ountry C Friday, October 15, 2021
cres A Volume 8, Edition 32
Focusing on Today’s Rural Environment
PHOTOS BY DIANE LEUKAM
Travis and Tory Piehl, with daughters Macey, 5 (standing) and Faye, 3, and their dog, Bo, are pictured Oct. 5 at their home south of Dassel. Travis and Tory are the fifth generation of the Piehl/Radunz family living on the farm.
Six generations
of country living
Piehls treasure history, upkeep of family farm BY DIANE LEUKAM | STAFF WRITER
D
ASSEL – Living the country life can be sweet in and of itself. Travis and Tory Piehl absorb the beauty of their acreage south of Dassel, with rolling hills, a creek running through a scenic pasture and trails running throughout. In the distance, they can see the slough were ducks and other wildlife thrive, and a tree line that marks the edge of their 120-acre property. “Obviously, it’s not a full-blown big farm by any means, but we’re keeping what we’ve got nice and enjoying it,” Travis said Oct. 5 at the farm. Macey Piehl holds one of her pet chickens, Bella. Macey is the sixth generation of her family living on the farm.
It was late afternoon and daughters Macey, 5, and Faye, 3, were running around the farm as kids do, chasing chickens or playing with the cats and dogs, just like their father did at their age. They are unaware of being the sixth generation from their father’s family to live on the land. For Travis and Tory, their daily life is immersed in the generations that came before Travis. The history is written and preserved in many details of the property. The Piehls can point to the spot on a hillside where the small home of Travis’ great-great-grandparents, Friedrick and Bertha Radunz, once stood. They homesteaded the farm in 1901. His great-grandparents, Lawrence Piehl and Edna (Redunz), milked cows in a unique
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