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‘I remember’ cards honor Heritage Farm

By DARCY DOUGHERTY MAULSBY Farm News writer

BOONE

— When Keith and Judy Carlson and their family celebrated the Fourth of July in 2024, they honored their Heritage Farm with a special request of the 40 guests.

“It all started with the idea ‘I remember,’” said Keith Carlson, 89, a retired Ames High School English teacher who lives on the farm northeast of Boone with his wife, Judy. “Everyone who attended the party got a little notecard, because we wanted people to share their memories of the farm.”

These handwritten, heart-felt messages reveal how much this Boone County farm has meant to family and friends through the years:

Boone County

John Carlson found it in Harrison Township, a little over two miles south of the hamlet of Mackey. “My grandfather came here with nothing and became a successful farmer,” said Keith Carlson, who noted his grandfather’s 1912 Hudson automobile was a point of pride.

John and his wife, Hannah, raised their family on their Boone County farm. Their son Lester became the next generation to farm the land.

Carlson Boone County Heritage Farm

Established: 1874 Township: Harrison Number of acres in original farm: 100 Heritage Farm Award: 2024 Generation: 3rd generation farm

“I take a walk almost every morning. I love the understated beauty of the big cottonwoods, the acres of timber, the prairie patch on the hill. The Carlsons have been such good stewards of the land, and I’m very grateful for this.”

“Nature walks down by the stream.” [referring to Montgomery Creek]

“Growing up on the farm was the best. Loved the animals.”

“The farm is nature at its finest.”

“Heritage Farm 150 years — a tribute to the Carlsons for this wonderful legacy at this historical moment.”

“The farm is the only place where I feel family roots.”

“It was good to reflect on the history of the farm and my connection to those who were here, those who were not here, and those who have gone before. Individuals come and go, even the buildings, but the land remains to connect us all.”

All this was possible because a young Swedish immigrant named John Carlson was seeking good farmland and timber.

“He came to America in 1868 and to Boone County in 1874,” Keith Carlson said. “He was looking for wood and water.”

Lester, a World War I veteran, grew up in the era when corn was harvested by hand. He didn’t get married until he was almost 40 — after he met a young teacher named Florence who was working in Boone.

The couple’s marriage in 1931 brought some big adjustments.

“There was no indoor plumbing in the house, but that changed before my parents got married,” Keith Carlson said.

The couple raised their two children (Margaret and Keith) on the farm. The Carlson kids participated in 4-H (Keith played the trombone and Margaret played the saxophone in the 4-H band), plus they attended a country school just up the road, said Keith Carlson, a 1954 Story City High School graduate.

While he earned his undergraduate degree in vocational agriculture at Colorado State University (where he met Judy), Keith’s career path took him in a different direction. He became an Army Ranger and later completed his master’s degree at the University of Iowa. The Carlson family (including their daughters Tamara and Cynthia) spent 1966-1972 in Germany when the Department of Defense hired Keith to teach English to the children of U.S. military personnel.

After that, the Carlsons moved back to their family’s farm near Boone. Like

-Submitted photo

MEMBERS OF THE CARLSON FAMILY gathered at the family's Heritage Farm in Boone County in the summer of 2024. Shown here (front row, left to right) are Margaret (Carlson) Henke, Keith Carlson and his wife, Judy. In back, from left, are Peter Hotvedt and his wife, Erin, Thomas Hotvedt, Craig Hotvedt, Cynthia Carlson Hotvedt, Tamara Carlson Rasmuson, and Todd Rasmuson.

-Farm News photo by Darcy Dougherty Maulsby LEFT: Guests who attended a 2024 party at Keith and Judy Carlson's Heritage Farm received a card where they could write a few of their memories of the farm, showing how much this Boone County farm has meant to family and friends through the years.

Porath Heritage Farm grew up with Newell

By DARCY DOUGHERTY MAULSBY Farm News writer

NEWELL — It’s tough to imagine what Ernest Frederick William Porath and his fellow Buena Vista County settlers experienced when they arrived in the Newell area just a few years after the Civil War ended. It’s clear, however, that Porath became a successful farmer who prospered in his new home.

“William was born in the Pomen Province of Prussia in 1837, came to America in 1868 and moved to Buena Vista County in 1871,” said Arnold “Arnie” Porath, 71, Ernest’s greatgrandson. “His home was in Section 15 of Newell Township, just east of Newell.”

The book “Past and Present of Buena Vista County, Iowa,” published in 1909, added more details about William Porath’s journey from Prussia (located in what is now northwest Poland and northeast

Germany). The ship he sailed on arrived in April 1868 in New York City. From there he traveled to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where some of his relatives lived. He worked on the railroad for two years before coming to Buena Vista County.

He got a job at the Stephens’ Hotel in Newell, where he worked for four and a half years. “Carefully saving his earnings, his industry and economy at length enabled him to purchase 80 acres in Newell Township,” noted the history book. “Since that time, he has extended the boundaries of his home place until it now comprises 480 acres of finely improved land. His place is a productive one.”

This was no small feat. It was said of Newell in 1869, “This is a splendid location, if it doesn’t float away,” according to “The Newell Heritage” in the July 3, 1969, centennial edition of the Newell Mirror. For years, there was so much swampy land that area farmers couldn’t plant corn in straight rows, since they had to go around the mud holes.

Over time, drainage ditches were hand dug, allowing more of the fertile, rich farmland to be tilled, added the Newell Mirror. These improvements are reflected in the prices that William Porath paid for farmland in the Newell area. When

-Submitted photo

Bahls farm maintains German connection

By DARCY DOUGHERTY MAULSBY Farm News writer

ROCKWELL CITY — In the history of Calhoun County, some families’ roots run so deep that they pre-date some of the towns. Richard Bahls’ family settled in Center Township before the county seat was moved from Lake City to the new town of Rockwell City in 1876.

“I think of the unbelievable sacrifices that previous generations made through the years,” said Bahls, speaking of his family’s Heritage Farm and great-great grandparents Carl and Fredirecka Bahls.

In 1874, several land seekers (including Carl Bahls’ friends Fred Ramthun, Fred Berner and Frank Wendt) left Lindenwood, Illinois, (west of Chicago) to locate new homes on the western frontier. They arrived in Fort Dodge and met with a land agent, who brought them to Calhoun County in a horse-drawn buggy.

Calhoun County

along with Immanuel Lutheran Church east of Rockwell City. The farm and church were important to Carl’s son, William, and his wife, Bertha, as well as their children.

Their son Emil (1901-1989) started farming full-time at age 15 after his father died from a blood clot. As a young man, Emil played a key role in saving his family’s land during the Great Depression.

Bahls Heritage Farm

Established: 1874 Township: Center Number of acres in original farm: 80 Heritage Farm Award: 2024 Generation: 5th generation farm

In the early 1930s, the Bahls family owed about $28,000 to a Chicago bank, which was going to foreclose on the farmland, Emil noted on a video recording he made with his wife, Esther, in 1987. While emergency “commissioner loans” were available to help farmers struggling with debt and foreclosures, there was a snag.

Each man bought land for $5 an acre.

“They hurried home to Lindenwood with the good news,” noted the book Immanuel Lutheran Church, Rockwell City, Iowa, Celebrating 125 Years 18782003. “They took a map of Center Township, from which four other fathers at Lindenwood selected a parcel of land. They trusted their friends and took their word that the land was good.”

Carl Bahls was among those who purchased Calhoun County land on Aug. 13, 1874. Bahls, his family and six other families from the Lindenwood area traveled to Manson in mid-March 1875, arriving in the midst of a snowstorm. According to the Immanuel Lutheran book, those hardy pioneers “found shelter in a home, which was called a hotel, and bedded themselves in straw on the floor during the storm, a genuine blizzard that lasted for three days.”

The Bahls family and their friends established farms in Calhoun County,

Loan administrators didn’t think the Bahls family had clear title to the land, due to some unclear wording in William’s will. The Bahls family hired an attorney to prove they did have clear title.

“It took a couple of years to straighten this out,” said Emil Bahls, who noted that Iowa’s elected officials had imposed a temporary moratorium on farm foreclosures starting in 1933. “Oh boy, those were rough times.”

The case went all the way to the Iowa Supreme Court, which ruled in the Bahls family’s favor. “This not only saved our farm, but 95 other farms that faced a similar situation,” Richard Bahls said.

The farmland later passed to the next generation, including Emil and Esther’s son, Roger, and his wife, Phyllis. Their son, Richard, spent 35 years of his career as an ag lender before he began farming full-time about 15 years ago.

During the 2009-2010 school year, a

-Submitted photo

EMIL BAHLS is shown on the Farmall tractor on the family farm.

-Farm News photo by Darcy Dougherty Maulsby RICHARD BAHLS (left) and Sascha Boden, a former exchange student from Germany, are shown here on the Bahls’ Calhoun County farm in October 2024.

Sixth generation thrives on Ludwig farm

By DARCY DOUGHERTY MAULSBY Farm News writer

CARROLL — When Martin Ludwig purchased 80 acres of Carroll County land from the Iowa Railroad Land Company (IRLC) on Feb. 4, 1874, it marked a new era.

“Only Ludwigs have ever farmed this land,” said Dale Ludwig, 70, of Carroll, whose great-great-grandfather paid $616 for those 80 acres (about $7.70 an acre). That’s the equivalent of roughly $17,300 in 2025 — about $216 an acre in 2025 dollars.

In 1877, Martin acquired an additional 40 acres from the IRLC for $280. To complete his 160-acre farm, he bought the remaining 40 acres from the IRLC in 1878 for $308, said Dale Ludwig, who wrote a research paper about his family’s farm for a history class he took at Iowa State University in 1974.

Carroll County

Ludwig Carroll County Heritage Farm

Established: 1874

Township: Kniest

Number of acres

in original farm: 160

Century Farm Award: 1978

Heritage Farm Award: 2024

Generation: 6th generation farm

According to the 1880 census, Martin Ludwig raised 50 acres of corn yielding 2,500 bushels, 13 acres of oats yielding

See CARROLL, Page 15C

-Submitted photo

THE LUDWIG FAMILY includes (left to right) Dale, Laura, Lainey, Jordan, Amelia and Brett.

400 bushels, 50 acres of wheat yielding 650 bushels, and half an acre of potatoes yielding 40 bushels. He also had 13 milk cows, seven horses, 14 cattle, 40 pigs, 60 chickens and 10 sheep.

Martin’s son Frank was also farming at this time. The young farmer had five horses, two milk cows, 30 pigs and 30 chickens. He raised 30 acres of Indian corn that yielded 1,000 bushels, 10 acres of oats that yielded 40 bushels, 30 acres of wheat that yielded 420 bushels, and a quarter of an acre of potatoes that yielded 10 bushels, according to the 1880 census.

In time, Frank bought a harrow to replace the tree branch that the Ludwig family had previously used. The family also advanced from a walking plow to a sulky plow and a gang plow around 1910. In 1918, the Ludwig family purchased their first tractor, along with a three-bottom plow.

In 1925, Frank sold his land to his

“You wonder how many people along the way helped make this farm what it is. It’s cool to think about all the lives this farm has touched.”

Brett

Ludwig

son Henry, who paid $24,000 for the quarter-section, plus 60 acres in the section across the road. (That 220-acre purchase equates to nearly $440,000 in 2025 dollars, or roughly $2,000 per acre.)

In 1932 during the Great Depression, Henry Ludwig managed to buy an additional 100 acres to complete his 320-acre farm. He was still farming with a two-row, horse-drawn planter,

however, that had been purchased in the early 1890s. That changed in 1936.

“Henry was one of the first people in our neighborhood to purchase a four-row planter,” said Dale Ludwig, adding that Henry also purchased a 1936 Farmall F12 with a two-row cultivator.

Henry continued to farm until his death in 1938 at age 57. His son Herbert (1918-2001) and two of Herbert’s older (bachelor) brothers, Leonard and Wilfred, began farming the land.

“In 1962 they purchased the land from my grandmother, Mary Ludwig, for $325 per acre,” said Dale Ludwig, who is Herbert’s son. “They also started growing soybeans around this time.”

After Dale Ludwig earned his farm operations degree from ISU in 1976, he returned to Carroll County to farm fulltime.

“I started with 20 sows and over time grew the hog operation to 300 sows,” said Dale Ludwig, who also ran a custom

baling business.

Dale and his wife, Laura, raised their family on the farm, including sons Justin, 44; Ryan, 41; and Brett, 36. Brett and his wife, Jordan, appreciate the opportunity to raise their children (Amelia, 5; Lainey, 2; and Theo, 9 months) on the farm, where they also raise corn, soybeans and hogs.

In July 2024, the Ludwig family hosted a Heritage Farm celebration. About 85 family members and friends gathered in the family’s machine shed, which showcased 100 years of tractors, from Henry Ludwig’s 1918 1020 McCormick Deering to a 1954 John Deere 60 to a 2018 John Deere 8270 R.

“We’ve gone from a tractor on steel wheels to one that can steer itself,” Brett Ludwig said.

A Heritage Farm is meaningful, he added. “You wonder how many people along the way helped make this farm what it is. It’s cool to think about all the lives this farm has touched.”

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Abrams farm celebrates 150 years

By CLAYTON RYE Farm News writer

CLEAR LAKE — Steve Abrams recalled that when his family received their Century Farm award, the ceremony was held at the fairgrounds in Mason City during the fair with the recipients from Cerro Gordo County. It was a small group.

Since then, the ceremony has grown to a statewide event held during the Iowa State Fair attended by a large group of people.

The Abrams family Century Farm was the Cerro Gordo County Century Farm story for the 2013 Century Farm issue. Spence and Janice Abrams were interviewed for the story. They have since passed away.

Cerro Gordo County

during war time, he was limited to purchasing three boxes a day. VanHoosen traveled to several counties, getting his ration of three boxes in each county until he had enough boxes of shotgun shells that he had a picture taken of him surrounded by boxes and boxes of shotgun shells.

Spence and Janice Abrams Memorial Trust

Then he sent photos of him and his boxes and boxes of shells to the rationing boards of the counties while thumbing his nose at them in the photo to show them their rationing was not affecting him.

Established: October 26, 1869

Township: Grant

Number of acres: 160

Heritage Farm Award: 2024

Generation: 7th

For the Abrams’ Heritage Farm story, three of Spence and Janice Abrams’ six children were interviewed, accompanied by their spouses. Family stories going back three generations were in abundance, starting with great-grandparents Abe and Louise VanHoosen.

The VanHoosen’s died many years ago, so the family stories have been told and retold as today’s descendants never met or knew them.

Vicky Jefson described Abe VanHoosen as “a real character.”

“It was always a question of which side of the law he was on,” she said. When shot gun shells were rationed

Abe VanHoosen also had a fondness for dynamite. There were many trees on his farm, and after cutting the trees, he would use dynamite to remove the stumps.

“He was hunting every day, if he wasn’t blowing something up,” said Steve Abrams.

Abe VanHoosen liked to make wine, and his wife Louise was a teetotaler. When he would make his own wine, he would sample the wine as it was fermenting in the basement.

Louise would add sugar (valuable because it was also rationed) to the fermenting wine when Abe was not around. After deciding there was something wrong with his batch of wine, he disposed of it.

For Louise, it was a decision to give up her valuable sugar to keep her husband from having any wine.

Abe VanHoosen died in 1945, and his wife Louise died in 1953. The farm then passed to their daughter Vera and her husband, Spence Abrams, Sr. Their son was Spence Abrams, Jr., who was married to Janice. Their six children gave their grandparents the name of Pop and Mom Abe, and they knew them well while growing up.

The two Spence Abrams, both senior and junior, farmed together for many years. In 1978, a second house was built on the farm for the senior Spence Abrams and his wife Vera. The junior Spence Abrams and his wife Janice, along with their remaining kids, moved into the farmhouse. At this time, Steve Abrams, the youngest of the

six kids, was in the ninth grade.

The senior Spence Abrams, also known as Pop, was not as fond of dynamite as much as his father. However, he did like fireworks and would set off a package of firecrackers in the morning to let the kids know it was time to get up. Pop was also a teetotaler.

Pop also had the ability to be able to hold on to a live electric fence, which came in handy when the fence needed work. He could ground the fence and do the necessary repairs.

As the years went by, Spence Abrams Jr. and Janice moved from the farmhouse

See ABRAMS, Page 23C

-Farm News photo by Clayton Rye

THE CHILDREN OF SPENCE AND JANICE ABRAMS stand in the same place as their parents did when interviewed in 2013 for their Century Farm. Left to right is daughter Vicky Jefson and husband Floyd, son Steve Abrams with his wife Valerie, and daughter Julie Pals with her husband Kevin.

Barnes family helped bring rodeo to the Midwest

By HAILEY BRUESCHKE Farm News writer

CHEROKEE — It’s hard for John Barnes to put into words how much it means to him to have a Heritage Farm in his family.

Since the beginning when it was purchased more than 100 years ago in Cherokee County, his family has kept all the land and today it is still Barnes’ life and lifestyle.

“My great-grandpa James Finely Barnes was in his teens when he purchased the farm,” said Barnes. “From there we have kept it with the family, and when my great-grandpa passed it went to his grandpa, John Arthur Barnes, and when he passed his grandma took charge of it. Then it went to their children.”

Barnes’ dad, uncle and aunt had ownership of the land, but his uncle ended up selling his share to his dad, Robert, and his aunt, Marjorie. In 2015, John Barnes attained ownership of the farm.

Although John has always been a part of the farm, it is not where he grew up. His home was about seven miles away from their farmland, but even though he did not live there, as a teen he worked in the pastures on the farm.

“We have always had livestock on the farm and row crops. In the 1930s and 1940s, they even used to break horses. When my dad was running everything, he had a rodeo business that was based on the farm in the 1950s,” said Barnes.

When his dad first started having a rodeo business on the farm, Barnes said rodeos were not even in this part of the country yet. They had bucking horses, bulls, cows, and everything it took to put a rodeo on.

-Photo by Courtney Engeltjes

“My aunt, Marjorie, and my dad hosted their first rodeo event in 1950, and he kept at it for more than six decades.”

John Barnes, Heritage Farm owner

“He would do traveling rodeos and sometimes would even have them on our farmland,” said Barnes. “My aunt, Marjorie, and my dad hosted their first rodeo event in 1950, and he kept at it for more than six decades.”

His dad, Robert, was even inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs and the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City.

“My mom was inducted as well, so the Western lifestyle has always been part of my life,” John Barnes said.

Barnes reflected on how different farming is today compared to when he first started. He said he still possesses a photograph of the steam engine his grandfather utilized for threshing greens.

“When I was growing up, I thought it was a big deal to have a corn picker do

Cherokee County

Barnes Heritage Farm

Established: March 8, 1920

Township: Cherokee

Number of acres: 335

Heritage Farm Award: 2024 Generation: 4th

two rows at one time and now combines can do eight to 12 rows at a time.”

He says they now accomplish in an hour what used to take them all fall.

Other changes Barnes has seen is the guess work being taken out of farming, which he believes is a great thing. All the new technology and the grid sampling for soils as well as the different electronics that can be used to record the yield data have helped advance farming.

“Nowadays you can even be watching TV while you are farming, and it is just amazing to me how far farming has come,” said Barnes, who is married to Cindy Barnes.

Together the couple has two children, Colton and Megan. Megan lives in North Dakota as a school teacher with her husband Chad and their two children.

Colton is also married but works with John on the farm. Together they have a cattle company called Old 21 Cattle Company, which is a cow-calf operation.

They still use the farmland to raise corn, soybeans, and alfalfa hay. Even after all these years, agriculture is still their main source of income.

MEMBERS OF THE BARNES FAMILY, from left, are Hudson, Chad, Megan and Harper Berger; John Barnes, with his wife Cindy; and Hannah Barnes holding Sullivan Barnes, and Colton Barnes, holding Augustus Barnes.

Grandfather jumps ship, navigates to Iowa

By KAREN SCHWALLER Farm News writer

SPENCER — Franklin Mett said his grandfather (Frank Mett) was a carpenter on ships that hauled goods from Europe to America.

“We think he jumped ship in New Orleans and made his way up the Mississippi River,” said Franklin Mett. “He ended up in northwest Iowa building houses, barns and corn cribs for farmers that were settling around here.”

After making a little money, he wanted to farm, but he was not an American citizen. He had to renounce his loyalty to the czar of Germany — that was in 1888, when he became a naturalized American citizen.

“At that time, he was able to buy a little land,” said Mett. “He wanted to put up a barn, and it was the barn that was standing when I was a kid. It had plaster on the part where the horse stalls were, and some of that was still there when I was very young.”

Frank Mett was able to purchase the Cromwell Center Post Office and Stagecoach Stop Office, and skidded that across the frozen river to start building his own seven-bedroom house in Summit Township in Clay County, west and south of Fostoria.

Mett said he asked his grandfather why he bought land along the river because of the risk of flooding in wet years and sandy soil in dry years.

“He said it had everything he ever wanted — the river for water, pasture all the way around him, and he could cut all the hay he wanted all over. He wondered what more he could have wanted?” said Franklin Mett.

ONE OF FRANKLIN METT'S most cherished photos of his Century Farm is this one, taken of the farm as it was when his grandparents (Frank and Tressa Mett) lived there. It shows the large house (which would become a seven-bedroom home) and two barns, which Frank Mett built. Notice the tall hand-made fence separating the house from the farm yard.

Frank Mett purchased his 280 acres in 1900 at a cost of $6,500, which comes to just over $23 per acre. He and his wife, Tressa, literally built their lives there with some buildings, including three barns (over the years), a small-grain granary, overhead corn crib with an inside elevator, hog house, chicken house and cob house.

“The cob house is the only building left standing there now — and it’s coming down this year,” said Franklin Mett. “I hate to see it go; it’s the last of the buildings there that my grandfather built.”

Frank Mett purchased one of the first International manure spreaders out at the time.

“My father (Anton Mett) and he would pitch manure into the spreader, and used a team of horses to run it; there were beaters in the back to spread the manure,” said Franklin Mett.

Frank Mett’s son, Anton, and his wife, Louise, were the next to care for this land. They planted many trees and created a gravel pit. They continued to grow corn, soybeans and alfalfa — and for one growing season, 70 acres were relegated to grain sorghum via government regulations, due to the glut of corn on the market.

Franklin and Edna Mett took over the care of the land next. Franklin Mett had some college education in both

“DOES YOUR WATERER PERFORM

Clay County

Mett Family Farm

Year Established: 1900

Number of acres: 280

Township: Summit

Century Farm Award: 2024

Number of generations: 3

engineering and farming operations from Iowa State University, and he said they did their best to improve the land. They built cattle yards, a chute and sorting chutes, and fence-line feed bunks.

“The old farm had a Kaylo silo, and we tore it down when we built the machine shed. The silo hit the barn when it came down and put a big hole in it. We really had a mess,” said Mett.

See METT, Page 42C

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-Farm News photo by Karen Schwaller

Continued from Page 16C

into the newer single-story house that was built in 1978. Their daughter Julie and her husband Kevin Pals moved into the farmhouse. Thus, having the two houses on the farm allowed the older couple to live on the farm for many more years while the younger couple provided the labor to run the farm.

Vicky Jefson, Julie Pals, and Steve Abrams remember their parents as being very devoted to each other. Each morning, they prayed and read several chapters from the

Bible.

During COVID, Janice Abrams ended up in a nursing home about 20 miles away near Mason City. Her husband Spence would drive to be with her every day. When the lockdown began, Spence Abrams became a resident at the nursing home so he could be with Janice. But it meant cutting off contact with his family.

“He wanted to be with his best friend,” said Julie Pals.

Spence Abrams passed away after living in the nursing

home 30 days. His children speculated that he died of a broken heart.

Spence Abrams believed after his death his children would sell the farm. The children met together and came up with an idea of creating a trust that would own the farm. They presented it to their dad, and he agreed.

The Abrams Heritage farm is owned by the trust and the entire farm is enrolled in the CRP program.

Wessel-Goslar blessed to own 2 Century Farms

By HAILEY BRUESCHKE Farm News writer

DENISON — If there is one word

Rhonda Wessel-Goslar would use to describe what it means to own a Century Farm, it would be blessed. Her great-grandparents, August and Matilda Harm, bought the farm on Dec. 9, 1892.

Wessel-Goslar resided on the original farmland until the age of 4, after which her family relocated to a larger residence due to having six children. During this period, her father rented the house on the land while continuing to farm the land. Although she did not live on the farm growing up, she remembers going over to help with all the farm chores.

To Wessel-Goslar, having a family farm is a privilege and an honor to be able to carry on the tradition of working on the land.

“We all have roots somewhere, and it is emotional to have this gift from previous generations that they worked so hard to keep,” Wessel-Goslar said. “I still remember how my dad would tell stories about growing up on the farm and how his grandfather would walk five miles to his house to come help every day.”

She said in those days, horses were commonly used to assist with planting. They also used horses to excavate the basement, which allowed them to install the first indoor toilet in the house.

When Rhonda married for the first time — to her late husband, Dale Wessel — her father offered them the land in 1979.

“There was no longer a house on the land,” she said, “so we were able to build our own to raise our kids on.”

While raising her family, they had corn and soybean crops. They also raised sheep,

Crawford County

Harm-Wessel Farms

Century Farm 1

Year Established: Dec. 9, 1892

Number of acres: 75

Century Farm 2

Year Established: Feb. 28, 1912

Number of acres: 51

Township: Goodrich

Century Farm Award: 2024 Generation: 4th

and their children showed hogs and cattle at the fair.

Today, her son, Justin Wessel, owns the land. He continues to raise cows, calves, and hogs for the fair. Rhonda Wessel-Goslar, Justin Wessel, Jami Volkman, and Jillian Ellis are working together in a partnership to maintain the corn and soybean crops.

“It really means a lot to me to be able to keep the farm with my family and pass it to my own children. It is very special to me, and you don’t realize how much it means to you until your parents pass,” Wessel-Goslar said.

“I am so glad for this amazing opportunity and being able to remember and share all the memories with my own children.”

Wessel-Goslar believes that family roots are important. She considers it a treasure to keep the acreage, as farms are now very hard to come by. “I love that I was raised on the farm and was able to raise my own children here,” she said. “It is something that I will never forget.”

-Submitted photo

THE HARM-WESSEL FAMILY accepts their Century Farm Awards for two farms at the 2024 Iowa State Fair.

‘The home place’ was one of fun, adventure

By KRISTIN DANLEY GREINER Farm News writer

PERRY

— Growing up one of five girls on the family farm, Tracy Voss experienced an exhilarating childhood full of hard work, fun adventures and a love of the land.

Fondly called “the home place,” the family farm was purchased in 1921 by Voss’ paternal grandparents, Claus and Nina Meier. Consisting of approximately 100 acres of cropland and an estimated 20 acres of timber, it ran along the Raccoon River in Dallas County outside Perry.

“My grandfather was an avid hunter and fisherman, which I’m sure was the driving reason for purchasing this particular piece of land,” Voss said.

dallas County

Jack E. and Mary P. Meier Trust Farms

Year Established: March 1, 1921

Original number of acres: 94 Township: Spring Valley

Century Farm Award: 2024 Generation: 4th

-Submitted photo

JACK MEIER, Tracy Voss' father, prepares to plant corn in this undated photo. Jack Meier farmed exclusively with Oliver tractors on the family's Century Farm in Dallas County.

The operation included corn, soybeans, hay, sorghum, oats, beef cattle, hogs, chickens and the “obligatory” dogs and barn cats, Voss said. “My father helped out on the farm throughout his childhood, during which time they farmed with horses,” Voss said. “Upon returning from the service during the Korean War, he farmed alongside my grandfather and, eventually, he and my mother, Jack and Mary Meier, bought a farm directly across the road.”

Voss said she and her four sisters had “an incredible amount of freedom and fun” running back and forth between the two farms.

“It was not unusual for us to explore the hills for a while on a perfect summer morning and end up in the timber or along the sandbar later the same day,” Voss said. “It wasn’t all play every day though, as our grandfather would order us to the bean field where we would pull weeds under a sun that somehow felt hotter when you weren’t playing. We helped put up hay, feed cattle, clean out the chicken house and whatever other chores needed to be done.”

However, their grandma would entice them to come inside with the promise of homemade rye bread, cookies, pies and fresh-squeezed lemonade or iced tea made with fresh well water that Voss described as “extra delicious.”

Their grandma had many tasks for the girls to help with, including cleaning, waxing floors and woodwork, weeding the extensive flower gardens, gathering the eggs and hanging laundry out to dry.

“As we helped, she would work away, keeping the household running smoothly and meals on the table three times a day,” Voss said.

Their father farmed both places for many years while their grandfather was still alive and continued to work the land at both locations after her grandfather’s passing.

“When my dad retired from farming, he rented our Century Farm land to a local farmer who continued to improve the soil strength and was a good steward of the land. It was very important to my parents to turn the land over to someone who they knew would take care of it,” Voss said. “My sisters and I were blessed with really great parents and grandparents, and the farm that was in our family for over 100 years provided the five of us with a firm footing, helping us to become independent, confident women with a deep love and respect for the land.”

Even though the Century Farm is no longer a part of their family, Voss said it’s still actively farmed. “It looks beautiful in any season,” Voss said. “My family and I recognize the importance and honor of being part of a Century Farm legacy. We were incredibly fortunate.”

Round buildings hallmark of Cable Century Farm

By KAREN SCHWALLER Farm News writer

MILFORD — Round buildings on a 160-acre tract with a highway running through it make the Cable family Century Farm somewhat unusual.

“They were two pieces of ground (80 acres each) that were purchased at the same time,” said Lori Cable, daughter of current owners, (the late Don) and Connie Cable of Milford.

Located southeast of Milford, W.R. and Eunice Gillette (Don Cable’s greatgrandparents) originally purchased the piece for $33.32 per acre in 1913, for a sum of $5,332.44. They laid the claim to ownership for 10 years until their daughter and husband, E.Y. and Grace Cable, purchased the piece, owning it from 1932 to 1965.

E.Y. and Grace Cable, who both had college degrees, had also owned land in Minnesota. The Great Depression brought

diCkinson County

Cable Family Farm

Established: 1913

Number of acres: 160 (split)

Township: Milford

Century Farm Award: 2024

Generation: 4th

hard times upon the nation, and in order to reduce the risk of losing what they had worked for, the Cables had to sell that portion of their land. They kept the Milford, Iowa, tract because they had constructed some buildings on it.

“At one time, between Grace and E.Y., they owned 800 acres,” said Lori Cable, with Connie Cable adding that land ownership seemed plentiful for the

previous generation as well.

“Obviously, they all knew how to finance,” said Cable.

She said E.Y. Cable had something going for him as he made his living.

“E.Y. was an ag engineer, and he went around promoting round barns,” she said. “The clay blocks they used had a slight curve to them. They were a new building material at the time, and the design of the

round buildings was supposed to have been more efficient per square foot at the time.”

She added that the round design was aerodynamic, allowing fierce Iowa winds to blow around them instead of “hitting” a building and tearing them apart.

“He was very progressive,” said Cable.

See DICKINSON, Page 33C

-Submitted photo

THIS 1990s PHOTO shows off the design of the round barn and corn crib that E.Y. Cable built on his farm near Milford.

Good neighbors made Century Farm special

By KAREN SCHWALLER Farm News writer

ESTHERVILLE — Jos. (Joseph)

W. and Mary Hoffman, a Carroll County farm couple, heard that farm land was less expensive in Emmet County than it was in Carroll County. That gave them the motivation to purchase 160 acres of Emmet County land in 1920.

The Hoffmans looked into taking out a federal loan to make it happen. They would need $14,000 to purchase the land, which would come out to $87.50 per acre. After some thought, they signed the papers and became Emmet County land owners.

However, they never moved out of Carroll County.

The Hoffmans rallied up some tenants to farm the land and care for (primarily) Hereford cows there. One of the selling points for the farm was that it featured a permanent pasture with a creek running through it, providing a constant and

emmet County

Hoffman Farm

Established: Feb. 27, 1920

Number of acres: 160

Township: Center

Century Farm Award: 2024

Generation: 3rd

reliable water source for livestock.

Tenants lived there and farmed the land until after World War II was over, and the Hoffmans sent some of their older (unmarried) sons from Carroll County to Emmet County to tend the farm. When their son Leonard Hoffman married, he and his wife, Ethel, started their new lives on the farm, and became the owners in 1954.

-Submitted photos

ABOVE: This photo, circa 1947, shows the original Hoffman barn. The barn's silo was removed at one point, but the building remained there until 1980, when it was torn down and replaced.

Leonard and Ethel Hoffman raised 11 children, who helped with their dairy, beef cattle, hog and row crop operation. Ethel Hoffman worked as a registered nurse and helped on the farm.

The farm’s building site was complete from the 1920s — with a house, barn, corn crib, hog house, one or two chicken houses and a few other outbuildings.

Over the years, the house was expanded and modernized, outbuildings were torn down and replaced, including the barn, which was torn down and rebuilt in the same location as the original barn. The corn crib was replaced with grain bins. Other buildings were not replaced.

LEFT: This machine shed was original to the Hoffman farm. See EMMET,

Farms for the boys and farms for the girls

franklin County

By CLAYTON RYE Farm News writer

ACKLEY — John Siler left Germany for America at age 12, accompanied by his brother. His parents stayed in Germany. His grandson Ken Mutschler speculated that the boys had family members waiting for them in America.

John Siler bought 160 acres on June 1, 1922, near Geneva, Iowa, for his daughter Maria. John Siler also bought farms for his other children, both sons and daughters. The two boys got 240 acres each and the three girls got 160 acres each.

Ken Mutschler said that all the land is still owned by the family members, with some of them being neighbors. They are also Century Farms.

Maria Siler married Fred Mutschler, and they lived on the farm bought for her until 1958. Their son Lester rented the farm until 1983, when Ken Mutschler bought his grandparents’ farm from Maria’s estate in 1983.

Ken Mutschler grew up on the Century Farm and lived there from 1958 to 1970, when he married his wife Deb. Over the years, Ken and Deb Mutschler rented several farms, ending up north of Ackley, buying the farm where he now lives. Deb

passed away a few years ago from cancer.

Ken and Deb Mutschler are the parents of six children, three boys and three girls. The Mutschlers farrowed to finish hogs on four different farms, remodeling the buildings to suit their needs.

He credits his six kids with being part of the remodeling crew and doing hog chores.

“They all helped,” said Ken Mutschler.

His daughter, who is a member of the police department in Kansas City, Missouri, told Ken he may have instilled too much of a work ethic in his children.

Ken Mutschler retired in 2022, and his son Landon is now the farmer and operator of the Century Farm.

While he may be retired, Ken Mutschler stays busy keeping up with the activities of his grandchildren.

Mutschler Farms

Established: 1924

Township: Grant

Number of acres: 160

Century Farm awarded: 2024

Generation: 4th

and

ABOVE: This aerial photo shows the Mutschler Century Farm in Franklin County.

-Farm News photo by Clayton Rye

KEN MUTSCHLER (far left photo) shows off his Century Farm recognition that was awarded at the Iowa State Fair.

-Submitted photos

LEFT: Ken

Deb Mutschler pause during harvest for this photo from several years ago.

he bought his first 80 acres in Newell Township on Aug. 28, 1874, he paid $6.75 an acre.

“For the last 80 acres he gave $12.75 per acre,” said Arnie Porath, who said the year of that final purchase has been lost to history, although it pre-dates 1910, the year that William Porath died. (That $6.75 in 1874 would equate to about $190 an acre in 2025 dollars.)

As he expanded his land holdings, William Porath expanded his family. He married his wife, Gustave (“Augusta”) in 1880. The couple had 11 children. One of their older sons, Edward, became the next generation to own the Heritage Farm, followed by his son Ernest. The family built a new barn on their farm in 1914, complete with two cupolas. One featured “Porath” embossed in the metal, while the other was embossed with the year 1914.

“My dad, Ernest, and my Uncle Raymond used the letters ‘o’ and ‘p’ in the Porath cupola for target practice,” said Porath, noting that the pair used .22 caliber rifles.

When Arnie Porath was growing up

around Newell in the 1950s and 1960s, there were still a lot of 160-acre farms in the area, with three to four families living on each section. Ernest Porath rented two different farm properties in the Newell area before he and his family moved to an acreage in Newell in 1966.

“I remember shelling corn on our farm,” said Porath, the youngest of Ernest and Bonnie Porath’s children.

After moving to town, Ernest Porath worked at Sievers Implement (an Oliver dealer) and later became a rural mail carrier.

“He acquired the Heritage Farm through inheritance and eventually purchased the shares belonging to his brother and two sisters,” said Arnie Porath, a 1972 Newell High School graduate who pursued a career in law enforcement.

Today, Arnie Porath’s older brother, Larry, and his son Ryan, are current farm owners and are the primary operators, along with Arnie Porath’s son Matthew.

“The farm is still a gathering place for our family,” Arnie Porath said.

Continued from Page 27C

“Just as change happens, so did the buildings,” agreed Hoffman family members.

Leonard Hoffman bought his first tractor in the mid- to late-1940s, saying he no longer wanted to farm with horses.

The Hoffmans raised corn, soybeans and alfalfa over the years, along with owning some pasture land. Today the livestock operation consists of a Hereford cow-calf herd.

The farm is owned today by siblings Joyce Hoffman, Kevin Hoffman, Craig Hoffman and Lynn Hoffman, children of Leonard and Ethel Hoffman. They began their ownership in 2008.

While they agreed there was nothing “special” about the farm itself, siblings Dennis, Joyce, Kevin and Craig Hoffman all remember the warmth of good neighbors and family, and of the neighborliness that was so prevalent in the time they were growing up. Leonard Hoffman had a heart attack in the spring of 1969, and the siblings agreed that without their family and neighbors

stepping in, there would have been a serious kink on the road to becoming a Century Farm.

The Hoffmans spoke of how difficult it had to have been for previous generations to pick corn by hand in all weather conditions. They still have a corn picking glove as a reminder of the kind of hard work a farm took in those days.

The Hoffman farm was also a hub for neighborhood baseball games, with kids riding bicycles or horses there, and Leonard Hoffman serving as the all-time pitcher. The Hoffmans also revel in the thought that the school bus stopped there for so many decades with 11 children to educate, and 20 years between the oldest and the youngest children.

“We have had the greatest neighbors, and a lot of our neighbors also have Century Farms — so our dad was neighbors with their dads, and now we are neighbors with their children,” said the Hoffmans.

The Hoffmans said they look forward to keeping the farm in the family.

History abounds on Paton-area farm

By DARCY DOUGHERTY MAULSBY Farm News writer

PATON — When Larry Smith’s greatgrandfather Conrad Smith arrived in Greene County in 1868, the Civil War had ended just three years earlier, the county seat of Jefferson was a relatively new community, and towns like Paton hadn’t been platted yet.

“At that time, the railroad only came as far as Grand Junction,” said Smith, 88, who lives on his family’s Heritage Farm near Paton.

“My great-grandfather paid $4 an acre for the land he bought in Greene County.”

The Smith family originally came from the Alsace-Lorraine region of northeastern France. After Conrad Smith bought land in Greene County, the farm was passed down through the generations, to Conrad’s son George and his wife, Maryl, (who married in 1888) and later to Larry Smith’s father, Vester Smith, who married his wife, Bernice, in 1923.

“Dad served in World War I in France and later served as a Greene County supervisor for 18 years,” Smith said.

History surrounds Smith on his Paton Township farm. The main part of the farmhouse where he’s lived for more than seven decades dates back to 1876.

“Getting rural electricity was one of the biggest changes I’ve seen in my lifetime,” said Smith, whose family’s farm connected to rural electric service in 1942.

Smith, who has four siblings, enjoyed growing up on his family’s farm. Back then, the Smith farm included hogs,

Greene County

Smith Heritage Farm

Established: 1868

Township: Paton

Number of acres in original farm: 120 Century Farm Award: 1976 Heritage Farm Award: 2024 Generation: 4th generation farm

to shelling corn. He began working fulltime on his family’s farm in 1958.

Like any farmer, Smith saw the power of the weather at work — sometimes as the farmer’s friend, and sometimes as a foe. He remembers the big drought years of 1977 and 1988.

chickens and seven Holstein dairy cows.

“I never learned to milk, because Dad never let anyone touch the milk cows,” Smith said. “I did run the cream separator, though. To this day, I can’t eat breakfast without cream.”

Poultry production was part of Smith’s life from childhood into adulthood. At one point, he raised 7,000 chickens a year and had an egg route to serve customers in Fort Dodge, Gowrie and Jefferson. “I helped take care of chickens for more than 75 years,” said Smith, who added that this ended when he had cataract surgery.

Smith, a 1955 graduate of Paton High School, knew early on that he wanted to farm. He also did some gardening — sometimes on a large scale — especially with sweet potatoes.

“I’m a sun and moon guy,” said Smith, who follows annual guides like Blum’s Farmer’s and Planter’s Almanac. “I got that from my dad, who got it from his mother.”

The Smiths were early adopters when it came to tractors. “They got rid of the horses early on,” said Smith, whose family had John Deere tractors, Farmalls and other mechanical horsepower. Tractors purchased in the early 1940s soared in value following World War II.

“You could buy a new Farmall M in 1940 for $600 and sell it in 1948 for $800, since there was so much demand for farm machinery after the war,” Smith said.

Smith worked for local farmers as a day laborer after he graduated from high school. Tasks ranged from putting up hay

“Back in 1977, it seemed like (Iowa) Highway 144 divided the drought around here,” Smith said. “The east side of the highway got a little more rain than the fields west of 144.”

A lifelong bachelor, Smith retired from farming in 2006. He doesn’t have a cell phone, internet service or credit cards. He does enjoy watching RFD and basketball on TV. “I got into women’s basketball because of Caitlin Clark,” said Smith, speaking of the former University of Iowa standout who now plays in the WNBA for the Indiana Fever.

Smith is grateful he’s had the chance to carry on the legacy of his family’s Heritage Farm.

“I’m from the old school, and I guess I’ll be that way until they put me out on the hill.”

-Submitted photo

THROUGH THE YEARS, the Smith family farm has included row crops, hogs, chickens and Holstein dairy cows.

Larry Smith

Continued from Page 26C

The clay blocks for their family’s round barn and corn crib were purchased from Johnson Brothers Clay Works in Fort Dodge.

“His contribution to all of this is mindblowing,” Lori Cable said of E.Y. Cable’s innovative round designs and forwardthinking abilities.

Ken Cable took over the land ownership in 1965. The south tract once featured a house, which had burned down by that time. The house was later torn down and a 45-by-90-foot machine shed was put up in 1973.

The north piece once featured a country school house located just west of a round barn, which was west of a round corn crib. The school house and grove around it were gone by 1965 as well, and the roof started to collapse on the barn. That barn was knocked down in the late 1990s.

Don and Connie Cable became fourthgeneration owners of the (now) Century Farm in 2011. The round barn and silo are gone from the north piece, but they have

kept the round corn crib, even tinning the roof a few years ago to ensure it would stand the test of time.

A sign on the front of the crib pays an affectionate tribute to E.Y. Cable.

Connie Cable said the round clay block buildings are what have made that north piece unique and a bit of a conversation piece through the years.

The farm raised corn and soybeans, along with cattle and hogs.

While no livestock facilities exist there today, Brian (and Jeannie) Cable farm the land, and are the fifth generation to farm and someday (co)-own the land with his two siblings, Lori Cable and Leah Cable.

“It’s a special feeling there because of these buildings that Don’s grandpa built,” said Connie Cable. “If you figure how your farm place changes over the years with each generation, it’s pretty cool. We all leave a stamp on our places. To me, it’s even more of a reason to stay put because you’re honoring the memories of these previous generations.”

-Submitted photo

ROUND WAS THE RAGE for E.Y. Cable of Milford, as he believed in the (then) superior efficiency and aerodynamic attributes of round farm buildings. This photo was taken around 1935, while the round corn crib was being built near the round barn.

Hormone free beef raised by the Holden Family Farm near Scranton

Educators were a big crop on this family farm

By LORI BERGLUND Farm News writer

WEBSTER CITY — Dale and Geraldine Hillyer never raised just corn and soybeans on their Independence Township farm east of Webster City. Nor was it all about hay and livestock. Like most family farms of the 20th century, it was all about raising the family — a new generation of selfreliant souls to go out into the world and try to make it a little better place.

Multiple generations, mainly of daughters, have been raised on this Century Farm, a large share of them becoming teachers, always focused on the future, and providing the best education for the generation at hand.

hamilton County

Hilyer Family Farm

Established: Feb. 29, 1924

Number of acres: 125

Township: Independence

Century Farm Award: 2024 Generation: 3rd

“Mom was a school teacher,” recalled Dalene Schlitter, who raised her own three daughters on the same farm. “Mom went to college in New York City, Barnard College, which is a subsidiary of Columbia University. Her older sister lived there, so she was able to live with her and go to college. She came back to Iowa to teach, and that’s how she met my dad.”

In all, at least four generations of the family include at least a few teachers. Geraldine Hillyer managed to take time off to raise her children, and still taught music and English in several communities around Hamilton County, and elsewhere in Iowa.

Schlitter and sister Donna Foster shared the Century Farm Award in 2024. A third sister, Diane Mork, inherited a farm

See HAMILTON, Page 76C

SISTERS DALENE SCHLITTER, left, and Donna Foster shared the Century Farm Award for the family farm east of Webster City. Purchased by their grandparents in 1924, several generations have called the sprawling farmhouse home.

-Farm News photo by Lori Berglund

Hancock Co. farm achieves Century, Heritage status

By CLAYTON RYE Farm News writer

ARNER — When Donny and Kay Schleusner traveled to the 2024 Iowa State Fair for the ceremony honoring Century and Heritage Farms, they came home with a certificate recognizing their ownership in both categories — for the same 160-acre piece of land they own in Hancock County.

Great-grandparents Ludwig, a native of Germany, and Anna Marie Schleusner homesteaded 360 acres in 1873. Don Schleusner, a great-grandson, said that Ludwig’s name is not on the abstract as he had the abstract recorded with his American name, Lewis.

The land then passed to their son Henry, Don Schleusner’s great-uncle, and then to Don Schleusner’s parents, Bud and Marge Schleusner.

Bud and Marge Schleusner were parents of four sons and three daughters. The four sons were Don, Todd, Randy, and Travis.

hanCoCk County

Donny & Kay Schleusner Farm

Established: Oct. 12, 1873

Township: Garfield

Number of acres: 160

Century and Heritage Farm awarded: 2024 Generation: 4th

Randy Schleusner passed away, so three brothers remain.

“The boys picked up the slack,” said Don Schleusner about being raised on the farm.

See HANCOCK, Page 55C

DON SCHLEUSNER is a red tractor loyalist — with one from the past and a recent one in his shop.

-Farm News photo by Clayton Rye

A life of work, both on and off the farm

By CLAYTON RYE Farm News writer

MCCALLSBURG —

According to Kurtis Mork, the land that is the Mork Century Farm was first owned by the railroad. When the railroad was just beginning and needed land to lay the rails, the government sold large parcels of land to the railroad to use for their right of way. Once the railroad tracks were laid, the railroad sold off the land it did not need to a private landowner.

Kurtis Mork’s grandfather, Albert Mork, left Norway and arrived in America just after the Civil War ended. He bought the Century Farm in 1911 for $126.87 an acre for 320 acres from the owner who had bought it from the railroad.

Kurtis Mork has great memories of his grandfather, who was a carpenter by trade. “I listened to his stories,” he said.

hardin County

Kurtis P. Mork Farm

Established: Feb. 25, 1911

Township: Concord

Number of acres: 160

Century Farm Award: 2022

Generation: 4th

Mork tells of his grandfather who drove for years before one day being pulled over by a law enforcement officer who asked for his driver’s license. His grandfather told the officer he never had one.

Albert Mork moved to a house in Garden City after retiring from the farm and would walk the three and half miles to the farm.

Albert and Johanna Mork were parents of two daughters and a son, Peter born in 1899, who was Kurtis Mork’s father. Albert Mork sent his son Peter back to Norway for his schooling. Around the age of 15 or 16, Peter Mork returned to America to live with his parents and sisters.

Peter Mork and his wife Marie were parents of five children. Kurtis was the youngest child. Peter Mork moved off the farm to Marshalltown in 1961, turning over the farm to his wife Marie and Kurtis who would graduate from high school in 1965.

Kurtis Mork said he began farming with an Oliver 70, a Farmall M and a D4 Caterpillar. The D4 Cat ran the grain drier, as it was very economical on fuel.

As a teenager in high school, Kurtis Mork would feed 50 veal calves he bought at auction and, alongside his mother, 2,200 chickens.

See HARDIN, Page 41C

KURTIS MORK holds the Century Farm certificate at the award ceremony at the Iowa State Fair. At left is his son Doug Mork, and holding the Century Farm plaque is his daughter Shari Hopkins and her daughter Peyton, center. At far left is Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig and at far right is then-vice president of the Iowa Farm Bureau Joe Heinrich.

-Submitted photo

Humboldt farm connects family to past, present, future

By DARCY DOUGHERTY MAULSBY Farm News writer

From peacocks to a vibrant machine shed, the Larson/Dornath/ Cook Century Farm in Humboldt County reflects a colorful history.

“My kids think this farm is special enough to have talked me into getting a family tattoo,” said Katherine Dornath Cook, who owns the Century Farm in Norway Township. “We each have a tattoo of the farm’s coordinates as a reminder that no matter where we are in the world, we will always know where home is.”

Cook’s great-great-grandfather, Knud Larson (1847-1912), a Norwegian immigrant, and his wife, Anna, purchased the Humboldt County farm west of Eagle Grove more than a century ago.

“In 1914, their sons Hans and Lars bought the farm from their father’s estate for $18,000, plus they assumed the outstanding loan of $12,000,” Cook said.

In 1917, Hans and his wife, Ida, moved to the farm with their two daughters, Harriett (Hattie), 14, and Clara, 9. “They had about a dozen cows for milk and beef, a large vegetable garden and more than 200 chickens housed in two decommissioned wooden boxcars,” said Cook, who noted that Ida took immense pride in her flower garden and loved entertaining.

In their later years, Hans and Ida raised peacocks, which they called “yard ornaments.”

“They said the peacocks were

-Submitted photo

humBoldt County

Larson/ Dornath/Cook Century Farm

Established: circa 1914

Township: Norway

Number of acres in original farm: 120

Century Farm Award given: 2024

Generation: 5th

(After a tornado ripped through the area in the late 1980s, the family installed new steel doors in moss green, silo blue, brown and red.)

bank loan for crop inputs.”

In the spring of 1972, while Meinhard and Elven were unloading O’s Gold Seed Corn, they were talking about the new, red, four-wheel-drive tractor that had just been delivered.

“Meinhard planned to go to Humboldt later that day to sign the insurance papers, but he suffered a massive heart attack and died in his brother’s arms in the machine shed,” Cook said.

Meinhard’s funeral was one of the largest ever held at Ullensvang Lutheran Church in Thor, Cook said. On March 14, 1973, the Dornaths had a farm equipment sale. “Seeing all that machinery in the yard and watching it drive away later that day is something I’ll never forget,” said Cook, who was 6 years old at the time.

better, and louder, ‘guard dogs’ than any canine they had ever had,” Cook said.

Before they retired, Hans and Ida hired a farmhand named Meinhard Dornath. He formed a friendship with the Larsons’ granddaughter

Darlene Waldron (daughter of Hattie Larson Waldron and Lew Waldron), who was on a break from her teaching position in Seattle, Washington, and visited her grandparents in Iowa. The young couple spent nearly every evening together and kept in touch after she returned to Seattle.

“Meinhard proposed over the phone, and Darlene said yes,”

Cook said. “They married on Nov. 30, 1957.”

The young couple moved to Eagle Grove, where they started their family (which would eventually include Mike, Michelle and Katherine). Meinhard started custom farming (including corn shelling) in the tri-county area.

In 1965, the Dornaths replaced the old barn on their farm with a modern machine shed. Meinhard painted the four double doors pastel shades of tan, pink, mint green and yellow. “Pale yellow was Dad’s favorite color,” Cook said. “The machine shed became a landmark.”

In the late 1960s, the Dornaths met Mansel Ocheltree, founder of the O’s Gold Seed Corn Company, and became some of his first seed dealers. “Meinhard was named Outstanding Grower in the 1969 Master Corn Grower Contest, harvesting 139.08 bushels per acre — well above the Iowa average of 90.9 bushels that year,” Cook noted.

By the early 1970s, life was full of promise. Meinhard and his brother Elven built a new farmhouse on the Dornath farm.

“My parents paid for the materials as they went, so they owed nothing on the house,” Cook said. “This was also the first year my parents didn’t need a

Darlene Dornath signed a cropshare agreement with Kenny and Doris Presler — an arrangement that lasted until Kenny retired in 1992. Mike Dornath started farming the land in 1993.

By the summer of 2019, Cook (who had been living in North Carolina) realized how the changing health needs of her mother and brother required the farm to change course. She hired some neighbors (Gordy Mersch and his son, Scott) to farm the land.

“Today, I own the original 120 acres,” said Cook, who moved back to Humboldt County in January 2020. “My children — Seth, Thaddaeus, and Anna — want to stay involved with the farm, which connects us to our past, present and future.”

HANS LARSON is shown here with his tall corn crop in Humboldt County.

Cultivating the Ernst family legacy in Ida County

ida County

By HAILEY BRUESCHKE Farm News writer

SCHLESWIG — Jerry Ernst is involved in three century farms: one with his family in Ida County, another in Crawford County, and a third through his wife Barb's family in Crawford County.

Ernst grew up on his family farm in Crawford County. While growing up he always helped with hog chores as well as general maintenance around the farm.

Following their marriage in 1976, Jerry and Barb purchased the Ida County farm, where they subsequently raised their family.

They have two children, Ryan and Nicole, but neither are in the farm business.

While living on the farm, Ernst rotated corn and soybeans and also raised hogs. When raising hogs, they would have piglets twice a year — in the fall and in the spring. From there they would raise them until they were ready for the market.

“After we got out of the hog business, we sold the acreage, but continued to farm the land,” said Ernst.

He farmed the land for many more years until he retired in 2014.

Ernst said there have been a lot of changes in farming since he was younger, but there are also some aspects of farming that can be related to those in the past.

Ernst. “If farming and owning an acreage were easy, everyone would do it.”

He said corn and soybean yields have also changed dramatically.

“Now farm families today can certainly still relate to the struggles of farm families in the past. There are always issues to deal with when living on a farm as there is a lot of upkeep,” said

“In 1975, farming equipment included four-row corn planters. Currently, farmers use planters with 16, 24, or 32 rows, which allows for increased efficiency and productivity,” said Ernst.

Ernst said it is a good feeling to be able to carry on the family name and it gives a sense of pride to be able to carry on the legacy.

“I am very proud to be able to own the land of my family legacy,” said Ernst, “and have been given the opportunity to farm the land of our forefathers.”

Established: 1908

Number of acres: 157 Township: Grant

Century Farm Award: 2018 Generation: 4th

UNI-HYDRO IRONWORKERS

-Submitted photo

THE ERNST FAMILY RECEIVES their Century Farm Award at the Iowa State Fair in 2018.

He eventually fed beef cattle. Later, the cattle feeding was replaced with feeding hogs when a tornado destroyed the barn, cattle shed, machine shed, and some bins. A hog confinement building replaced the cattle buildings. He was feeding 600 head of hogs when then-President Richard Nixon froze prices, making them unprofitable.

Powerful winds that destroyed property have been a large part of the Century Farm history. Kurtis Mork remembers a tornado that destroyed 300 trees when he was in the fifth or sixth grade. A second tornado in the 1970s was the one that destroyed the barn and cattle shed. The Century Farm was in the path of the derecho that moved east across Iowa a few years ago, which destroyed trees on both sides of the house.

“I’m hoping to get out of here before another one,” said Mork, referring to the strong destructive winds.

Looking for off-farm income, in 1979 Kurtis Mork started employment at Donnelly’s in the town of Nevada in a print room, working from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m., three days a week, learning on the job.

“I took that job in the winter as it paid double time,” said Mork. “I was going to

work one year, and did 18 years.”

Mork’s farm work came to an end at age 65 after he fell off a pole at age 64. The farm is now operated by a family member on the Mork side of the family. The farm raises 160 acres of peas. Then after the peas are harvested in June, soybeans are planted for a second crop. Besides peas, the farm has also raised sweet corn that, once harvested, is trucked to a canning company in Minnesota.

In addition to farming, for two years Mork and his brother prospected for gold in the Yukon. During this time, he would also fly to Nome, Alaska. There, he was a mechanic where they dredged for gold in the Bering Sea. He would leave Alaska in time for harvest in Iowa.

“I did it for the adventure,” said Mork.

“I like the history.”

Reflecting on his life full of work and activity, Mork said, “I probably would not do it again. I burnt the candle at both ends.”

He said his hobby is fishing in Canada.

Kurtis Mork’s son, Doug, lives on the Century Farm, works in Des Moines, and raises goats and chickens on the farm. Mork’s daughter Shari Hopkins is a senior vice president for Wells Fargo.

Calhoun

Continued from Page 12C

German exchange student named Sascha Boden lived with the Bahls family while he attended Iowa Central Community College in Fort Dodge. He also helped on the family’s farm. Boden returned to Calhoun County in October 2024 to help with a final harvest before Richard Bahls retired.

“As Sascha said after we combined the last rows, ‘This operation started with an immigrant from Germany, and it ended with the help of a German,’” said Richard Bahls, who stays in contact with Boden. “I’m grateful we can honor the legacy of our Heritage Farm.”

Mett

ON COUNTLESS IOWA FARMS, including the Bahls farm (shown here around 1930) near Rockwell City, unloading a wagonload of ear corn into a corncrib was a common sight at harvest. Notice the horse-driven elevator.

Continued from Page 22C

They installed tile in the farm land, designated some of their acres to the pollinator program and some of their land was declared wetlands. He said one of the changes taking place during his tenure was the ability to purchase liquid fertilizer.

Mett remembered the flood of 1993, which took out roads and trees, and left piles of sand in his field.

Mett said about having a Century Farm, “The good Lord has allowed a chance for me and my family to care for this land — It makes me feel great.

“My grandfather had a potato plow and an ice cutter that he used all the time. I’d give anything to have that ice cutter now,” he said, adding that it was taken apart and sold

-Submitted photo

FRANK AND TRESSA METT'S FARM changed over the years, with buildings being added and modernization keeping pace. The date of this photo is unknown.

during World War II for scrap metal needed for the war effort.

Today, the Mett century

farmland is being cared for by Mett’s granddaughter and husband, Jeremy and Alicia Poduska.

-Submitted photo

Thilges farm passed down through generations of hard work

By CLAYTON RYE Farm News writer

BUFFALO CENTER

—

From its beginning in 1920 to the present, the Century Farm certificate with the Thilges Brothers name on it, which they received at the 2024 Iowa State Fair, does not indicate the many family members who each had their turn owning the farm and the way they lived their lives and farmed the land.

The history of what is now the Thilges Brothers Century Farm began when Simon Goeke, their great-great-greatgrandfather arrived from Germany and bought land on March 11, 1920, near Ledyard. Simon Goeke passed away on the farm in February 1942. His wife Hermine became the owner.

According to granddaughter Linda Giese, Hermine was a “typical German who never threw anything away.” She told of her grandmother hiding the egg money under the carpet so her husband wouldn’t use it for something for the farm.

Simon and Hermine were the parents of Henry and Simon. Henry Goeke served in World War I, coming home after the Armistice.

Henry and Gertrude Goeke became the next owners in 1955, buying it from Hermine. Henry and his bachelor brother Simon operated the farm.

Family history tells of the two brothers working 18 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Linda Goeke reflected on the Goeke men and their hard work saying, “They wore their bodies out.”

Henry Goeke bought a farm for each of his children to keep them from being drafted. There are three Century Farms still in the family.

“I don’t want my children going to Canada to avoid the draft,” said Henry Goeke.

In 1973, Henry Goeke’s son Ted became the owner. Ted Goeke was a great-great-uncle to the Thilges Brothers and the farm was put in a life estate by Ted Goeke.

Ted and his wife Elaine were married in 1946 and were parents of Linda, Cynthia, David, and Mark.

Dave Goeke lives on the farm where the homestead is along U.S. Highway 169. He remembers his dad Ted being very proud of his Case DC he bought in 1952. It was put to work pulling a threebottom Case plow.

“He thought that was uptown,” said Linda Giese.

“We did everything with it,” said Dave Goeke about the Case DC.

It joined a Farmall F20 and a Case VAC that were already working on the farm. Ted Goeke’s last tractor was a Case 830 he bought in 1964.

Linda Giese tells of her mother Elaine, saying, “The farm truly became her life.”

Ted and Elaine Goeke built their house using boards and roofing from a barn that had been torn down. The boards from the barn are still on the house.

“My mom pulled out five gallons of roofing nails,” said Linda Giese.

Elaine Goeke got a freezer in 1955. She canned and froze food, and they ate out of that freezer all winter, according to

kossuth County

Thilges Brothers Century Farm

Established: March 11, 1920

Township: Springfield

Number of acres: 40

Century Farm awarded: 2024 Generation: 5th

Linda Giese.

“She fed the men large meals during harvest,” she said.

Like many of their neighbors, besides raising crops, the Goeke men fed hogs, cattle, and dairy.

Ted and Elaine Goeke started traveling in their later years.

“The kids are gone, and we’re going,” said Ted Goeke.

Ted and Elaine Goeke’s daughter, Cynthia Kockler, became the next owner in 2003. She passed away in August 2014. Her sons, James and Tim became owners in 2015.

The Thilges Brothers bought the Century Farm from James and Tim. They are second cousins once removed, because it was important to the cousins to keep the farm in the family.

-Submitted photo

THIS CENTURY FARM is owned by Thilges Brothers Land. Standing, left to right, are Brandon and Derek Thilges. Seated, left to right, are Curt Thilges and their father Brian Thilges. On the wall is a diagram tracing the passage of the Century Farm ownership to the present.

Lyon County farm has Netherlands roots

By KAREN SCHWALLER Farm News writer

ROCK RAPIDS —

They arrived separately from Rotterdam, Netherlands — he in February 1901 and she later that May; but Arij (pronounced “ARE-ee”) Boon II and his (then) wife-tobe, Pieternele, left the lives they knew to marry and establish new roots in the United States.

Boon’s parents, (Arij I and Johanna) had 11 children in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Arij I and five of his children died from the tuberculosis epidemic. Before his father’s death, Arij II had been working and learning the skill of becoming a blacksmith.

Following their marriage, Arij II and Pieternele settled in Perkins, where Arij II became a

lyon County

Four Leaf Clover Farm

Established: 1919

Number of acres: 220

Township: Cleveland

Century Farm awarded: 2024

Generation: 3rd

well-known blacksmith, wagon work and horseshoeing person. Arij II and Pieternele Boon became U.S. citizens in 1907, and with that, Arij Boon II changed the spelling of his first name to an Americanized

spelling of “Arie.”

The Boons began renting a farm near Inwood in 1910, while saving money to purchase land of their own. That dream came true for them in 1919, when they were able to purchase land near Rock Rapids, which would eventually become their century farm. They purchased 220 acres (192 tillable, with a creek running through it) for the sum total of $25,000, which comes out to $113 per acre.

The road was not always easy for the Boons, having nearly lost the farm in 1923. In order to save the farm, the deed needed to be transferred into Pieternele’s name, who then purchased the land for $34,000. She kept the land in her name until she later sold it to their son.

-Submitted photo

THIS BARN STANDS as a testament to time, as one of the original buildings still standing on the Boon family farm near Rock Rapids. The farm has always been called, "Four Leaf Clover Farm." Shown in the photo (left to right) are the Boon family — Terry Boon, Marlene Boon, Adam Boon and Kylah Boon. See LYON, Page 55C

We also buy, sell and trade all types of used farm equipment.

-Submitted photo

EUGENE DAMMAN sits on the front tire of his 1950 Massey Harris 44 Diesel, which he bought used in 1957 at a neighbor’s farm sale. Steve Damman is in the middle with his son, Joel, at left. Joel Damman now owns the Century Farm building site. The tractor was restored in 2007.

By KRISTIN DANLEY GREINER Farm News writer

MELBOURNE — Growing up on their family farm in Melbourne, Steve Damman has many fond recollections of life in the country.

“Dad already had the 1950 Massey 44 diesel. As we added an additional farm,” Damman said, referring to his grandfather Clarence’s second farm, “Dad bought a second 44 diesel. Retired Grandpa Clarence would pull a three-bottom plow with one, and I would follow with the second 44 and another three-bottom plow.”

Eugene Damman, Steve’s father, was already farming the Schorman farm when the other farm was added.

Steve Damman also has special memories of farming around Easter.

“Another (memory) was playing season catch up, and Dad and I plowing all night then going to church Easter morning,” said Damman. “A couple years later, we obtained a single M-M (Minneapolis Moline) built MasseyFerguson with frontwheel assist that could pull a six-bottom plow.”

The Damman family farm in Melbourne was established in 1918.

Steve Damman’s grandfather, Clarence, and his grandmother, Dora, grew up on neighboring farms and ended up getting married. The rest, as they say, is history.

“When my sister was a senior in high school in 1966, we moved from one family farm to the other and used a fourwheel flatbed farm hay wagon to move half a mile down the road,” Damman said.

One of Damman’s brothers purchased land across the road from the Century

County

Damman holds many memories of life on the farm marshall

Clarence and Eugene Damman Farm

Established: 1911

Township: Logan

Acres: 160

Century Farm award: 2024

Generation: 4th

Farm. “There were a lot of us kids growing up together in a close radius on farms. The get-togethers when someone got married would be something grand,” he said. “I ended up working off the farm as a shop teacher for my first few years out of college, then went to Winnebago Industries.”

His sister, Kathleen Large, owns the second family farm. Both her son and her nephew, Steve Damman’s son, live on the family’s land. Her farmable acreages are rented out to cousins and another brother.

“My grandpa was the first homesteader and sent to World War I. His father told him if he made it back, they’d put buildings on that place,” Large said. “We raised grain and had livestock, including cattle and hogs, then just grain.”

Steve Damman and his wife live in Indianola near their youngest son and his family, along with their daughter and her children. Joel Damman and his family live on the family farm.

O’Brien County farm nears ‘Heritage’ status

By KAREN SCHWALLER Farm News writer

PAULLINA — Chester George Peek came a long way to live his dream, but he set his sights on land ownership 148 years ago and never looked back.

“My great-grandfather was born in 1859 in a log cabin in Wisconsin after the death of his father,” said Thomas Peek, Chester George Peek’s greatgrandson, who manages the land today.

Thomas Peek said Chester George Peek moved to Independence, Iowa, at age 14 to finish his education, then was a secondary school teacher there a few years until he married Amanda Hatch. The newly married couple and her brother rode together from Independence to northwest Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota in 1876, looking for land.

Each one purchased 160 acres from the local railroad.

“He (Chester George Peek) purchased it for $5 per acre,” said Thomas Peek.

Peek said his great-grandfather broke the sod with a horse-drawn plow by himself.

Chester George Peek served as a township trustee, school board member and church trustee. At one point, he established a cattle business, located three miles from Paullina where the railroad stopped.

“The way they got their cattle and hogs to market in those days was to herd them three miles down the road,” said Thomas Peek. “It probably took all day at the time.”

THE PEEKS receive their Century Farm Award at the 2024 Iowa State Fair. From left are Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig, Judith and Thomas Peek, and Brent Johnson, president of the Iowa Farm Bureau.

Peek said his great-grandfather also bred and raised Clydesdale horses.

Amanda Peek died in 1920; Chester Peek lived to the age of 91.

“When you’re born in 1859 and live to be 91, that’s quite a feat,” said Thomas Peek.

Chester and Amanda Peek had five daughters and one son (Welton Peek), and all of them graduated from universities. He said not all women went to college in those days.

Welton Peek eventually took a job in Plymouth County as the county agent, and had an office in the county courthouse, where he met his wife, Erna. She was elected to the local school board as school superintendent in the early 1910s and drove to the one-room schools in Plymouth County to oversee them.

They married in 1919, and Chester Peek (Thomas Peek’s father) was born

in 1920.

When (the senior) Chester Peek was getting older, Welton and Erna Peek moved back to the farm. They took ownership following (that) Chester Peek’s death in 1951.

“My father and grandfather were both born on the farm,” said Thomas Peek.

The farm once featured a barn, which burned down. But the original house from the late 1800s is still standing.

Welton and Erna Peek had two sons, Russell Peek and Chester Peek, who took over management of the farm in 1970, hiring a tenant. When Russell Peek died in 2004, Chester and Marian Peek (Thomas Peek’s parents) took over the farm until Chester died in 2022.

Peek said when he was growing up on the farm they raised hogs, cattle and chickens, and had an apple orchard, along with Clydesdale horses.

o'Brien County

Peek Family Farm

Established: March 22, 1887

Acres: 160

Township: Dale Generation: 4th

Century Farm Award: 2024

Now, he said, farming is more specialized.

He crop shares with the farm’s tenant, who also raises Australian hereford lowline cattle, a modern Australian breed of small, polled beef cattle.

“We have a corn crib and hog barn there that are now used for storage, and a newer machine shed,” said Peek, adding that the crib was designed for ear corn as well as combined corn.

“It was one of the largest corn cribs in O’Brien County,” said Peek.

Today the land is owned by Thomas and Judy Peek, along with Peek’s brother and wife, Stanley and Karen Peek.

Peek’s son, Derek Peek, will someday take over management of the farm, while ownership of it will belong to both of the Peek’s children.

-Submitted photo

Chester Peek

Oak Hill Farm celebrates 120 years

By KAREN SCHWALLER Farm News writer

SIBLEY — It was a long road from Germany to Sibley, Iowa, but for Temmo and Nantje (Voss) Tiddens, it was a journey that would stand the test of time — as the land they purchased in 1905 is still in the family 120 years later.

The Tiddens worked hard to pay $52 per acre for their new American dream.

“Without children, they willed their property to nieces and nephews — among them, my grandfather, Herman “Opa” Voss, (who also came to America from Germany with some family on a steamship) and received his 1/16 share in 1937. He (later) purchased more of the acres to

osCeola County

Oak Hill Farm

Established: 1905

Number of acres: 160

Township: Viola

Year Awarded: 2021

Generation: 4th

equal a half section where we live now,” said Carol DeJong.

DeJong said her parents, Harry and Elisabeth Voss, purchased a quarter section from Herman and Mattie Voss in 1959. They raised dairy and beef cattle, hogs, chickens and free-roaming turkeys.

“I think every farm back in

those days (after the war) raised everything to be self-sufficient,” said DeJong. “They grew and preserved their own food, and we drank fresh raw milk for years growing up. If we needed anything from town, it was just flour and sugar and coffee … and maybe some fresh vegetables in the winter.”

DeJong said she and her siblings walked 1 1/2 miles to a country school each day, graduating from sixth grade there and eventually continuing on to Sibley High School.

“The country school closed shortly after JFK was assassinated,” said DeJong.

Harry and Elisabeth Voss put up a machine shed, chicken house, hog house and (three) silos, but the hog house and

See OSCEOLA, Page 76C

-Submitted photo

ONE OF CAROL DEJONG'S RELATIVES owned and was able to fly a plane over the family farm near Sibley a few years ago. This photo was taken “after the war,” showing the diversity of the farm with all of its buildings and a large cattle yard. Only the house and the barn still stand today.

Neighboring defined Ruthven-area Century Farm

By DARCY DOUGHERTY MAULSBY Farm News writer

RUTHVEN —

When

Josiah Eaton purchased 80 acres of land in Highland Township in 1898, Palo Alto County was thriving. The new town of Ruthven (located just a little over two miles southwest of the farm) had been established in 1878 and was growing.

The Eaton family was growing, too. “Josiah had a large family,” said Rhonda Eaton, his greatgranddaughter. “At one time, the farm expanded to 240 acres.”

Josiah Eaton’s son, Homer, became the next generation to own the land that’s now a Century Farm. He and his wife, Ida, built a new farmhouse in 1920. The family (including their young daughter, Ella) lived in one of the outbuildings on the farmstead while the new home was under construction.

Not only did the Eatons get a new home in 1920, but they had a new son, Virgil, that same year. Two more children (Dorothy, known as “Dot,” and Darrel) completed the family.

“Grandpa was quiet, and Grandma ruled the house,” Rhonda Eaton said.

Virgil Eaton (1920-1998) became the next generation to own the farm, along with his wife, Hazel, who grew up in Ruthven.

“He paid $140 an acre for 80 acres in the 1960s,” said Rhonda Eaton, who grew up on the farm with her older brother, Rodney.

Palo alto County

Eaton Century Farm

Established: 1898

Township: Highland

Number of acres in original farm: 80

Century Farm

Award: 1999

Generation: 4th

visit Harrison and Rose Goff, especially when Rose was baking cookies. It was a memorable experience, since Rose used a wood- and coal-fired cookstove.

“There was no running water in their farmhouse, so they got water from a well across the road,” said Rodney Eaton, recalling the older couple. “They did have electricity in a few rooms, but not in the parlor or bedrooms. They didn’t have a TV, but they had a radio and board games.”

sometime in the 1960s, our milk went to a creamery in Graettinger.”

Virgil Eaton also had a farrowto-finish hog operation. He’d haul the hogs to market in Ruthven in the back of his Chevrolet pickup truck.

“We also weighed in our 4-H calves at that hog-buying station,” recalled Rhonda Eaton, who exhibited cattle at the Palo Alto County Fair before she graduated from Ruthven High School in 1976.

Ruthven had a wide variety of businesses in years past, said Rodney Eaton, a 1972 Ruthven High School graduate. The town boasted two grocery stores, several restaurants, five gas stations, four bars, a clothing store, a hardware store, a drug-store soda fountain and arcade, two car dealerships, two welding shops and two farm implement dealerships, including Rierson’s (which sold International Harvester equipment) and Reinders’ dealership (which sold Allis Chalmers equipment).

The neighborhood was a busy place back in those days.

“There were four other farms on this mile,” said Rhonda Eaton, noting that her family’s farmstead is the only one left on that mile.

Farmers often worked together back then. “I remember shelling corn with the neighbors,” said Rodney Eaton, noting that about

10 families would work together. “Neighbors did lots of things together, like baling hay.”

Neighbors also socialized with fun get-togethers like card parties, plus many of them attended the Methodist church in Ruthven, Rhonda Eaton said.

Rodney Eaton sometimes headed east down the road to

There wasn’t a lot of time for socializing, since there was plenty of work to do. The Eaton farm included two barns and a variety of livestock, including Hereford cattle and Brown Swiss dairy cows. “When the electricity went out, we’d have to milk the cows by hand,” said Rodney Eaton. He said that his parents did business with the cooperative creamery in Ruthven.

“After that creamery closed

While Rodney Eaton farmed for a time in the Graettinger area with his uncle (Don Peterson, who married Dot Eaton), he lived and worked in the Black Hills of South Dakota for 40 years before moving back to Ruthven about 10 years ago. Rhonda Eaton, who has lived on the Century Farm since 1995, worked in factories during her career.

For many years the Eaton family has rented their land to the Geelan brothers, who farm in the area. “It’s an honor to have a Century Farm,” Rhonda Eaton said. “They are rare.”

-Farm News photo by Darcy Dougherty Maulsby

RODNEY EATON and his younger sister, Rhonda Eaton, are shown here in the farmhouse their grandparents built in 1920. They are displaying an aerial photo of the family's Highland Township farm.

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Haage family farm spans over 122 years

By HAILEY BRUESCHKE Farm News writer

AKRON — E ven though he was not originally born here, for as long as he can remember, Kurt Haage grew up on his family farm in Plymouth County.

“My family farm means a lot to me, it has been in my family for over 100 years,” said Haage. “It is where I grew up and where all my children grew up.”

The Haage farm is 160 acres, and it was first purchased on March 2, 1903, by Fred Haage Sr. The Haage Farm has been passed on from generation to generation ever since it was first purchased.

It went from Fred Haage Sr. to Fred Haage Jr., Kurt’s grandfather, in 1934. Then in January of 1963, the Fred Haage Estate was established. At that time, the estate went to Glen Haage, Kurt’s uncle; Donald Haage, Kurt’s dad; and Johanna Haage, his grandma.

When Johanna Haage passed away, the estate went to Donald and Glenn Haage in June of 1982.

“They split the 160 acres to 80 acres each,” said Haage. “After my mother passed away in 2019, my dad’s 80 acres went to me, my brother and sister and we established Haage Farms LLC on Dec. 16, 2019.”

His brother’s name is Troy Haage and his sister’s name is Kim Long.

Growing up, he remembers he and his siblings taking care of the farm while his parents worked off the farm.

“We had cows, pigs, chickens, and grew corn, beans, oats, and alfalfa,” said Kurt Haage.

Today, Kurt Haage rents the land. He has been working for Plymouth County Secondary Roads for 28 years and his

-Submitted photo

Plymouth County

Haage Farms LLC

Established: March 2, 1903

Township: Johnson

Number of acres in original farm: 153 (currently 68.92)

Century Farm Award: 2024 Generation: 4th

THE

wife, Rita, has been working at Wells Blue Bunny for 38 years.

Both of his children also grew up on the farm. His kids would help with some of the yardwork growing up and feeding the cats.

Kurt and Rita Haage have a son and daughter. Brandon, their son, works at Hy-Vee in Le Mars. Their daughter, Brooke, is currently studying radiation therapy at Mayo Clinic in Rochester,

Minnesota.

Haage said farming has changed throughout his lifetime. “The amount of greenery you can grow now without rain is unbelievable. Some of the driest years I’ve experienced ended up being the ones with my best yields.”

When he was younger, there were three to four farm places in one section, and now it is one farmer who farms 3,000 to 4,000 acres.

“Leaving the farm is not an option because we love the country life. It gave me a good work ethic. Growing up on a farm is a good way of life, and I am glad it is something I got to experience as well as my kids.”

Kurt Haage Century Farm owner

Now their jobs off the farm come first, but they still farm the land.

“Leaving the farm is not an option because we love the country life,” said Haage. “It gave me a good work ethic. Growing up on a farm is a good way of life, and I am glad it is something I got to experience, as well as my kids.”

ALL SEASONS RESORT

HAAGE FAMILY of Plymouth County accepts their Century Farm award in August 2024 at the Iowa State Fair. In front, from left, are Kim Long (sister), Rita Haage, Brooke Haage, and Becky Haage. In back, from left, is Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig, Kurt Haage, Brandon Haage, Troy Haage (brother), and Iowa Farm Bureau President Brent Johnson.

Dairy cattle were once raised on the farm but were discontinued when Don Schleusner was young. They fed 100 to 200 head of beef cattle and raised 2,000 head of pigs each year, farrow to finish.

Don Schleusner said the hogs were raised in an open front building, using ground cobs for bedding. He described it as “big and bad.”

Don and Kay Schleusner were married in 1984, living in Garner. In September of 1992, they traded houses with another couple living northwest of Garner, allowing Don and Kay Schleusner to move from town to the farm and the other couple to move from the farm into town.

His father Bud Schleusner died in 2005 and his wife Marge in 2021. In 2006 or 2007, the brothers divided the land and machinery among themselves.

“We never totally got away from each other,” said Don Schleusner.

Randy Schleusner’s sons farm with Don, harvesting 2,800 to 2,900 acres annually. According to Don Schleusner, the grain is co-mingled in their partnership.

In addition to farming, Don and Todd Schleusner are partners in a trucking business hauling gravel.

Don and Kay Schleusner are parents of three daughters, Brooke, Keri, and Ami. All three daughters live in the country near their parents, with Brooke and Ami farming with their husbands. They are grandparents to 11 grandchildren, ages 2 to 21.

Don Schleusner’s loyalty to red tractors can be seen in his shop, where parked side by side is a Farmall 1206 and a late model Case-IH 280. An extensive lineup of toy International Harvester tractors spanning many years and covering many models are all carefully arranged on a long shelf in his office.

Also displayed prominently in his office are the Century Farm and Heritage Farm signs Schleusner received at the Iowa State Fair. They are mounted on the wall, one above the other, with a light in between them. The light has a translucent shade with the words “1873 Est.” on it. The light is on all day, every day.

“That’s how the land stayed in the family,” said Marlene Boon, wife of Daniel Boon, Arie II and Pieternele’s grandson.

The land was later sold to Arie II and Pieternele Boon’s son and his wife, Isaac and Cornelia Boon, in 1939, for $28,000. Marlene Boon said the price was a reflection of the family ties that kept the farm in the family.

Isaac Boon died in 1980 and the land went to Cornelia Boon. Their son and daughter-in-law, Daniel and Marlene Boon, would later obtain the land from them, swapping some land they owned for half of Isaac and Cornelia Boon’s land, and purchasing the other half from siblings.

The Boons were a dairy family from the start, milking Holstein cows. They retired from milking cows in 2004. Marlene Boon remembers that they only lost one crop (soybeans) in all the years they farmed. They raised corn, soybeans and oats/alfalfa.

Original buildings still on the farm include the barn, corn crib, chicken coop

and granary. A hog house, built by Isaac Boon, went down in a wind storm. Daniel and Marlene Boon put up a loafing shed for cattle and a hay shed. A small house built by Isaac Boon was remodeled in 1949, adding a larger kitchen and the first indoor bathroom the home ever had.

Daniel and Marlene Boon quit farming in 2012. Daniel Boon passed in 2020, and Marlene Boon rents the land out today.

“Sometimes I wake up and wish I could hear the cows ‘moo-ing.’ I just miss it,” said Boon, who stays busy as a seamstress and serious scrapbooker. “I wish Daniel were here now to enjoy (the life we built). We didn’t get a new house like we always talked about, but we got a Century Farm. I would do it all over again.”

From Rotterdam, Netherlands, to Rock Rapids, Iowa — it was a journey of dreams and hard work that brought Arie II and Pieternele Boon to the honor and prestige of (first) owning, then later — being part of the story of — building a Century Farm.

Century Farm’s history takes root near Rolfe

By DARCY DOUGHERTY MAULSBY Farm News writer

ROLFE — When Nis Behrendsen bought 160 acres of Garfield Township land in Pocahontas County in 1920, he was familiar with the drainage issues on farmland in this part of Iowa. “Nis [1866-1948] was about 20 years old when he emigrated from Denmark to America,” said Dean Behrendsen, Nis’ grandson. “He was a farmer and a blacksmith, plus he drilled ag drainage wells around here.”

Large ponds and drainage challenges were common in this area in years past.

“It was said you could canoe from here to Gilmore City or Pocahontas,” Dean Behrendsen said.

Agricultural drainage wells (ADWs) were developed in the early 1900s to discharge ag tile drainage water to underground aquifers. They were a practical option in areas with a lot of limestone in the ground.

Through the years, however, concerns grew about ADW’s role in contaminating groundwater. In late 2024, Iowa officially closed its last remaining agricultural drainage well, capping off 25 years of dedicated efforts to shutter about 195 of these structures in the state.

“Our ag drainage well has been closed for more than 20 years,” said Behrendsen, who noted that many of these ag drainage wells were 100 to 125 feet deep.

While times changed, generations of Behrendsens carried on their family’s farming heritage. Nis and Ida Behrendsen’s son Don and his wife, Adeline, a country schoolteacher from the Manson area, married in 1937. They raised their three boys and one daughter on the farm.

“It was a typical Iowa farm of the era,” said Dean Behrendsen, whose father raised corn, oats and hay.

AGRONOMY

PoCahontas County

Behrendsen Century Farm

Established: 1920

Township: Garfield

Number of acres in original farm: 160 Century Farm Award: 2024 Generation: 3rd

Mike and their father in Pocahontas County in 1971. Hogs were an important income source in the early 1970s.

Education included school days in Rolfe and the Des Moines Township (DMT) building in the country. “In 1959, DMT consolidated with Rolfe,” said Sandy Behrendsen, a 1968 graduate of Rolfe Consolidated School who married Dean Behrendsen in 1972. “At that point, all the junior high students were transported to DMT to utilize that building. It was a fun environment for us.”

Rolfe was a busy community in years past, added Dean Behrendsen, a 1966 Rolfe Consolidated School graduate. The town boasted a Chevrolet dealership, a Ford dealership, three farm implement dealers, a clothing store, a few restaurants, two hardware stores, a dentist, two doctors who would make house calls, two banks, an appliance store, and businesses that purchased eggs and cream from area farmers. The town also had a newspaper

(the Rolfe Arrow) until about 20 years ago.

While Dean Behrendsen didn’t mind growing up in a rural area, he didn’t plan on farming for a career.

“When I was in high school, the military draft was still in effect. I thought about becoming an English teacher, so I started college at Iowa Central. Then I transferred to Iowa State, where I studied engineering/ construction technology.”

He decided to enlist in the U.S. Army.

“You could enlist for two years back then,” he said. “I spent one year in Vietnam.”

While he was overseas, he began thinking that life on the farm looked quite desirable.

“I wrote letters to my dad asking if he could work me into the farming operation when I came back,” said Dean Behrendsen, who was honorably discharged from the Army in November 1970.

He started farming with his older brother

“I had about 100 sows in a farrow-tofinish operation,” said Dean Behrendsen, who moved to the farm in 1975 with Sandy and lived in the house that Don Behrendsen had built in 1948. “The hogs were really good to us financially.”

The young couple started building a new house on their farm in 1979 and moved in by 1983. They raised their two daughters (Amy and Leah) on the farm.

Dean Behrendsen continued to farm through 2023, which was his last harvest before he retired. The couple recently sold their farmhouse/acreage and have built a new home on the south edge of Humboldt. They have no plans to sell the two Century Farms they own in Pocahontas County.

“Land is a limited, valuable resource,” Dean Behrendsen said. “It’s a special feeling to own land that has only changed hands three times within our family in the past 100 years. Our children and grandchildren understand this significance. We’re thankful that Farm Bureau and the Iowa Department of Agriculture participate in the recognition of Century Farms.”

8,000 Members 21 Iowa Counties

GRAIN FEED ENERGY

THE BEHRENDSENS are shown on their Century Farm. From left, are Leah (Behrendsen) Allen, Patrick Allen, Marshall Allen (baby), Caden Williams, Dean Behrendsen, Sandy Behrendsen, Amy Behrendsen and Casey Williams (on seat).

Five generations have called Harmon farm home

By KRISTIN DANLEY GREINER Farm News writer

POLK CITY — In 2023, the Harmon family farm near Polk City was named a Heritage Farm, an honor that fifth generation family member Mark Harmon appreciates.

“I’m a traditional guy, and I believe in family traditions,” Harmon said. “I want us to keep the family farming tradition going.”

As a detective with a police department, Harmon works full time off the family’s farm, which is rented out to a distant cousin, but he hopes to retire and build back on the family’s farm ground.

“I’m allergic to corn and bean dust, otherwise I would’ve followed in my dad’s footsteps and farmed. It was a little heartbreaking for both my dad and I that I couldn’t farm,” he said. “But I enjoy being in law enforcement. It seems like I was hired yesterday. I have the flexibility to be on the farm when I can. I have two years left until retirement.”

The farm was established in 1868 by Harmon’s great-great-grandfather, John Harmon, when he bought it from another man. The family operation started with 160 acres and still has that much land. It’s located half a mile east of the Big Creek area.

“We used to ride our bikes to the beach during the summer,” Mark Harmon said. “I loved the freedom, the quietness and fresh air of the farm.”

The operation was a traditional farm while he was growing up, with corn, soybeans, cows and pigs, Harmon said. It’s now solely a grain farm. John Harmon passed the farm down to Ernest Harmon, then to Donald Harmon, then to Gary Harmon, then to Mark Harmon.

In the beginning, the farm relied on horses for power. Then in 1921, his family bought an International tractor that they still have today.

“We’re trying to get it running again,” Harmon said. “The story behind the tractor is that it was built in Chicago and put on the rail car with two other tractors. They shipped to Minneapolis to be sold, so the train went to Des Moines, and when they switched trains, the rail car was left behind.

-Submitted photos

THE HARMON FAMILY receives their Heritage Farm Award at the Iowa State Fair in 2023. From left, are Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig, Ashley Doden, Gary Harmon, Mark Harmon and his wife, Jana, and Iowa Farm Bureau President Brent Johnson. The family farm in Polk County is shown below.

“The company decided it was too expensive to transport the tractors back up to Minneapolis, so they took the three tractors to the fair to sell them, and that’s where my great-grandpa bought it.”

The tractor remains in pretty good condition, Harmon said, and still starts. But there are a few parts they need to get to make it fully operational.

Polk County

Harmon Heritage Farm

Established: 1868

Township: Garfield

Acres: 160

Heritage Farm Award: 2023 Generation: 5th

-Submitted photos

ERNEST HARMON, Mark Harmon’s great-grandfather, is shown working in a field on his International tractor.

Heritage Farm Award a couple of years ago, Harmon was accompanied by his dad, a niece and a nephew. They even wore matching shirts.

“It’s a blue International 15-30,” Harmon said. “International was bought out by McCormick and only 300 of these were built.”

When the family was honored with the

“It’s neat when you look through the books and see all of the Century Farms, but there are very few Heritage Farms left. It’s a special status,” Harmon said.

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Resilience defines Wulkow Century Farm

By DARCY DOUGHERTY MAULSBY Farm News writer

LYTTON — The stories that survive of any Century Farm often depend on the keeper of the history. In the case of the Wulkow family, that was Ernest Wulkow (18851979), who was born on his family’s farm two miles west and three miles south of Lytton.

“In 1960, he handwrote many pages of memories in a notebook,” said Barbara (Wulkow) Gregory, his granddaughter. “We were always hearing the family stories when I was growing up.”

These stories are often sobering. Just five years prior to Ernest’s birth, his father, Carl Wulkow, had purchased 100 acres of Sac County land in Coon Valley Township in 1880. To say times were tough is an understatement.

“When I was 7 years old, I had to start work in the field,” wrote Ernest Wulkow, who received a fourth-grade education before he had to go to work full-time. “My first job was to drag with two horses and a two-section drag after seeding oats, walking all day. Then when I came in at night, I had to chore till dark, then eat supper, then to bed.”

Then the young boy and his family were up at 5 a.m. the next morning to milk the cows.

“We didn’t have barns like we have now,” Ernest Wulkow said. “The cows, heifers, steers and bull were all in an open shed. We had to go in there and find the cow we wanted to milk. After we found her, we got her all lined up and sat down and started to milk. Then some darn steer or another cow would come along and bump her in the ‘bettey’ on the other side and upset us.”

The hay was stacked on the north side of the shed. “We would have to cut it with a hay knife,” Wulkow wrote. “The (knife) was dull most of the time and wouldn’t cut. When we would get a fork-full piled up and started for the shed with it, then the good old wind and snow came around the stack and blew half of it away. Those were the good old days!”

In 1894, when Wulkow was 9 years old, his father decided Ernest was old enough to plow.

“He started me out with a 14-inch walking plow with two old horses. One horse was white and the other one was black. The white one was Lena, and she went like hell all the time. The black one’s name was Kate, and she was slow as the devil. I had an awful time learning to plow.”

Wulkow and his older brother, Richard, had to do all the fall plowing.

saC County

Wulkow Century Farm

Established: 1880 Township: Coon Valley Number of acres in original farm: 100 Century Farm Award: 1981 Generation: 4th

“We had lots of ponds in the good old days, and the grass was 5 feet long around the pond,” he wrote. “I had to keep on cutting till I got up to the water. Then my sickle would ball up.”

-Submitted photos

ABOVE: Reinard Wulkow (19182003), the only child of Ernest and Martha Wulkow, carried on the family’s farming heritage in Sac County after his military service in World War II. He and his wife, Eunice, (shown here) raised four daughters on their family's farm.

Despite all these hardships, the family made progress. They built a barn in the spring of 1901, followed by a new home in 1914. Both are still standing on the farm where Barbara (Wulkow) Gregory lives.

Gregory’s father, Reinard Wulkow (1918-2003), the only child of Ernest and Martha Wulkow, carried on the family’s farming heritage after his military service. The 1936 Lytton High School graduate joined the Army ROTC program at Iowa State and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army 13 days after the attacks on Pearl Harbor.

LEFT: Ernest Wulkow (1885-1979) was born on his family’s farm two miles west and three miles south of Lytton. “In 1960, he handwrote many pages of memories in a notebook,” said Barbara (Wulkow) Gregory, his granddaughter. “We were always hearing the family stories when I was growing up.”

“In 1895, I started to plow corn,” Wulkow added. “We had a couple of Avery corn plows; they had four big shovels on them. The shovels were 6 inches wide and 10 inches long — big enough to plow your grandmother out of the grave. Later on, Dad bought a riding corn plow that worked better.”

At haying time, Carl Wulkow would send Ernest out to cut wild hay.

He was part of the D-Day invasion in 1944 in World War II. As a spy who could speak multiple languages, he posed as a high-ranking Nazi leader to gain access to the Buchenwald concentration camp.

After returning to Sac County, Reinard Wulkow and his wife, Eunice, raised their four daughters on the farm, plus he served in the Army Reserve for 28 years. A farmer and self-taught artist, Reinard Wulkow built grandfather clocks, painted pictures, made stained glass creations and served as the Coon Valley Township clerk.

Gregory cherishes these memories. “A Century Farm is a family legacy, as well as a disappearing way of life,” she said. “It’s important to honor the people who shaped your life.”

Kooikers thankful for Sioux County farmland

By HAILEY BRUESCHKE Farm News writer

BOYDEN — John Kooiker, of Sioux County, was able to own a Century Farm because of his grandfather, who immigrated from the Netherlands in 1886.

For a brief period, his grandfather went back to the Netherlands to get married, but came back to the United States and set up a farming operation.

“He was able to acquire enough land to give each of his six children to carry on his legacy, which would not have been possible if he had stayed in the Netherlands after getting out of the Dutch army,” said Kooiker.

His grandfather, Willem Kooiker and grandma Klaasje originally owned 640 acres of land that was split between each of their six children.

In the 1980s, John and his wife, Sherry, were able to buy 40 acres of land from his aunt Mary, then another 200 acres came into their possession after his mother passed away in April of 1994.

Although his Century Farm is in Iowa, that is not where he grew up.

“I lived in Iowa on the farm until I was 8 months old, then my whole family moved to southwest Minnesota.”

His father helped his brothers Willis and Jake get started farming in Minnesota. When Willis and Jake came back from the army in the early 1950s, they started farming one of the farms in Minnesota and the other one in Iowa.

After John Kooiker went to college for four years, joined the army, and came back from Vietnam, he met his wife Sherry while stationed at Fort Riley.

Once married, they decided they wanted to do some mission work overseas in Japan. For two years, John and Sherry were teachers at a Christian Academy.

“When we returned from Japan, I went back to college to get my PhD in physics and computer science,” said Kooiker. “One of the times we went to visit my parents, they told us they were ready to be off the farm and offered us the opportunity to live on the farm and raise our children.”

The land was rented out his first year on the farm, but in 1976 he began his first year of farming. During that time, they

-Submitted photo

sioux County

Kooiker Family Century Farm

Established: 1924

Township: Capel

Number of acres in original farm: 240 Century Farm Award: 2024 Generation: 3rd

to work.”

Today all John’s children have chosen different career paths, and none of them took over the farm.

Their children’s names are Sam, Holly, Ben, and Bonnie, who passed away when she was almost 27 due to a rare type of cancer. She is still deeply missed by her parents and siblings.

As for their careers, Sam is the city manager of Sheldon, Holly is an on-site park ranger at Oak Grove State Park, while Ben is a CPA in Sioux City.

“None of my immediate family is farming right now, but there is always a possibility that one of our grandchildren might want the farm and have the land someday,” said John Kooiker.

Kooiker also believes farming has changed greatly from when he began. He said it used to be more for the family and a way of life, but today it seems to be more of a business.

He said technology has made it so everything is planted at a very precise separation.

Kooiker said having a Century Farm gives a feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction.

had a crop rotation of corn, oats, beans and alfalfa. He also raised cattle, sheep, and chickens.

“In 1980, I bought 50 ewes that were pregnant to help build up our flock of sheep. We ended up having sheep on the farm from 1980 until 2017 when we

moved off the farm,” said John Kooiker. Their children also had chores they were responsible for growing up on the farm.

“They would help walk beans, plant the garden, and build straw and hay,” John Kooiker said. “We always put them

“Thanks to God we were able to do something that very few farmers can do,” he said. “God has blessed us abundantly because of the way we were able to have our family with us available on the farm.”

He is very thankful that all his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren are being raised in the fear of the Lord, knowing the treasure in heaven is eternal life and that someday they will all be reunited in heaven with Jesus.

THE KOOIKER FARMILY, from left to right, are Sam, John and Sherry Kooiker, Holly Dekkers and Ben Kooiker. Sister Bonnie is not pictured. She died of cancer in 2007.

Continued from Page 10C

her parents before her, Tamara’s agrarian background has broadened with a cosmopolitan perspective. She and her husband, Todd Rasmuson, a pastor with international ministries, lived in Tanzania and other countries before moving back to the farm four years ago.

“The farm just draws you back,” said Tamara, who lives in the house that her Carlson grandparents built in 1972, across the lane from Keith

and Judy’s home. The Carlson’s other daughter, Cynthia, who lives in Minneapolis, visits the farm often.

The Carlsons and Rasmusons enjoy gardening, planting trees and relaxing on their Heritage Farm, which abounds with family namesakes, including Carlson Clearing, Rasmuson’s Ridge and more.

“There’s something profound about having a place to call home,”

said Keith Carlson, whose cousin’s son farms the land. “We are blessed.”

The Heritage Farm remains a place where family and friends are always welcome, Tamara Rasmuson added.

“Loving the land goes deep into your soul,” she said. “It’s a spiritual foundation of faith that connects you to the land. Our family has that connection.”

THIS PHOTO SHOWS the family of John and Hannah Carlson. In back, from left, are Lester, Emma, Charlie Richards (Mildred's husband), Reuben and Eva. Seated are Hannah Carlson (mother), Verna (Emma’s daughter), Nell, and John Carlson (father).

-Submitted photo

Andersons take pride in Story County Century Farm

By KRISTIN DANLEY GREINER Farm News writer

NEVADA — Century Farms

Distillery out of Spencer works with farmers to use their grain and make spirits, including corn raised on the Anderson family’s Century Farm in Nevada.

David and Stephanie Anderson, along with their son, Jeff, and grandson, Hunter, run the family farm in Story County, which was purchased by David’s grandfather, Hans Anderson, in December 1914.

Hans Anderson married Matilda Mathison, and they had four children: Albert, Molly, Freda and David’s father, Kermit. Matilda inherited the farm after Hans’ death. She died in 1966, and Kermit then inherited the farm. He worked as a banker and started the Story County produce class that became one of the most popular events at the county fair.

When he passed away, his only child, David, inherited the farm.

“It’s a great feeling, having a Century Farm. We’re very proud of that, and I come from a very large family. I have my sisters and lots of cousins, nephews and nieces. They all take pride in it,” said David Anderson. “They love to come back. We have a family reunion every five years, and some come from New York and Colorado.”

More than 50 of the original 72 acres of the family farm remain and some of the original barn beams have been preserved.

Growing up, Kermit Anderson had a feeder pig operation, then sold that, and he and David Anderson teamed up to start their cattle operation. David worked full time off the farm and started Rec Chek, a banking software company.

The farm focused on raising corn and soybeans, as well as livestock, including chickens, hogs, Limousin and Gelbvieh cattle, turkeys and a peacock. The Limousin cattle were registered with the National Limousin Association and were No. 7 — the seventh to join. In 2015, one field of the farm was certified as organic for hay, corn and beans.

“We had as many as 80 cows. My son and grandson have a cow-calf operation on the farm. Grandmother always said a farm isn’t a farm unless there’s chickens.

Kermit built a two-acre lake stocked with

story County

Anderson Century Farm

Established: 1914 Township: Milford

Number of acres in original farm: 72

Century Farm Award: 2015 Generation: 3rd

fish and a cabin on the farm in the late 1950s, and Stephanie and I lived there just as soon as we were married. It’s very near and dear to us,” David Anderson said.

“The stocked lake has provided hours of enjoyment for children, grandchildren and cousins at family reunions.”

Anderson recalls going to work at his full-time job during the day, then working on the farm in the evenings and weekends.

“I remember many nights working in the fields until way after dark during harvest and planting,” Anderson said. “Spring calving time got crazy, too. The children were in 4-H, too, and the kids showed cattle at the county and state fair.”

The Andersons delivered some of their corn to Century Farms Distillery where it’s been aging in a barrel to become 92-proof bourbon. He explained that whiskey is made from raw distilled corn, and bourbon ages in a barrel.

“Our bourbon is 100 percent from corn and is aging in oak barrels for five years. We still have bourbon, so we haven’t taken more of our corn to the distillery,” David Anderson said.

“We took 200 bushels of our corn there,” he continued. “We have the first batch of our bourbon, which has a distinctive taste and color. It’s better than just the raw whiskey would be.”

The distillery has a map in their store that shows where the bourbon and corn came from. The Andersons give their bottles of bourbon away as Christmas gifts.

“Our friends and family love it,” said Anderson. “We take pride in it, and I probably will do it again if we run out.”

-Submitted photo

DAVID AND STEPHANIE ANDERSON and family receive their Century Farm Award at the Iowa State Fair in 2015.

-Submitted photo

THE ANDERSONS have a collection of antique tractors that include a 1939 Allis Chalmers used on the farm and rebuilt by son, Jeff, and then 20 years later, by granddaughter Addison, in Kevin Cooper’s FFA program at Nevada High School.

Good food fueled labor on Lambert Century Farm

By LORI BERGLUND Farm News writer

DAYTON — One farm, five generations, and deep Swedish roots tie the Lambert family of rural Dayton to the 115-acre farm that was named an Iowa Century Farm in 2024.

Bruce Lambert grew up on the farm northwest of Dayton in the 1950s and ’60s, the oldest of four siblings, although he only beat his twin brother Bill into this world by about six minutes. Brother Brian and sister Sandi followed a few years later.

Parents Harold and Lois Lambert married in 1945. She was a stay-at-home mom, while her husband oversaw the farming operation. Harold’s parents, Fred and Jenny Lambert, purchased the Dayton Township farm in 1924 for the thensizeable sum of $224 per acre.

Fred and Jenny Lambert were both immigrants from Sweden who originally settled in Chicago, where they first met. They would settle down on a rented farm near Paton, but the owner came upon hard times and had to sell out.

That’s when Fred and Jenny Lambert picked up stakes and scrounged to buy what would become the Lambert Century Farm. They could not know the hardships they would face, with the Great Depression just a few years away.

Brothers Bruce and Brian agree that it was hard work — and apparently lots of good, home-made food saw the family through.

“My grandma Jenny had a long life,” Bruce Lambert recalled. “I remember all the cookies she would make. She made rusk from old bread.”

Recalling the hard rusk that was dipped in coffee to soften it up, Brian Lambert said, “Nothing went to waste.” Potato bologna; ostkaka, a type of

BROTHERS BRUCE AND BRIAN LAMBERT share many good memories growing up on the family farm that was purchased by grandparents Harold and Lois Lambert in 1924.

Swedish cheesecake; and even lutefisk, made from dried, salted cod, were on the menu at the Lambert home.

“I can remember making potato bologna with my mother,” Brian Lambert recalled. “We used half sausage, half ground pork or beef, potatoes, spices, and lots of evaporated milk. We had a hand-crank, but we took the handle off and put a drill on it, and then we could turn out potato bologna pretty fast.”

Rusk remains a popular item in many farm homes, especially in the cold, winter months. Swedish rye bread, for which Lois Lambert was known in the area, is still a family favorite.

If it sounds like there was a lot of good eating on the Lambert farm, the fuel was needed for the work that had to be done.

“We had 25 to 30 milk cows,” Bruce Lambert noted. “The day we sold them was the best day of my life,” he said with

a chuckle, recalling the constant labor that others who have had dairy cows can well understand.

“After that, we kept enough cows just for our family,” he added.

The brothers also remember raising many, many chickens, and being pecked by the hens when they gathered eggs, or harassed by roosters.

The Lamberts also farrowed pigs, and every Saturday morning it was time to clean out the barns.

“We pitched manure every Saturday morning and then we could go to Dayton and play basketball in the gym,” Brian Lambert recalled. “It would take all morning — there was a lot of manure.”

While it was a big job, the incentive of getting off the farm to be with friends no doubt helped speed the work along.

Both of the brothers, Bruce and Brian,

weBster County

Lambert Family Century Farm

Established: 1924

Acres: 115

Township: Dayton

Century Farm Award: 2024

Generation: 5th

still live in the area. Bruce’s twin, Bill, passed away a few years ago. Their sister, Sandi Ward, lives in Ames.

Brian Lambert’s grandson, Carson Lambert, son of Chad Lambert, now lives on the family farm. Brian Lambert is now getting to play the role of grandpa on the farm, something his own grandfather, Fred Lambert, never got to do.

“He died when I was about 5 or 6 years old,” Brian Lambert recalled. “I can barely remember him.”

Passing down the memories, as his grandmother Jenny Lambert was able to do, is something he enjoys.

“I’ve always enjoyed farming and I’m going to farm until I can’t go anymore,” Brian Lambert said.

Fortunately, he added, “I’m kind of in teaching mode now. I’ve got plenty of back-up and everything gets done.”

And the old recipes won’t be lost, either. One of his daughters carries on the tradition of making rye bread, especially for the holidays.

Good food and good farming just seem to go hand in hand.

“No one ever went away hungry here,” Bruce Lambert said.

-Farm News photo by Lori Berglund

FORT D ODGE Asphalt Co.

Passion for farming rooted in Century Farm

By HAILEY BRUESCHKE Farm News writer

HORNICK — Jack Steinhoff’s grandfather Bill first taught him how to farm when he was about 10 years old.

The Steinhoff farm near Hornick in Woodbury County was first founded by his great-grandfather Henry Steinhoff in 1884, and has been passed down through the generations.

“The farm means the world to me and my wife, Janet,” said Steinhoff. “My ancestors founded this place, and I am so proud to still be able to have it.”

Steinhoff was raised on a farm by his grandparents, Bill and Iris. He regularly assisted with various tasks, which fostered his passion for farming.

Although he loves farming, one of his least favorite jobs to do was to walk beans. He recalls they always had livestock on the farm, such as cattle and pigs. For crops, there were always corn, beans, and alfalfa.

A lot has changed since he was a boy just learning to farm. For example, there are more crops than there used to be, and the yields have gone up.

“Everything is much larger and operates more quickly,” he said. “Particularly the tractors, and everything is technologybased. Today they even drill beans instead of planting them.”

Even though they retired from farming about 10 years ago, the Steinhoffs still rent out their land to other farmers to use. Being raised on the farm and working with his grandparents made for a very peaceful life that he and his wife get to continue to live today.

“Growing up on the farm taught me how to work and it gave me a good work ethic, which is a good thing to have,” said Steinhoff.

Just like Steinhoff, his two children, Craig and Mandy, were also able to grow up on the farm and live a peaceful life. Their parents gave them regular chores like most farm kids have. They would help with fixing machines, feeding livestock, and other regular farm maintenance.

As of today, Craig and Mandy have their own careers and are no longer involved in farming.

woodBury County Steinhoff Century Farm

Established: 1884

Number of acres: 200

Township: Willow

Century Farm awarded: 2024 Generation: 3rd

-Submitted photo

JANET AND JACK STEINHOFF own a Century Farm near Hornick in Woodbury County. “The farm means the world to me and my wife, Janet,” said Steinhoff. “My ancestors founded this place, and I am so proud to still be able to have it.”

“It is a great pride for us to still be living on my family farm from the 1800s,” said Jack Steinhoff. The couple hopes that the farm will continue with their family forever to keep the legacy alive.

-Submitted photo

THE STEINHOFF CENTURY FARM near Hornick, established in 1884, is shown in this undated aerial photo.

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Odlands ‘blessed’ to own Wright County Century Farm

By CLAYTON RYE Farm News writer

CLARION — Daniel Odland’s great-grandfather, Sten Stenson, was born in Norway in 1867. In 1888, he and his bride Karen Carlson left Norway for America, arriving in Eagle Grove where he had a sister and her husband.

The Stensons lived with the sister for four years while Sten Stenson worked for the railroad in the rail yard at Eagle Grove. He eventually saved enough money to buy 120 acres north of Holmes.

“That was his plan from the get-go,” said Daniel Odland.

After four years, they moved to the 120 acres and began farming, raising corn, oats, barley, hay, cattle, hogs, chickens, turkeys, and ducks. “Just about everything,” according to Daniel Odland.

An adjacent 240 acres was added to their farm in 1902. A 40-acre piece of this farm is the Century Farm of Daniel and Lynne Odland.

Besides farming, Sten Stenson brought seven or eight nephews from Norway to work on his farm. Working on his farm was the way they paid for their passage.

While Sten Stenson returned to Norway to visit his family, his wife Karen received an offer from a neighbor who wanted to buy 120 acres of their farm. She sold it to the neighbor. Sten Stenson learned of the sale upon his return from Norway to Iowa. They were able to buy back the 120 acres 78 years later from the descendants of the neighbor who bought the land.

Karen Stenson died in 1930 in a car accident. Sten Stenson stayed on the farm until his death in 1941. The farm then passed to their oldest daughter Clara, married to Earl Odland.

Earl and Clara Odland moved on to the

wriGht County

Matthew and Laura Odland Century Farm

Established: 1920

Township: Liberty

Number of acres: 40

Century Farm awarded: 2024

Generation: 4th

farm raising crops, cattle, hogs, and turkeys, expanding the turkey operation to 10,000 birds. Clara passed away in 1978 and Earl in 1982.

Earl Odland Jr., who was known as Bud, served in the Navy in World War II. After the war, he went to work on the farm. Bud Odland gained ownership of the farm in 2006, buying it from his mother, Segnora, the oldest daughter of Earl and Clara. He raised crops, cattle, and hogs.

Daniel Odland is the son of Earl Odland Jr., who died in 2022, and is the owner of the Century Farm along with his wife Lynne. They have three married children and four granddaughters, who represent the sixth generation.

Their son, Matt Odland, farms with his dad Daniel and brother Dave. Matt Odland and his wife Laura’s names appear on the Century Farm certificate awarded at the Iowa State Fair. Daniel Odland wrote, “For 123 years, the family has farmed the ground, planted and picked the corn, sowed and threshed the oats and other grains, walked the beans, sprayed the weeds, and been blessed.”

DANIEL ODLAND FAMILY received their Century Farm recognition at the 2024 Iowa State Fair. From left to right are Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig, Daniel Odland, Laura and Matt Odland with daughters Brynlee and Brooke, Luke Odland, Lynne Odland, and Iowa Farm Bureau President Brent Johnson.

-Submitted photo

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- photo by Les Houser, Wright County Monitor

elsewhere in Iowa. The three Hillyer sisters also have a foster brother, Derald Hammer.

The 160-acre farm and home were purchased in 1924 for $156 per acre, a price that likely worried Geraldine (Gilmore) Hillyer’s parents, Oscar and Effie (Layne) Gilmore. It would be a family effort to make the farm a success.

“Grandpa never really farmed,” Schlitter recalled. “He loved to cut down weeds, and he had a big sickle that he hung in the garage. He also raised pigs. But as far as planting a crop, one of his sons was farming, and he would come and plant and take care of the crops.”

Dale Hillyer and Geraldine Gilmore would meet when she was teaching in southwest Iowa in the years before World War II. They married in 1940, and the three daughters started coming, one after another, soon after. In later years, fostering young Derald Hammer gave the couple the son they had always wanted.

As World War II broke out, Dale Hillyer joined the Navy and would spend much of the war stationed in California.

“In about 1945, we all came back from California, and we settled in Manson because my grandparents were still on the farm,” Schlitter said. Dale Hillyer worked for the Post Office until an opportunity came to start farming, and the growing family

moved to the family farm in Hamilton County.

“The first winter we lived upstairs in the house because Grandma and Grandpa lived downstairs, and we shared the kitchen,” Schlitter recalled.

The large, two-story home features an open staircase in the front and an enclosed back staircase leading to the kitchen. One of the upper rooms originally served as farm storage for a very important asset — seed for the next season.

“It was called the seed room,” she said. “It had wide plank boards for the floor and they would store the seed in the wintertime. There was no heat in it.”

Growing up on the farm, Donna Foster recalled, was a delightful time, with parents who had a great zest and joy for life, and some rather spectacular hobbies.

“Dad always wanted to learn to fly,” Foster said. “Ever since he was little, that was something he wanted to do. He knew it was very expensive, but evidently Mother supported him and I think he started taking flying lessons in Pocahontas.”

After the couple moved to Webster City to start farming, Dale Hillyer had finally saved enough to buy a plane.

The Aeronca Champion, often called simply a “Champ,” was

Continued from Page 49C

original granary didn’t survive.

Following the passing of Harry and Elisabeth Voss by 1995, Gary and Carol DeJong were able to buy the quarter from her siblings.

“The original house and barn are still standing. The rest of the buildings have been torn down,” said Carol DeJong.

Gary and Carol DeJong built a shop, two machine sheds and a new pump house on the farm. The pump house sits under the windmill — which still spins, but is not functional. Gary DeJong also added a greenhouse to the barn, using

Submitted photo

DALE HILLYER is shown with one of several planes he owned over the years. The Webster City farmer even built his own runway at the farm for easy take-offs and landings.

a single-engine, light plane that could hold just two people and was actually canvas covered.

“He bought it and recovered an old Aeronca Champ, and he recovered it twice,” Foster said. “That was the plane he kept at the farm.”

Of course, if he was going to keep it on the farm, he had to have a way to get it up in the sky and safely down again, so Hillyer built his own runway on the farm.

“It was wonderful,” Foster said with a warm smile. “He took many family members up

recycled wood and windows.

Carol DeJong said the house was constructed using two corn cribs butted together in an “L” shape. They added a kitchen, entry porch and sunroom. The DeJongs live in that house.

“I was lucky that in our neighborhood we had indoor plumbing before my arrival in 1953. I was the fifth child and the youngest,” said DeJong, who grew up in that house.

She said their daughter, Jenepher, was married in front of the farm’s barn in 2005, which is a memory that will

forever stand.

for a ride, and he gave many people their first ride ever in an airplane.”

Mother Geraldine Hillyer also earned her wings. Every plane needs a co-pilot in case of emergencies, and Geraldine Hillyer took a “wife’s course” in order to learn the basics of flying and landing a plane safely in the event of an emergency.

The couple enjoyed a shared interest in a popular club of the day, known as the Flying Farmers of Iowa. Dale would serve as president and Geraldine

DeJong said their farm is unique in that there is a long, winding river running through 26 acres of pasture land.

“My siblings and I had a lot of adventures here … like building rafts, fishing, swimming and catching turtles and snakes,” said DeJong. “My brother had a couple of pet crows and a pet racoon. We’d head for the barn and hide in the haymow or look for kittens.”

She said they planted thousands of trees through a conservation program, and have a walking path for hiking.

was “Queen.”

The Hillyers were still flying when Foster became a teacher at the former Hilltop School in Webster City. She thought it would be great fun to let some of her students take to the skies with her dad, and Principal Bill Carroll agreed.

“Bill Carroll thought that would be a wonderful experience for these kids, and so we went out to the farm one day and they got to fly,” she said.

Foster was teaching sixthgraders at the time, and Hilltop School was not far from the farm, so the kids would have been able to recognize many landmarks on their brief flights in the skies over Hamilton County.

After the Hillyers retired and moved into Webster City, Schlitter and her husband, Arden, moved to the farm and carried on the tradition of raising corn, soybeans, and children.

While the farmland remains in the family, after her husband passed away, Schlitter decided she needed less house to care for on her own. After offering it first to family members, she sold the house and acreage to a lifelong neighbor and friend. Who knows, one day there might even be more teachers raised in this sprawling house — and maybe even a pilot or two.

“There are also two ponds out there with lots of wildlife,” she said.

DeJong said they have grandchildren in the area who spend time there when they can. They have two grandsons whom she said may take an interest in farming there someday.

“We’re proud of our fourth-generation farm and the updating we’ve done,” said DeJong. “Although the barn and outbuildings are now just for storage, they are all usable.”

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