousands of images on the pages of these magazines and we always get feedback from readers who say they love the photography. For some reason, no image has struck up more conversations and comments than the Freeman rural mail carriers photograph. Even earlier this month, someone approached my brother and asked him, “Is that your brother who publishes the magazine with the photo of those guys on the motorcycles?” It wasn’t the most accurate question ever asked, but we knew immediately what they meant. This photo was taken just three years after automobiles started to outnumber horses and buggies. There is a degree of nostalgia and romanticism that comes through when you see the guys in this image. It's clear the men in this photo are standing with pride as they have a job with a consistent paycheck and, just as importantly, they