Century Farms 2020

Recognizing generations of families in agriculture

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Page 2 • Century Farms Special Edition - July 17, 2020

BENTON COUNTY

120 years down, Hess farm looks towards future

Family-owned operation adapts to changing times

BY EVAN MICHEALSON STAFF WRITER

FOLEY – At the turn of the 20th Century, August Hess purchased 80 acres near Foley, which was then an incorporated village with a population under 200. He paid $8 per acre, equal to roughly $244 today, to begin a life in agriculture as a means of living after a short career in granite cutting.

What followed was a 31-year period of growth, both from the crops August grew and the farm that he established. And

PHOTO BY EVAN MICHEALSON

The Hesses – Attison (front, from left), 3, Conner, 5; (back) Leslie, Mike, Mark and Sabrina – stand inside a livestock facility May 26 at Hess Farm in Foley. The Hess family has owned the Benton County farm for 120 years.

now, after 120 years, the Hess Farm continues to push forward as a constant family-owned agricultural presence in the area, one of 89 century farms in Benton County.

While August entered the farming industry seeking to survive, the current owner, Mike Hess, did not stumble upon the oc-

cupation; he was raised into the family business, helping around the farm at a young age before eventually taking over upon the passing of his father, Ronnie, in 2017.

“We were born into it,” Mike said. “This was what we were brought up to do.”

The different moti-

vations marked an ever-increasing passion and understanding of agriculture as the Hess bloodline gained more experience.

Mike, similar to his father, has stayed on the family farm his entire life, helping the operation adjust to a changing farming climate. Hess Farms currently has 100 cows, 140 heifers and 950 steers, numbers that continue to grow as the Hesses embark on a transition from a dairy farm to a beefbased operation emphasizing steers.

“You have to make it enticing for the next generation over, so it pays to keep farming,” Mike said.

“We had to expand one way or the other, so we expanded with steers.”

The priority of the next generation is always present in Mike’s forward-thinking mindset, which differs from his predecessors. He examPHOTO BY EVAN MICHEALSON ines diminishing return Mike Hess feeds his dairy cows May 26 at Hess Farm in Foley. The farm currently has 100 and constantly braindairy cows, 140 heifers and 950 steers. storms ways to provide

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efficiency to the century farm. Through investments such as a manure pit, the farm has continuously returned its value and saved itself money.

“This farm has changed a lot since his father died,” said Leslie Hess, Mike and Mark’s mother. “Ronnie was a family-type person. He was day-to-day. Mike is looking towards the future.”

This advanced trek towards sustained success has not been undertaken alone. Mike’s brother, Mark, works part-time at the farm, undertaking field work, operating the combine and serving as the mechanical backbone of the farm. Duane Graczyk has lent his helping hands towards the Hess farm for a quarter-century and was a reliable figure in Mike’s life when the ownership of the farm came to him.

“It was very good to have Duane around, one who had been here so long with my husband,

Ronnie, helping with fieldwork,” Leslie said.

“That really helped Mike that first year, to have an older person, just to talk things over with. Duane is a good person.”

Graczyk has since introduced his son, Lloyd, to farm work, yet another component of family values ever-present on Hess Farm. They help keep farm operations steady alongside employees Jason Gapinski, Victoria Molitor and Steph Ponsness. Leslie believes good help these days is hard to find, and the Hess family has found it in their stable staff.

The farm’s survival has hinged on stability, something that has not always been easy to acquire. It was found early in the farm’s history, when the property passed on to August’s son, Clem, in 1931. Ronnie took

Benton County page 4

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July 17, 2020 - Century Farms Special Edition • Page 3

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Benton County from page 2 on co-ownership duties while he was still in high school; he was a 1964 Foley High School graduate and managed to run the farm as early as 1961.

Something the family has struggled with in managing the farm is health. Ronnie’s brother fell off a hayloft and was severely injured, while Ronnie himself suffered a string of heart attacks,

beginning at 40 years old.

“Health has been the biggest thing in this family,” Leslie said. “It’s been the men’s health. Many times, in the past, farmers were indestructible.

They didn’t go to a doctor, and nowadays people are more conscious about their health than they were in those days.”

Health habits are just one way the farm-

ing landscape has altered course over the years.

Hess Farm has found an unlikely consistency, but the acres August Hess purchased registered on a smaller scale, unrecognizable in comparison to the substantial, structured layout of today’s family-owned farm.

Mark hauls milk across the area, giving him an in-depth look at

the Benton County farming community. He has witnessed farms large and small, and has noticed there is no blueprint to owning one.

“These large farms, they’ll have kids go to college for business, they’ll come home and run it that way,” he said.

“These small farms, if a kid stays at home, he’s doing manual labor.”

The Hess Farm’s long, four-generation tradition of dairy farming places it in that small farm category, but that has not stopped them from slowly expanding outwards.

At Leslie’s home, about a mile down the road from the family farm, a collection of landscape portraits hang high on the wall.

These pictures display an overhead look of Hess

PHOTO BY EVAN MICHEALSON

Farm, each from a specific year, giving a chronological look at the changes the farm has undergone over its storied years.

In the 1960s, the farm site consisted of the family home, a large livestock building and a pair of silos. Now, with the family’s increased steer and

Benton County page 5

PHOTO BY EVAN MICHEALSON

Mike Hess works with a cow in a cattle chute May 26 at Hess Farm in Foley. Mike has Mike Hess is pictured at Hess Farm, May 26 in Foley. The farm has been a steady owned the farm since 2017 and has sought to keep his agricultural business moving presence in Benton County since 1900 and has consistently been expanded, with the forward. addition of livestock, buildings and crops.

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July 17, 2020 - Century Farms Special Edition • Page 5

Benton County from page 4 dairy cow ownership, the farm proudly owns six livestock facilities, along with August Hess’ original home, still standing tall.

Seeing the physical nature of the farm’s growth and the family’s will to continue forward gives Mike a sense of pride, the culmination of a lifetime of learning.

“You can see, firsthand, what you have accomplished,” Mike said.

“You’re learning.”

August Hess and the original Hess farming generation could not have imagined the drastic bolsters and shifts the farm-

ing industry would face and the general agricultural approaches that have been adapted. Tractors now have GPS trackers, and machinery can reach levels of efficiency previously unthought.

“They [that original generation] couldn’t imagine how much change has taken place over those years,” Leslie said. “Equipment-wise, animal-wise, everything…They were struggling to make a living and not thinking of what could take place.”

And while there is no longer a purely survivalist mindset towards keeping

the farm afloat, the Hess Farm is not showing signs of slowing down. Like many of their contemporaries, Hess Farm exists not just as physical proof of a family tradition, but also as a business seeking to thrive.

“You’re running it more like a business than just the family farm,” Leslie said. “That’s what agriculture is now. It’s more business. Even though they’re run by families, most of the farmers around here are now businesses.”

And like a business, eventually, ownership will shift. Ronnie’s un-

timely death created a difficult period of transition for Mike, who worked side-by-side with his father in looking out for the land they had worked so hard to keep sustained.

When the time comes for the fifth Hess generation to take full rein of the farm, he does not want to “hand over a dead horse.”

However, regardless of how the next few years play out, he believes the Hess family has developed a special connection to agriculture.

“It’s in your blood,” PHOTO BY EVAN MICHEALSON he said.

Mark (left) and Conner Hess, 5, sit in a tractor May 26 at

Hess Farm in Foley. Mark helps his brother, Mike, on the family farm as the fourth generation of the Hess family to take up agriculture.

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Leslie Hess holds up images of the Hess Farm May 26 in Foley. The farm has been altered since its early-20th Century origin, adapting to an ever-changing agricultural industry.

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Town

Year

County

Foley Sauk Rapids Sauk Rapids Foley Foley Foley Sauk Rapids Foley Sauk Rapids Rice Foley Foley Foley Princeton Foley St. Cloud Rice Foley Oak Park Rice Foley Sauk Rapids Rice Foley Foley Foley Foley Foley Foley Foley Foley Sauk Rapids Foley Foley Oak Park Foley Sauk Rapids Sauk Rapids Foley Foley Foley Foley Foley Foley Foley Rice Sauk Rapids Sauk Rapids Foley St. Cloud Sauk Rapids Foley Foley Foley Sauk Rapids Rice Foley Rice Oak Park Rice Rice Rice Rice Foley Foley

1869 1872 1884 1895 1889 1906 1919 1900 1898 1895 1880 1891 1908 1882 1886 1867 1887 1875 1862 1899 1887 1870 1879 1910 1914 1876 1916 1867 1905 1900 1899 1903 1857 1874 1884 1908 1892 1897 1899 1893 1907 1894 1895 1914 1871 1911 1893 1897 1886 1909 1857 1885 1907 1903 1881 1890 1919 1902 1896 1919 1899 1886 1892 1892 1863 1888

Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton

Sauk Rapids Foley Foley Foley Foley Sauk Rapids Foley Foley Foley Foreston Sauk Rapids Foley Sauk Rapids Foley Sauk Rapids Foley Princeton Foley Princeton Sauk Rapids Sauk Rapids Rice

1885 1860 1890 1886 1896 1891/1897 1911 1905 1870 1890 1888 1905 1857 1888 1857 1892 1892 1909 1866 1907 1893 1892

Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton Benton

DOUGLAS COUNTY

July 17, 2020 - Century Farms Special Edition • Page 7

Harts keep family legacy alive

Russian immigrants experienced hardship, loss, but gained citizenship

BY KAYLA ALBERS STAFF WRITER

ers Prairie. Back then, working on the farm from such a young age was common, and necessary, to manage the upkeep of the property and take care of the animals.

According to his mom, Shirley Hart, between Dale and his two

brothers, David (oldest) and Darwin (youngest), he was the one who alPARKERS PRAIRIE ways loved to farm.

— Dale Hart has spent “It’s a way of life,” pretty much his whole life Dale said. “I still enjoy it, on the farm. Ever since even the tough years.” he was a kid, he drove Farming has been the tractor, and he always a way of life in the Hart helped his dad, Donovan family since they immiHart, on the farm in Parkgrated to the United States from Russia in 1908. It was more common for farmers to emigrate from Germany, Austria and Norway, but it was not as common to see a farming family come from Russia.

The 220-acre farm came into the Hart name in 1919 when Dale’s great-grandparents, Gottlieb and Marie Hart, bought the farm. They traveled to America with two of their 12 children, one of them Dale’s grandfather, Henry Hart, and PHOTO BY KAYLA ALBERS the other Henry’s sister, These original citizenship papers of Gottlieb (1939), Marie Molly, who later passed (1940) and Henry Hart (1940) from their immigration to away in a fire. Sadly, the the United States from Russia are kept at the Hart Farm other 10 of Maria’s 12 in Parkers Prairie.

Saluting the

PHOTO BY KAYLA ALBERS

Dale Hart and his mother, Shirley, stand with a 1953 Farmall tractor that belonged to Dale’s grandfather, Henry, and was restored by Dale’s uncle, John Schulz, on June 6 in Parkers Prairie.

children passed away in Russia, most likely at birth. Despite the heartbreaking loss of her children, Marie had two more children while living in the U.S. to continue her family.

Gottlieb earned his U.S. citizenship in 1939, while Marie and Henry earned theirs in 1940.

Henry married Esther Brockopp in 1933 and the couple took over the family farm five years later in 1938. They had four children, one of them Dale’s father, Donovan Hart.

Donovan and Shirley

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(Bolstad) Hart, were married in 1959 after meeting at a dance. They took over the farm in 1970 when Dale was 9 years old.

Dale took over the farm in 1995, but his father wanted to help as much as he could until he passed away in 2015.

“It was a good life,” Shirley said. “My kids grew up and they learned how to work.”

In the beginning, the Harts farmed with horses before they had tractors.

The family has always enjoyed the horses, and they had them on the farm until

recent years. The family used to bring the horses to local parades, and Dale’s older brother, David, used to show and barrel race them. Henry would even race chariots behind the horses well into his 50s.

A photo of Henry racing his chariot remains at the house, along with the chariot he rode.

Before Dale took over the farm, he had already been working every day to keep the equipment for the farm in its best work-

Douglas County page 8

Page 8 • Century Farms Special Edition - July 17, 2020

Douglas County from page 7 ing condition. He still has his father’s 1963 Farmall tractor that he uses regularly, as well as a 1983 tractor. Dale also had his grandfather’s 1953 Farmall tractor restored by his uncle, John Schulz.

It sits proudly at the farm as a representation of the hard work of the four generations of the Hart family.

“I have worked here pretty much my whole life,” Dale said.

The original house on the farm is now used as storage for feed, while

the “new” farmhouse, that Dale lives in, was built in 1889.

“The buildings haven’t really been changed.

They’ve been fixed and kept up,” Dale said.

Shirley agreed.

“Everything is the same. Nothing has changed,” she said.

Another building on the property that has remained is a building off to the side of the house where Dale’s grandfather’s sister, Molly Hart, lived for a period of time when she was ill with

polio. When the structure started to fall apart, Dale used his woodworking and craft skills to fix up the building. Now, Shirley and Dale use the structure as a historical keepsake, keeping it filled with posters of their family’s history and photos of what the farm was like in years past. The building maintains an important part of the family’s legacy.

The Hart farm has always had dairy cattle, and Dale also farms about 135 acres of corn, oats and al-

falfa. At one point, Dale was milking 30-40 cows and was producing a little over 1,000 pounds of milk per day, and he was carrying it all with buckets. Now, Dale milks fewer cows and has his milk distributed by First District Association.

It was not until four years ago that Dale put a pipeline in his barn to make the milking process easier. The Hart farm is now the only dairy farm remaining in Sprucehill Township, with other farmers having dispersed

their cattle years before.

Over the 26 years Dale has owned the farm, he has done most of the farm work on his own, but his younger brother, Darwin, comes to help as much as he can. On a typical day, Dale wakes up at 5:30 a.m., gets out to start milking the cows at about 7:30 a.m. and works until 10 p.m. feeding the cattle, milking cows and taking care of the crops when needed.

“It gets to be a long day, but I’ve done it for a long time,” Dale said.

Dale has upgraded some of his equipment over the years, such as going from a two-row corn planter to a four-row and a one-row corn picker to a two-row. He also upgraded from a 60-horsepower tractor to a 120-horsepower tractor.

“We stuck with the equipment we had. We didn’t need a lot of big equipment because we don’t farm a couple thousand acres,” Shirley said.

Growing up on the farm, Dale always en-

Douglas County page 9

PHOTO BY KAYLA ALBERS

This is an original building on the farm that Dale Hart’s grandfather’s sister, Molly Henry Hart’s chariot that he used to race horses is kept on the property of the Hart Hart, lived in when she was ill with polio on June 6 in Parkers Prairie. Dale fixed up the Farm in Parkers Prairie. building when it was becoming run down, and now it is used to keep historical artifacts on the farm.

PHOTO BY KAYLA ALBERS

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July 17, 2020 - Century Farms Special Edition • Page 9

from page 8

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PHOTO BY KAYLA ALBERS

Photos from early life on the farm include a photo of Henry and Esther Hart holding baby Donovan and a photo of Gottlieb and Marie Hart on June 6 in Parkers Prairie.

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Douglas County page 10

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Page 10 • Century Farms Special Edition - July 17, 2020

Douglas County

joyed working with his hands. He has used that passion in his work on the farm by fixing up the property, and repairing old equipment. Dale recalled fixing up a John Deere corn planter as a go-cart with a 7-horsepower motor on it when he was a kid.

Dale enjoys woodworking during the winter months, getting a lot of his wood from the proper-

from page 9

ty, similar to his younger days when he chopped firewood to burn, to keep the house warm during the cold winter months.

The Harts have lived lives filled with hard work, a life that they are proud to live. Dale has continued his family legacy by working the farm, and he has kept the history alive by maintaining the original equipment and buildings on the farm.

All of the family history is still there, being utilized every day.

When the Harts achieved their Century Farm status, Dale wished his dad could have been around long enough to see it, but knows he would be proud.

“It is a special and unique farm,” Dale said.

“It was a lot of hard work to get this far, and it will be a lot of hard work yet.”

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PHOTO BY KAYLA ALBERS

Memorabilia is kept from Dale Hart’s grandfather, Henry’s days of chariot racing at the age of 54 in 1962 in Parkers Prairie.

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The barn on the Hart farm, that was the original homestead of the farm, is now used to hold feed for the livestock on June 6 in Parkers Prairie.

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DOUGLAS COUNTY CENTURY FARMS Name Lawrence Adensam Scott and Christine Anderson Z. Michael Carlson Andersen Larry and Inez Anderson Robert Anderson Rodger and Dora Anderson Rodger and Dora Anderson Arnold and Amy Angen Dennis Arndt Alden Aslagson Mrs. Albert Barsness Charles and Mary Bettermann David and Florence Bitzan Melvin Bjurlin Daniel and Kathleen Blank Friebert and Elvira Blank Bernard J. Boesen Donovan and Kathryn Bolin Anton L. Botzet Gary and Diane Botzet Kenneth and Marie Brouns Thomas and Karen Brouns Larry H. Carlson Harvey T. Danielson Dale W. Diedrich Winfred Diedrich James Dittberner Marvin and Elmera Dobberpuhl Harvey and Gladys Drexler Brian Raymond Eastlund James and Elizabeth Ellis Emma Amundson Elvrum Delphin J. Engel Bradley and Lynne Englund Charles Erickson David Erickson Rosella (Browns) Evenson William N. and Vicki Jo Fadden Harry and Ruth Floding F. Conrad and Esther Foslien Mr. and Mrs. Frank W. Foslien Lola J. Fredrickson Lowell and Pamela Freudenberg Raymond and Verna Freudenberg Bertil and Ruth Frykman Joseph and Janice Gradin Alyce Graunke Elaine D. Hartfiel and Meta A. Schempf Grulke Farm Joy N. Guenther Martha and Harold Guenther Rudolph Guenther William H. and Christel E. Guiles Ruby Gunderson Kim Gylesen John F. Hagstrom Thomas and Zita Hamann Conrad B. and Leila M. Hanson Leonard O. and Amanda M. Hanson Lloyd and Darlyne Hendricks Robert Henneman Joe J. and Mary Hiebel Anita Hintzen James And Cindy Hjelm Dennis and Randi Hockert Lloyd and Mayme Hokanson Marlan Tom Hvezda Arthur and Marcella Isackson Paul and Gladys Jobe

Town Carlos

Year County 1886 Douglas

Lino Lakes Evansville

1895 1881 1903 Hoffman 1878 Hoffman 1893 Alexandria 1876 Brandon 1914 Alexandria 1874 Brandon 1874 Parkers Prairie 1892 Evansville 1876 Farwell 1873 Carlos 1874 Carlos 1874 Evansville 1875 Rochester 1904 Carlos 1876 Carlos 1874 Osakis 1890 Osakis 1888 Evansville 1891 Miltona 1888 Parkers Prairie 1885 Parkers Prairie 1885 Alexandria 1878 Carlos 1887 Nelson 1898 Alexandria 1888 Osakis 1875 Evansville 1874 Garfield 1873 Minnetrista 1902 1870 Osakis 1915 Starbuck 1888 Nelson 1880 Alexandria 1884 Garfield 1875 Garfield 1867 Farwell 1881 Parkers Prairie 1895 Parkers Prairie 1889 Evansville 1874 Ashby 1890 Garfield 1892

Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas

Alexandria Garfield Garfield Brandon Farwell Farwell Alexandria Alexandria Alexandria Brandon Carlos Osakis Evansville Alexandria Carlos Kensington Brandon Evansville Alexandria Lowry Alexandria

Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas

1891 1881 1897 1880 1866 1882 1912 1874 1910 1867 1878 1878 1913 1875 1879 1897 1876 1887 1890 1887 1910

Name Town Year Arlynn E. Johnson Evansville 1880 Arlynn E. Johnson Evansville 1886 Bernhard and Helen Johnson Brandon 1869 Carlton L. Johnson Evansville 1877 Dave and Kathy Johnson Alexandria 1888 Paul F. Johnson Evansville 1869 Eleanor Juntunen Alexandria 1912 Timothy and Judy Kalina Alexandria 1884 Laverne and Susan Kalpin Miltona 1898 Tom and Shelia Kelly Garfield 1884 Norbert Korkowski Brandon 1874 Bernard Kreemer Osakis 1882 Connie R. Krohnfeldt Alexandria 1873 Daryl and Maggie Krohnfeldt Alexandria 1892 Kenneth Kuhn Brandon 1883 Margie Larson Evansville 1882 Rick and Jeanine Larson Alexandria 1893 Jeffrey and Karen Larson Evansville 1902 Carlos J. Lordalen Lowry 1885 Wayne A. Lund Brandon 1868 Rufas Lundquist Miltona 1875 David Lusty Miltona 1873 Eleanor Meade Alexandria 1882 Warren Meissner 1898 Warren V. Meissner Brandon 1881 Glenn, Bill, Karen, Kayla Muzik Alexandria 1890 James B. Myers Alexandria 1874 Harold Myhr Farwell 1876 Donald L. and Sharon L. Nelson Evansville 1886 Vernal and Marlene Nelson Kensington 1873 Florence Norris Minneapolis 1876 Glen and Ethel Nylander Brandon 1874 Donovan Oberg Miltona 1914 John A. Oines Farwell 1892 Clinton A. and Nelda Olson Evansville 1885 Donald L. Olson Farwell 1876 Kenneth A. Olson Nelson 1882 Marlin and Tootie Olson Nelson 1880 David Otto Garfield 1906 Judith and Douglas Peraino Rochester 1904 Eunice (Linnard) Peterson Brandon 1889 Victor N. Peterson Evansville 1882 Roy Pipo Kensington 1881 Wencil P. Pronek Alexandria 1896 Leslie and Ramona Radil Alexandria 1885 Max and Lyla Radil Alexandria 1890 Radil Farms Alexandria 1885 Harvey and Mayme Rajdl Alexandria 1893 Family Trust Recce Farwell 1915 Roman and Ruth Roers Brandon 1888 Gregory and Mary Roers Garfield 1906 Dayton and Lois Rosenquist Miltona 1892 Maynard J. Roth Carlos 1887 Charles and Mary Ruckheim Parkers Prairie 1885 Duane Samuelson 1902 Louie and Eileen Schackel Alexandria 1882 Philip and Phyllis Schlosser Carlos 1898 Vincent Paul Schlosser Nelson 1881 Martha Schulz 1886 Merle and Barbara Schuneman Carlos 1879 Severson Family Farm Evansville 1885 Wallace H. and June K. Sibell Nelson 1898 George and Laura Skrove Brandon 1874 Irving and Patricia Sletto Brandon 1880 Lloyd and Elda Sletto Evansville 1870 Scott and Tammy Smedstad Lowry 1877 Dwayne F. and Joann M. Granlund Soderholm Nelson 1888

Douglas County page 12

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County Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas

Page 12 • Century Farms Special Edition - July 17, 2020

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Douglas County

from page 11

Name Town Year Marian Myers and Roxann Sorenson Sorenson Alexandria 1891 Palmer A. and Esther Spilseth Kensington 1873 Leander Stariha Brandon 1889 Terry and Dana Strese Evansville 1911 E. Orion Sward Nelson 1875 Theodore Swenson Farwell 1881 The Fahlin Family Kensington 1864 Berrnard C. and Kathleen G. Thoennes Brandon 1874 Arnold W. Thompson Hoffman 1874 James and Ruth Thompson Garfield 1879 Stephen and Sharon Thronson Evansville 1886 Raymond W. Thunberg Nelson 1883 Everald and Elizabeth Timm Garfield 1892 August Herman Tonn Nelson 1875 Martin Frank Tonn Carlos 1885 Marion Kathleen Weetman, Elaine and Roland Kronberg Town Evansville 1876 William J. Trousil Lowry 1877 Tom J. and Patricia Vickerman Jr. Alexandria 1876 Irvin and Ethel Walstad Garfield 1873 Brian K. Woodle Kensington 1903 Norman B. Wussow Alexandria 1881 Arnold and Mildred Zavadil Alexandria 1888 Rudolph C. Zeithamer Alexandria 1901 Harvey and Dianne Zimmerman Parkers Prairie 1881

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July 17, 2020 - Century Farms Special Edition • Page 13

great-great-grandpa’s ground Thompsons celebrate family, share a love for the land

BY KAYLA ALBERS STAFF WRITER

PENNOCK — Sunday nights at the Thompson Farm are reserved for family. Those who live close enough to join come over to the home of current farm owners, Jim and Diane Thompson, for a family supper on the farm. Oftentimes, Diane will cook the meal for the whole family, or members of the family will each bring something to share.

The nights are filled with laughter, sharing stories and memories and playing what they call “Barnyard Golf,” a small golf course that they created around the farm.

“All the things the kids did that we didn’t know about are coming out on Sunday nights now,” Jim laughed.

The Thompsons have four generations represented at Sunday sup-

PHOTO BY KAYLA ALBERS

The Thompson family – Hailie, 16, (front, from left) Verona and Colton, 11; Back: Diane, Ryan, Jesse and Jim – gathers on the front porch for a photo and to share stories about the farm on June 22 near Pennock.

pers. This includes Jim’s Amy) who run the land, mother, 90-year-old Vero- and some of their four na Thompson, Jesse and grandchildren.

Ryan (two of Jim and DiPHOTO BY KAYLA ALBERS ane’s five children – Jes- Kandiyohi County The original barn on the Thompson farm is home to pigs and laying hens. se, Ryan, Trent, Sam and page 14

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Page 14 • Century Farms Special Edition - July 17, 2020

Kandiyohi County from page 13

The close-knit family shares stories from growing up, about mean ponies that Jesse and Ryan got bucked off of as boys, how Jim would look at the stars from the top of a haystack, and a rotten tomato fight that Jesse and Ryan had instead of weeding the garden. Verona talks about walks to the Country School at District 69, and they all joke about picking rocks and how future generations will curse them for

putting the rocks from the field in the wrong spot.

“It [Sunday night supper] is a good way to see each other and share stories,” Diane said.

The Thompsons cherish being with family and share a deep love for the land because it is what brought the family together many years ago, when Sigvert Skindelien came to the United States from Norway, and bought the farm by Pennock in 1895.

It was then passed down

PHOTO BY KAYLA ALBERS

This is the original farmhouse, built in 1903, that Jim and Diane Thompson presently live in near Pennock.

to Verona’s dad, Sam Skindelien, in 1939. She bought the farm from him with her husband, Hubert Thompson, in 1968, and it passed down to Jim and Diane in 1981.

As the only boy among three sisters, Joanne, Mary and Marna, Jim was to be the one who would take over the farm.

He has actively been on the farm since he could walk, and Jim always loved coming to the farm to visit his grandparents.

Jim’s grandpa, Sam, was always excited to show him the garden, and Jim continued gardening because of him.

He passed on gardening to his kids, and wants to pass it on to his grandkids as well. He always makes sure to have pumpkins planted for the grandkids to carve on Halloween.

Among many great memories come some difficult ones as well. In June of 2000, a tornado struck the property, destroying five grain bins, part of the barn roof and all of the windows in the house; they found the shed doors a mile away. One of the grain bins they found in the neighbor’s woods.

Hail has also posed a

PHOTO SUBMITTED

These photos of Jim Thompson and Steve Stulen were taken six years ago on their horseback ride of 105 miles to South Dakota.

threat to the farm. The Thompsons have never been completely hailed out, but they have suffered quite extensive hail damage in the past.

“Weather has always been a challenge,” Jim said. “It always is on any farm operation.”

Despite a number of weather-related challenges over the years, the Thompsons have always overcome them. The farm has been in the family for more than 100 years, with

hopes of continuing for more to come.

“It is kind of special because I don’t think you are going to see many of those anymore…” Jim said.

Ryan agreed.

“I think about that every year when I am out in the field in the spring, that my great-great-grandpa worked the same ground that I am working today,” he said.

Today, the farm is 160 acres and has a field

of corn and hay. Jim and Diane have pigs, laying hens, butcher chickens, 30 beef cattle and three horses. At one point, they had a dairy cow and some sheep, but they no longer do. They also have a large garden where they grow potatoes, peas, string beans, squash, strawberries, raspberries and asparagus. They always have fresh food and they

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July 17, 2020 - Century Farms Special Edition • Page 15

Kandiyohi County from page 14 know exactly where it comes from.

“The freezer is full of food because we raise our own,” Jim said. “I gave some to some folks at church who lost their jobs, because that is part of living in the country.”

The best part about growing their own food is watching it grow and seeing their work comes to fruition at harvest. Jesse said they choose the crop and the seeds, they plant them, and then get to see the success come fall.

“It is the fruit of your labor,” Verona said.

Jesse agreed.

“It means something to us,” he said.

Farming is what brought the family together, but family suppers bring the family even closer. Those start-

ed when one member, one of Jim and Diane’s granddaughters, Tenley, became sick. She was diagnosed with a very rare illness, Krabbes-a, a form of Leukodystrophy, when she was an infant.

The family was told that she would only have two years to live.

To allow the family to see her, and for her to know the family, Diane started family suppers every Sunday. Tenley lived until she was 7 years old, and passed away three years ago in October. The Sunday suppers have continued.

Six years ago, while Tenley was sick, Jim embarked on a journey to South Dakota for a rodeo on horseback with his good friend, Steve Stulen.

He decided to turn the

ride into a fundraiser for the disease that his granddaughter was ill with, and he ended up raising $2,500 on his 105-mile horseback journey. He plans to do the trip again in two years when he turns 70.

Family has always been immensely important to the Thompsons, and that became even more apparent when they suffered tragedy and lost one of their own. Family suppers and barnyard golf will remain a tradition on Sundays, memories and stories will continue to be shared as the years go on and rocks will continue to be moved from one place to the next.

With confidence, Jim said, “We can still really call ours a family farm, because it is.”

PHOTO BY KAYLA ALBERS

Horses relax in their pasture June 22 on the Thompson farm near Pennock. The white horse nearest the camera was ridden by Jim Thompson on a 105-mile journey to South Dakota six years ago as a fundraiser for the disease with which his granddaughter, Tenley, was suffering.

PHOTO BY KAYLA ALBERS

Jim Thompson stands next to his garden on June 22 on the Thompson farm near Pennock. He grows many potatoes in honor of his grandfather, Sam’s, love for potatoes.

Working with Farmers for 140 Years!

Congratulations to all the Century Farms!

PHOTO BY KAYLA ALBERS

Jim and Diane Thompson raise butcher chickens on the farm, along with laying hens, pigs, 30 beef cattle and a large vegetable garden. Their fully stocked freezer helps them remember where their food comes from, and to feed the family for Sunday night suppers.

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Page 16 • Century Farms Special Edition - July 17, 2020

KANDIYOHI COUNTY CENTURY FARMS

Name

Town

Carl Aasen Wendell H. Aasen Ruth E. Anderson, Elsie L. Feifarek, Linda M. Petersen Andersen, Feifarek, Petersen Jerry A. Anderson Virgil Anderson Walter W. and Lorraine Anderson Larry J Debra C Anderson Mattson Kenneth P. Batterberry Mr. and Mrs. William Beck Kenneth and Anna Mae Bengsten Maylan Bengtson Jenith M. Benson Manley E. Berg LaVerna Birkland Archie Bjornberg Larry and Norma Blom Roland Bosch Burton Brandt Jorgen Mark and Paul Bredeson Harley and Sandra Caldwell Curtney and Louise Carlson Gertrude and Philip Carlson Glenn and Elaine Carlson Charles P. Chesness Alfred and George Christenson Al Christopherson Marie Clough-Nelson Cresent Beach Farm Willis G. Croonquist Shirley and Joyce Dahl Ronald and Janice Blomkest Damhoff Leuverne E. Danielson James C. Dowdell Lillian M. Eastland Bruce and Robert Eddy Lance Edman Leslie Ellingson John G. and Muriel Elmquist Edwin and Jean Emerson John W. and Sandra Erickson Alex and Ronald Everson Norman Everson Harold and Muriel B. Felt Dale and Grace Fladeboe

Year

County

Name

Town

Sunburg Sunburg

1860 Kandiyohi Howard G. Flann 1875 Kandiyohi Norman Gjerde Bradley and Debbie Glenz Willmar 1906 Kandiyohi Bernard and Charlotte Gratz Atwater 1883 Kandiyohi Thomas and Marlys Gustafson Belgrade 1870 Kandiyohi Blair and Anita Hagen Sunburg 1876 Kandiyohi Roger and Jean (Skare) Hagen Blomkest 1909 Kandiyohi Jerome Hagen New London 1888 Kandiyohi Steven Halvorson Pennock 1872 Kandiyohi Norman and Martha Hande Atwater 1876 Kandiyohi Eldon and Priscilla Hanson Spicer 1870 Kandiyohi John Hanson Atwater 1900 Kandiyohi Louis H. Hanson Spicer 1875 Kandiyohi Richard Hanson Willmar 1871 Kandiyohi Robert and Richard Hanson Willmar 1869 Kandiyohi Gordon and Patricia Hauge Raymond 1898 Kandiyohi Myron and Tillie Hauge Atwater 1914 Kandiyohi Delores J. Hebrink Willmar 1874 Kandiyohi David R. Hedberg Willmar 1875 Kandiyohi Donald L. and Margaret Hedin Hawick 1902 Kandiyohi Eldon and Eunice Holmberg Pennock 1891 Kandiyohi Douglas L. Holmgren Willmar 1875 Kandiyohi Doris Huebsch Willmar 1873 Kandiyohi Huisinga Farms Paynesville 1878 Kandiyohi Orlyn and Carroll Huse Paynesville 1875 Kandiyohi Buell and Iona Igunner Pennock 1869 Kandiyohi Odell Jacobson Lake Lillian 1914 Kandiyohi Peter and Lynne Jacobson 1870 Kandiyohi Sharon Jensen Willmar 1875 Kandiyohi Allan W. and Bruce A. and T. Stewart Johnson Atwater 1874 Kandiyohi Guy Johnson 1887 Kandiyohi Mr. and Mrs. Richard Johnson Pennock 1876 Kandiyohi Mr. and Mrs. Roger H. Johnson Atwater 1879 Kandiyohi Randy and Cindy Johnson Blomkest 1893 Kandiyohi Ruth E. Johnson Willmar 1879 Kandiyohi Johnson Family Farm Pennock 1904 Kandiyohi Elmer and Kraig Kienitz 1901 Kandiyohi Melville and Alice Kleberg Lake Lillian 1868 Kandiyohi Mr. and Mrs. Russell Klint Paynesville 1871 Kandiyohi Roger Knapper Willmar 1868 Kandiyohi Gordon M. and Kristie M. Knutson Atwater 1875 Kandiyohi Elizabeth, Her Children Eldon Kohls, Paynesville 1914 Kandiyohi Orval Kohls and Lorna Buntjer Kohls Willmar 1874 Kandiyohi Lowell Konsterlie Kandiyohi 1911 Kandiyohi Larry Konsterlie

Congratulations CENTURY FARMS

Year

Lake Lillian 1880 Sunburg 1915 Paynesville 1876 Atwater 1911 Willmar 1918 Hawick 1897 Pennock 1865 Atwater 1909 Willmar 1860 New London 1869 Hawick 1893 Paynesville 1876 Willmar 1874 Lake Lillian 1896 Lake Lillian 1891 Sunburg 1895 Sunburg 1891 Renville 1899 Atwater 1873 Lake Lillian 1888 Pennock 1880 Pennock 1875 Lake Lillian 1895 Renville 1887 Sunburg 1868 Lake Lillian 1889 Kandiyohi 1872 Paynesville 1895 Belgrade 1909 Kandiyohi 1861 Belgrade 1884 Willmar 1876 Atwater 1860 Willmar 1871 Atwater 1879 Raymond 1892 Raymond 1897 Willmar 1875 Willmar 1876 Blomkest 1915 Brooten 1893 Willmar Pennock Willmar

County Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi

1909 Kandiyohi 1884 Kandiyohi 1910 Kandiyohi

Kandiyohi County page 17

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July 17, 2020 - Century Farms Special Edition • Page 17

Kandiyohi County from page 16

Name Town Year Franklin V. Kostka Blomkest 1898 Kenton E. and Dorothy Kragenbring Atwater 1893 Earl Larson 1899 Earl (Bud) and Gwen Larson Kandiyohi 1891 Howard Larson New London 1867 Joseph E. and Elsie D. Larson Pennock 1878 Leonard F. and Karen E. Larson Atwater 1862 Luella A. Larson Lake Lillian 1875 Mark and Cleone Larson Atwater 1890 Karen Larson Hawick 1913 Sherney and Hildegard Lien Pennock 1877 John Lindquist Pennock 1881 Lawrence Lindquist Blomkest 1876 Stanley N. Linn Lake Lillian 1876 James and Nancy Lohn Belgrade 1916 Evelyn H. Loven Pennock 1902 Joe and Pearl Loven Pennock 1888 Clarence A. Lund Lake Lillian 1864 Niles J. Lund Lake Lillian 1864 Sigfred Lundgren Belgrade 1860 Muriel G. Vick Madsen Lake Lillian 1872 Amy Magnuson Kandiyohi 1892 Harold and Sylvia Maier Atwater 1858 Mr. and Mrs. Orlynn A. Mankell New London 1867 Ron and Karol Markfelder Willmar 1910 Wesley Jennings Matson Willmar 1869 Curt and Holly Meyer 1902 Floyd K. Miner Willmar 1874 James T. Mohr Atwater 1875 Charles and Joanne Molenaar Renville 1900 Gloria M.A. Gary R. Anfinson Don L. Anfinson Molenaar Spicer 1878 Don and Betty Moll Atwater 1870 Enock Moller Spicer 1874 Arthur and June Moelnaar Mork Renville 1897 Reynold and Charlotte Nelson Spicer 1867 Rudolph A. Nelson Lake Lillian 1893 Vernon W. Nelson Atwater 1876 Gary and Julie Newberg Blomkest 1886 Daryl Nielsen Willmar 1874 Mary L. Niemezyk Hawick 1873 Clifton and Doris Nygaard Hawick 1898 Eileen and Greg and Dorothy Summerlet Olson Lake Lillian 1871 Joseph Paaverud Sunburg 1878 Dean Paulson Sunburg 1874 Dallen and Glennis Peterson Sunburg 1967 Gordon O. Peterson Willmar 1882 Myron and Ila Peterson Kandiyohi 1876 Elden and Dorothy Pickle Atwater 1911 James and Sharlene Quello Atwater 1875 Glen and Signe Rambow Raymond 1901 Vernon and Mary Reins Lake Lillian 1902 Vernon and Mary Reins Lake Lillian 1904 Rhoda Family Farm Raymond 1887 Arley G. and Gladys M. Rossell Atwater 1885 George Rust Lake Lillian 1914 Leon R. Sharpe Lake Lillian 1868 Dean Shuck Sunburg 1882 Justin H. Simonson Pennock 1882 Lowell M. and Vance B. Simonson Spicer 1876 Manda Skoglund Spicer 1875 Jack and Joan Skrukrud Kandiyohi 1892 Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Slagter Prinsberg 1894 Rolf M. Sletten Willmar 1876 Paula Sletten-Feuton Willmar 1876 Burton J. and Charlotte Slinden Atwater 1875 Philip J. and Jennifer J. Slinden Atwater 1875 Burton and Charlotte Slinden Atwater 1875 Donald and Oleen Sonstegard Paynesville 1874 Lawrence W. Steberg Pennock 1875 Edward Strand Pennock 1865 Roger and Mary Swart New London 1904 Elroy H. and Marlin D. Bergeson Swenson Spicer 1873 Lloyd and Deanna Swenson Atwater 1904 James and Dawn Tait Kandiyohi 1861 John M. and Ruth Tait Kandiyohi 1896 Ronald Tait Kandiyohi 1861 Tallakson Homestead Farm Corporation Willmar 1880 Dana A. and Beth A. Tepfer Willmar 1901 Burt and Ruth Thomas Lake Lillian 1876 Ronald and Doreen Thorson Hawick 1890 Norman Tollefsrud Sunburg 1888 Gerald and Helen Van Dorsten Hawick 1876 Hazel Vegdahl Spicer 1913 Thomas and Doris Wendlandt Paynesville 1874 Charles E. Westerberg Blomkest 1869 Wilbur and Margaret Wheeler Atwater 1861 Arlie and Shirley Wicklund Willmar 1884 Robert and Phyllis Williams Willmar 1902 Donald and Ann Williamson Spier 1917 Robert and Phyllis Willimas Blomkest 1918 Melvin and Jessie Zuidema Blomkest 1886

County Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi Kandiyohi

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Page 18 • Century Farms Special Edition - July 17, 2020

MEEKER COUNTY

AlwaysLooking ahead

Dahlmans’ farm reaches century mark after generations of striving for better life

BY ANDREA BORGERDING | STAFF WRITER

DASSEL – Dwight Dahlman is very aware of the hardships the generations of family before him endured to be able to settle land near Dassel in the late 19th century. The sentiments of sacrifice and forward thinking are what both Dwight and wife, Jane, keep close in mind every day as they work the land Dwight’s ancestors settled over 100 years ago.

This year, Dwight and Jane are officially marking the 100th year of the farm being operated in the Dahlman family. The farm, located in Collinwood Township in Meeker County, was settled in 1918.

“Being able to be live in the place where your grandpa grew up is invaluable,” Dwight said.

“Especially knowing the sacrifices they made so that we can be here today.

They lived a very frugal, simple and hardworking life.”

The Dahlmans’ farm had a roundabout way of coming to be a century PHOTO SUBMITTED family farm.

D a h l m a n ’ s Jane and Dwight Dahlman stand in front of their house which is an original building to Olof the homestead. The small building next to the house is called a summer kitchen where great-grandpa, all the cooking was done during the warm summer months to keep the house from Dahlman, emigrated from heating up.

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Sweden in 1866. His journey included a boat ride to New York and then a train ride to Long Lake in Minnesota. He walked to Collinwood Township, Section 14 where he homesteaded 80 acres. He spent the next two years clearing land of trees, and he built a house. In 1868, he sent for his wife, Kjersten, and five children.

They lived in a small 20by 16-foot house, where he had cleared 15 acres of woods.

In 1876, Olof applied to homestead another 80 acres, which he purchased from the railroad for $3.50 per acre.

When one of Olof’s sons – also named Olaf – came of age, he was gifted a 40-acre parcel of the south 80 acres that he homesteaded from the railroad. There is where Olaf built a house, barn and granary.

“That house is still there,” Dwight said. “But that is not the farmsite where we live today.”

Dwight’s father, Clifford, was born in 1911 in the house Dwight’s grandpa built. Just six years later, a neighboring farm came up for sale, which

Olaf also purchased. He moved his family to that farm site in 1918. That farm is where Dwight and Jane started farming and continue to live today. The former farm site was left for two uncles to operate.

“The idea was that grandpa was going to stay here for one year when he would move back and the oldest son was going to take this farm,” Dahlman said. “But, grandpa liked this place so well that he said he was going to stay here.”

Dwight’s parents, Clifford and Alice, were married in 1944. Grandpa Olaf died two years later leaving his wife, Alma Josephine, to live with Clifford and Alice.

Dwight attended grade school at Collins School, a country school just three-quarters of a mile down the road from the Dahlman farm. He has fond memories of walking and biking to country school for seven years.

In eighth grade, Dwight went on to Dassel High School located in nearby

Meeker County page 19

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July 17, 2020 - Century Farms Special Edition • Page 19

Meeker County from page 18

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This picture of the Dahlman farm was painted in the 1920s. It shows the original house and barn, which still stand today.

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Dwight spent his youth working on the family farm alongside his parents and two older sisters. They milked 18 cows. He has fond memories of feeding calves, milking cows, baling hay and cultivating corn.

Clifford worked the farmland with horses until he bought the farm’s first tractor, a Farmall M, in the early 1950s. The tractor was used for most of the fieldwork before he

bought a Super C tractor.

It would be the only piece of equipment Clifford would buy brand new during his farming career.

“He had a mower, cultivator and planter for that tractor,” Dwight said.

“I remember driving that tractor a lot. It was easy to steer and operate.”

Dwight became involved in the family farm from an early age. Harvesting hay is something he remembers vividly.

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loose, then placed in a sling and pulled to the top of the barn with a rope. It was pulled into the barn before being tripped and the loose hay would drop to the haymow floor.

The original barn where he helped store hay still stands today.

Dwight also did a lot of cultivating corn and cleaning barn.

Meeker County page 20

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Page 20 • Century Farms Special Edition - July 17, 2020

Meeker County from page 19 When Dwight was 13 years old, his father came down with French polio, a sickness that causes a lot of pain and muscle loss. He was hospitalized for three months, leaving Dwight to run the farm himself. He did chores before and after school every day.

“He recovered, but never really regained his upper body strength,” Dwight said.

As an outstanding high school athlete, Dwight graduated from high school in 1969 and attended Augsburg College in Minneapolis to play football and earn a degree in physical education.

Dwight and Jane were married in 1970. Dwight finished his degree while Jane worked at JCPenney in Minneapolis.

Upon graduation in 1973, Dwight taught physical education and coached three sports at Fridley High School while Jane attended nursing school.

In 1976, Dwight’s father approached him about slowing down with farming and letting go of

the rented farmland.

“Around here, once you give up land, you never get it back,” Dwight said.

Despite his love for teaching and coaching, Dwight moved back to the farm knowing he could try farming full-

time but return to teaching if he wanted.

“We never really looked back after that,” Dwight said.

Dwight did some substitute teaching after first moving back, but the Dahlmans stayed on the farm.

“There is no doubt in my mind that this is where the Lord wanted us,” Dwight said. “Yes, farming is always a journey. There’s always ups and downs when you farm, but this was the place for us.”

Dwight and Jane wel-

comed their daughter, Melissa Jane, in 1979.

She grew up working alongside her parents on the farm. She now lives in Denver with husband, Paul.

Through the years, Dwight continued to make improvements

to the family farm by building grain bins, dryers and a machine shed.

The Dahlmans milked 20 cows in the original barn until selling the herd of Holsteins in 1987. They turned their focus to crops and purchased more land.

Today, they have 900 acres of corn, soybeans and grass hay.

“Dad was very intelligent, forward thinking and always trying to improve himself,” Dwight said. “He was never one to sit and say this is OK the way it is.”

Dwight said he has many of those similar traits his father had.

“It’s not always about wanting the latest and greatest but more on still improving your lot so you will have left something better than when you first got it,” Dwight said.

For the last 40 years, the Dahlmans have specialized in growing seed corn for seed companies.

They raise seed for companies such as Top Farm,

PHOTO SUBMITTED

Meeker County page 21

This aerial photo was taken the year the farm reached 100 years old in 2018. The grain bins, grain dryer and machine shed are additions Dwight and Jane Dahlman added during their ownership of the family farm.

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July 17, 2020 - Century Farms Special Edition • Page 21

Meeker County from page 20 Garst, Dahlco and Dahlman Seed as contractors. “It’s been a good niche for us,� Dwight said. “The gross income is close to field corn, but you don’t have seed or drying costs because the seed company bears those costs.�

Twenty years ago, the Dahlmans began growing seed beans for Syngenta.

They also raise grass hay for horses for added income.

They manage to do much of the work themselves with some parttime help.

As they go about their

daily work on the farm, Dwight and Jane are careful to remember the hardships endured by generations before them.

A clock hangs on the Dahlmans’ wall in the original house they still live in today.

The clock was Dwight’s great-grandfather, Olof’s. Olof was very poor upon settling on the new homestead.

He was admiring the clock one day as it hung in a general store. The store clerk asked if he wanted to buy it. Having no money, Olof declined. “The store owner said

if Olof brought him two cords of firewood next winter, he could have the clock,� Dwight said.

The clock stands as a reminder today. “We have a lot of amenities today that they never had,� Dwight said. “Jane and I have a few items around here that remind us of the heritage that we came from.�

As they look ahead to improve the family farm, Dwight and Jane are sure to look back, never forgetting the sacrifice of family before them.

Congratulations Century Farms! $. +-*0 .0++*-/ - *! ! ($'4 ! -(.ŃŽ # 1 '' /# ‍ ) )݌‏$ ' .*'0/$*). !*- 4*0- "-$ 0.$) .. $) '0 $)" *0)/.Ń? '* ).Ń? ) $"$/ ' . -1$ . /* ( ) " 4*0- *0)/. )42# - ŃŽ

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Page 22 • Century Farms Special Edition - July 17, 2020

MEEKER COUNTY CENTURY FARMS

Name

Town

Duane H. Abitz Grove City Dorin and Vera Adams Cosmos Charles Ailie Dassel Darren Amdahl Atwater Allen Kenneth Anderson Paynesville Doris and Frederic and David Pearson Anderson Dassel Douglas E. Anderson Grove City Harold Anderson Dassel Ivan J. Anderson Paynesville Jeffrey Anderson Litchfield Lloyd, Loren, and LeAnn, Annabelle Anderson Ford, Evelyn Anderson Lunow, and Lorraine Anderson Hanson Anderson Cosmos Helen Anderson Litchfield Alvin Anderson Dassel John David and Karen J Anderson Dassel David and Deborah Bach Hutchinson Eugene Barrick Darwin Homer C. Barrick Hutchinson Nimrod III Barrick Darwin Ralph Behm Atwater James R. and LauraLea Benage Hutchinson Michael and Monique Berg Grove City Kenneth W. Bergquist Dassel David Blunt Litchfield Harold and Lucille Carlson Litchfield Mrs. William (Clara) and Family Casey Darwin Dean and Dora Cates Dassel Margaret Fitzgerald Crowe Dassel Mr. and Mrs. George Dahlk Grove City Clara Dahlman Dassel Adeline DeMorett Watkins Robert and Rita Dougherty Litchfield Dougherty Family Partnership Fairmont Randy Drange Partnership Grove City Beverly L. Driver Litchfield Richard and Dory Ecker Kimball Lowell G. and Betty A. Engelbrekt Dassel Patrick H. and Judith Finnegan Litchfield Ricky and Kathleen Flanders Grove City Clifford A. Freeman Dassel Dale and Sheila Groskreutz Leona Grosse Benson Harold and Karin Haag Eden Valley Ray and Gladyce Haapala Dassel

Year

County

1876 1895 1897 1892 1875 1878 1897 1875 1875 1885

Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker

1892 1864 1905 1918 1886 1861 1861 1861 1882 1883 1917 1908 1864 1875 1882 1866 1861 1876 1872 1910 1861 1873 1874 1887 1885 1887 1865 1887 1885 1902 1895 1909 1882

Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker

Name

Edwin H. Hallberg Gordon and Donna Hartmann Edward and Mamie Hartwig Jerald E. Hartwig William Sexton Hedlund Donald and Esther Hegg Chester and Orville Hendrickson Steve Hislop Thomas J. and Lorraine Hoffman Lawrence Holm Norman and Mae Holmquist Milton and Joyce Housman Roman and Marlene Huberty John and Patsy Isaacson Clement and Marion Jebb Daniel and Betty Johnson Herbert M. Johnson James and Arlene Johnson Norman Johnson Orville and Mae Johnson Vernal and Naoma Johnson John Juusola George O. Kaddatz Thomas and Camilla Katlack Harold and Elizabeth Kelm Clifford Kohls Karl and Lucille Krueger Carl Kruger Gary and Robin Kruse James F. and Sharon E. Larson Myrwin Larson Frank E. Lawrence James and Elaine Lenhard David, David Dickson Lenhardt George and Margaret Liedman Robert and Pearle Lietzau Gladys E. Linder James P. and Shirlee Linn Rueben Lund Arnold and Esther Lundahl Elnar O and Delores R Lundin Roger and Janice Malmquist Teckla Malmquist William Manning Frank F. and Mary Ann Marshall

Town

Year

Kimball Hutchinson Darwin Darwin South Haven Paynesville Grove City Wilmont Dassel Dassel Litchfield Watkins Dassel Paynesville Dassel Dassel Grove City Dassel Cosmos Grove City Dassel Cosmos Litchfield Eden Valley Litchfield Hutchinson Litchfield Hutchinson Grove City Grove City Litchfield Litchfield St. Cloud Grove City Cosmos Dassel Watkins Grove City Dassel Litchfield Grove City Grove City Litchfield Grove City

County

1891 1899 1878 1877 1888 1868 1869 1903 1892 1881 1884 1872 1884 1897 1875 1888 1887 1873 1876 1890 1876 1916 1891 1874 1904 1893 1889 1862 1919 1876 1884 1885 1889 1856 1880 1889 1895 1879 1857 1876 1917 1889 1878 1871 1866

Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker

Meeker County page 23

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July 17, 2020 - Century Farms Special Edition • Page 23

Meeker County from page 22

Name Town Year Edwin L. Olson and Isabelle M. Mattson Litchfield 1887 Harold and Helen Mattson Cokato 1889 Jerome and Margaret McCarney Litchfield 1880 Richard and Cleone, Donald and Judith McCoy Eden Valley 1883 Ronald Meierhofer Watkins 1885 Ralph and Patricia Miller Grove City 1901 Steven and Arthur Miller Dassel 1878 Mrs. Edith C. Monson Dassel 1884 Vernon Mortenson Litchfield 1914 Mortenson Farm Cosmos 1883 Virginia Marcelle Mousley Litchfield 1869 Leander A. Mundt Litchfield 1896 Herman J. Munt Watkins 1888 H. Wayne and Joyce C. Nelson Litchfield 1890 Leland Nelson Atwater 1874 Leroy M. and Eva M. Nelson Litchfield 1875 Lillian A. Marilyn Hafstad, and Caroline Draxton Nelson Litchfield 1874 Philip and Muriel Nelson Litchfield 1878 Wayne D. Nelson Cosmos 1903 Lyndon Nelson Dassel 1912 Alroy Nepsund Paynesville 1883 Kenneth and Eloise Ness Litchfield 1859 Oscar Ness Litchfield 1873 Anna (Mrs. Emil) Neuman EdenValley 1897 Erwin T. Niehaus Grove City 1876 Kathryn and Brent Nyquist Cokato 1896 Therese O’Fallon Dassel 1902 Therese O’Fallon Hutchinson 1901 Arnold C. Olson Watkins 1899 Harriet L. Olson North Mankato 1881 James and Joanne Olson Cosmos 1888 Durand and Diane Onell Litchfield 1883 Roger and Karen Osterberg Watkins 1893 Boyd and Stella Paulson Grove City 1880 Boyd Paulson Grove City 1885 Lamont A. Pearson Darwin 1871 Leslie and Mabel Pearson Litchfield 1885 Loren and Vicky Pearson Paynesville 1876 Loren A. Pearson Litchfield 1885 The Kenneth L. Family Pearson Litchfield 1901 Paul Pearson Dassel 1887 Robert and Susan Pederson Paynesville 1882 Elsie Nelson and Keith Nelson Perrine Litchfield 1887 Boynton J. and Marion Peters Litchfield 1867 Stephen J and Vicki L Peters Litchfield 1913 Stanley and Barbara Peterson Hutchinson 1901 Donald and Byrnice Peterson Atwater 1909 Melvin and Lloye Peterson Atwater 1905 Marc and Rebecca Plocher Dassel 1909 Donald and Darlene Putney Litchfield 1864 Sidney T. Putzier Litchfield 1865 Steven Radtke Hutchinson 1894 Norbert and Rosella Riley Hammond 1859 Allen J. Rumsey Kimball 1876 Bruce and Joleen Runke Hutchinson 1874 Paul Sandell South Haven 1890 Duane Sangren Litchfield 1914 Milton and Luella Schilling Litchfield 1888 LeRoy O. Schlueter Hutchinson 1883 Lorallen and Bonnie Schmeling Cosmos 1911 Wilfred and Pearl Schultz Litchfield 1880 Alan and Shirley Skalberg Dassel 1873 Judith and Robert Sladek Litchfield 1885 Orwell Slinden Grove City 1876 Burton and Charlotte Slinden Atwater 1875 Donald Jr. and Helen Slinder Atwater 1896 Ernest A. Smith Darwin 1891 Milferd and Barbara Smith Darwin 1883 Robert William Smith Darwin 1866 Leslie and Lucille Smith Hutchinson 1904 Irving P. St. Onge Little Falls 1879 Kenneth and Marilyn Swanson Dassel 1896 Lloyd S. Thompson Paynesville 1886 Mr. and Mrs. Burton P. Thorp Atwater 1867 Eugene and Kathleen Tschumperlin Watkins 1883 Howard L. Turck Litchfield 1876 Lloyd and Phyllis Turck Litchfield 1859 Stan Varland Dassel 1895 Leo Vossen Watkins 1874 Carl Wagner Litchfield 1887 Eugene and Diane Wehking Hector 1898 Willard Wendorff Hutchinson 1912 Roger K. Werner Darwin 1883 Arthur and Marie and Carl Martens West Darwin 1876 Darrel and Shirley Wills Kimball 1886 Clem and Gloriette (Rosenow) Wimmer Litchfield 1892 Helen Winigs - Life Estate (Ronald Winings) Winings Watkins 1909 Myrtle A. Zeppelin Estate Darwin 1883

County Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker Meeker

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July 17, 2020 - Century Farms Special Edition • Page 25

MORRISON COUNTY

Heblers

proud of family’s hard work Morrison County ranch reaches century mark

BY ANDREA BORGERDING | STAFF WRITER

PIERZ – Farming the wooded area north of Pierz was not an easy task for the generations of Heblers who committed themselves to working the family’s land. But tales of overcoming hardships coupled with family bonding is why Gary and Kathy Hebler are able to look fondly at their farming career.

This year, the Hebler farm, Hebler’s KG Ranch in Morrison County near Pierz, is recognized as a century farm. Nick and Cunigunde Hebler originally settled KG Hebler Ranch in 1920. Their son, Franklin, and his wife, Margaret, took ownership in 1943 and farmed with the help of Franklin’s brother, Carmen. Carmen lived and worked on the farm until he married.

“It is hard country; there are a lot of rocks

PHOTO BY ANDREA BORGERDING

This windmill is no longer used to gather water but it was once used as a main source to collect water for the livestock on KG Ranch near Pierz.

PHOTO BY ANDREA BORGERDING

Gary and Kathy Hebler stand near their pond June 16 at their farm near Pierz. The pond is where a creek used to run through the farmsite, and the cavalry from nearby Camp Ripley used to stop and water their horses on their way north to practice drills.

and trees,” Gary said.

“My parents and grandparents broke it all open with horses.”

Gary and Kathy have owned and operated the family farm since they purchased it from Gary’s mother, Margaret, in 1973. Margaret moved to a home in Freedhem with Gary’s sister, Marietta.

She continued to visit the farm until her passing in 2007 at age 94.

“Ma could sit on her stool with her head in the cow’s belly and milk a cow by hand without missing a beat,” Gary said. “She was strong.”

Memories of his mom include a hard-working mother to two children and wife to Franklin, who died after a 13-year battle with cancer. Margaret managed to run the farm and care for Franklin until right before his death in 1972. Franklin was 52 years old when he passed leaving Gary, who was 26 at the time, to help milk cows and run 160 acres of cropland.

“It was tough when Gary’s dad had cancer,” Kathy said. “It was hard to keep up the place.”

Gary and Margaret milked 20 Holstein cows by hand morning and night. Gary would go to various jobs during the day, including working construction and at the boat works.

“I’ve only been off the place three years,” Gary said. “Otherwise, I’ve lived here all my life.”

Gary eventually met Kathy and the two were married in 1966.

Morrison County page 26

Page 26 • Century Farms Special Edition - July 17, 2020

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Gary’s Hebler’s father, Franklin, built this barn in 1944. Gary and Kathy made improvements to the barn through the years, including installing running water and making stalls larger and more comfortable for the milking herd of cows.

No stranger to milking cows, Kathy had vowed she would never marry a farmer.

“When we got married he was working construction along with farming, so then it kind of sneaked up on me,” Kathy said with a smile.

The milking herd played a major role in the Heblers’ farming career. Gary and Kathy milked up to 40 Holsteins in the tiestall barn Franklin built in 1944. There had been two previous barns on the farm

site before the current one was built.

“The barn did not have running water, just a holding tank in the haymow,” Kathy said. “So, we put running water in the barn.”

The Heblers began milking using can coolers to store the milk until it was picked up. Through the years they made gradual improvements to the barn to accommodate increasing milk production.

A bulk tank was installed to hold more milk, followed by an even larger bulk tank years later. An average dairy herd’s milk production at the time was 65 pounds of milk

a day. By the end of the Heblers’ dairying career, almost half their herd was producing 100 pounds of milk a day for a herd average of 90-95 pounds of milk per cow.

“We took good care of them,” Gary said of the cows. “Every time I went outside, I went through the barn to check on them.”

A milk pipeline eventually streamlined the milking process. That update came around the time Kathy and Gary welcomed their first child, Rick, in 1976, followed

Morrison County page 27

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Morrison County from page 26 by daughter, Tammy, in 1978. Kathy took time from milking cows to raise their small children.

She vowed she would not learn to use the pipeline.

“That did not hold out,” Kathy said with a smile. “I enjoyed milking cows; I actually milked more cows than Gary did because he would do fieldwork and I would milk cows.

Kathy also did chores while Gary would be gone all day trapping game in the woods. Trapping helped earn extra money for the family.

“He would skin his game while I was milking cows,” Kathy said.

“Ricky and Tammy would spend a lot of time in the barn ‘farming’ with me.”

The Heblers’ children worked side-by-side their parents. Tammy helped

unload hay bales from the hayracks and fed calves while Rick stacked hay bales in the barn, but also enjoyed running the tractors and equipment to work the fields.

“Raising our kids here was the best,” Kathy said. “It taught them work ethic. They had responsibilities.”

The cherished memories of working and raising a family on their farm are trickled with memories of hardships that were only overcome by Gary and Kathy supporting each other.

A drought in 1976 plagued the Heblers’ farm, leaving them searching for feed for their livestock. They were forced to sell 23 bred heifers for lack of hay to feed them.

“And we didn’t get anything for them – that

was the hardest part,” Gary said. “But we had to sell them because we didn’t have any feed for them.”

Also during their farming career, a tornado passed within one mile of the Heblers’ farm site.

The farm was spared, but Gary’s friend was killed on a neighboring farm.

“Kathy and I were outside AI’ing a heifer when we heard a strange noise like a train passing by to the south of us,” Gary said. “It had been a clear, sunny day.”

Despite the challenges, Gary and Kathy overcame adverse weather conditions to continue to improve their farm.

They remodeled the barn by putting in new tiestalls to improve cow comfort. They also purchased an additional 160 acres to add more cropland for a total of 210 tillable acres.

In 1998, Gary endured an incident while AI’ing a cow that left him with a broken leg and unable to work for several weeks. The decision came to sell the milking herd to ease Kathy’s burden of completing chores by herself.

“That was a sad day when the cows went,” PHOTO BY ANDREA BORGERDING Gary said.

The Heblers were alThis pasture is home to the Heblers’ current herd of 85 Angus cows and calves.

ready transitioning their dairy herd to beef by breeding Holstein heifers to Angus for calving ease.

They continued to grow their beef herd and had up to 100 head at one time.

Today, their herd is downsized to include 85 head of cows and calves. Both 74 years old, Gary and Kathy continue to work the land with the help of Rick’s family, wife Kathleen, and grandchildren, Tyler and Madison. Tammy, husband Brian and their children, Morgan, Brady, Emerson, and twins Reese and Kensley, visit the farm often to take in daily farming activities.

Gary enjoys cutting and raking hay and any fieldwork that requires him to drive his favorite tractor, a D-17 Allis Chalmers. Kathy tends to the calves and also works part-time off the farm.

At the end of the day, both take time to enjoy the woods and the wildlife that is brought in by numerous bird feeders.

A nearby pond provides endless viewing of wildlife. The pond is located where a dried-up creek used to flow. It was rebirthed years ago when Gary cleared the area for water to collect.

“Many years ago, the cavalry from nearby Camp Ripley used to stop

by and water their horses in the creek,” Gary said.

“They had a trail through this farm to head northeast for practicing drills.”

The stories of generations past and memories of their own experiences of farming and raising their family are why Gary and Kathy cherish their time on their farm today.

“Those are the memories that I go on to get by – it wasn’t always easy,” Gary said. “Back then, we didn’t have skid loaders. We had to break open land – remove rocks and stumps.”

Today, the highlight for Gary and Kathy is being able to hunt and fish nearby with their children and grandchildren.

“People have told

me that I have heaven on earth,” Gary said.

Kathy agreed.

“It’s been a good life,” Kathy said. “I would never move off here.”

PHOTO BY ANDREA BORGERDING

Kathy Hebler tends to Angus calves that need to be bottle-fed June 16 on their farm near Pierz.

PHOTO BY ANDREA BORGERDING

The Hebler family – from left, Gary, son Rick and Kathy – shares a laugh June 16 in their farm yard, KG Ranch, near Pierz. The Heblers marked 100 years of family farming this year on their farm in Morrison County.

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Page 28 • Century Farms Special Edition - July 17, 2020

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Town

Dale E. Andersen Daniel Anderson Donald and Bernadine Bartkowiez Clarence and Carol Batcha Thomas and Sophie Bieniek Charles and Shiela Biniek Paul C. Blechinger George L. and Deloris Booth Ronald and Ann Borash Robert V. Jr. and Vonna Kay Boser Donald Brill Edward and Kathleen Bzdok Paul Cantleberry Raymond and Bernice Czech Stanley and Bernetta Czech Claude and Evelyn Dahmen Dale and Kathy Dalquist Andrew and Ruth Dambowy Lawrence and Elizabeth Doucette Colleen M. Doucette Sod Jerry and Jo Anne Drellack Mrs. Dorothy Eilers Cletus Fischer Carol Fish Neil and Peggy Frieler Vernon Froelich Donald and Delores Fussy Jerome and Edna Golombiecki Donald Gruber Lawrence and Marjory Guck Dan and Pat Hartwig Family Farm Victor Hoffman Harvey and Phyllis Hoheisel Edward and Mary Lou Janski Reinhard Janson Ernest and Marcine Jaschke Wilfred J. Jelinski Esther C. Johnson Neil I. and Debbie Johnson Bruce Johnson

Cushing Cushing Bowlus Holdingford Bowlus Bowlus Little Falls Bowlus Bowlus Pierz Little Falls Little Falls Little Falls Little Falls Bowlus Pierz Randall Pierz Little Falls Little Falls Little Falls Swanville Pierz Royalton Pierz Bowlus Little Falls Pierz Royalton Swanville Pierz Pierz Bowlus Pierz Randall Little Falls Randall Swanville Swanville

Year 1886 1894 1901 1890 1884 1915 1891 1882 1889 1900 1905 1891 1901 1888 1908 1884 1896 1894 1891 1884 1883 1866 1887 1902 1899 1894 1881 1901 1907 1901 1891 1882 1918 1885 1883 1897 1862 1891 1901 1915

County Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison

Morrison County page 29

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July 17, 2020 - Century Farms Special Edition • Page 29

Morrison County from page 28 Name

Town

Fred and Ethel Karpinski Allan_Colleen and Charlotte Kastanek Frieda A. Kedrowski Vernon Kimman Joseph Klein Roman Klimek Walter Koczur Norman Koenig John and Lori Kokett Dennis M. Koroll Daniel and Beth Kowalczyk James Krottoschinsky Ben and Donna Kuklock George and LyAnn Kummet Alfred and Bernice Kusterman Edward Leo and Alma Langer Donald and Jessie Larsen Ben and Lila Larson Ray And Lorae Maciej Dean Marshik and Clare Palmquist Donald and Phyllis Marstein Richard and Lee Ann Maslowski Richard Roger Jr. Millner Sylvester A. Mischke Joseph and Leona Motschke Robert and Elsie Nelson Dale E. and Joanne M. Nelson Robert and Vicki Nieman Deacon Jerome and Irene Roth Ohotto George and Rose Opatz Virgil Ortman Walter C. and Bonnie M. Parkins Louis Patnaude Gerald and Jeanette Perle Berg Mark and Mary Polasek Donald and Dorothy Popp George and Mary Ann Posch Leonard and Gladys Psick Duane and Nancy Rahn and Family Dennis R. Rauch

Year

Little Falls Hillman Swanville Pierz Bowlus Bowlus Holdingford Swanville Little Falls Bowlus Royalton Little Falls Little Falls Pierz Royalton Pierz Royalton Cushing Royalton Pierz Bowlus Little Falls Pierz Pierz Pierz Bowlus Little Falls Little Falls Bowlus Royalton Lastrup Royalton Fort Ripley Royalton Little Falls Royalton Avon Royalton Swanville Pierz

1901 1915 1890 1919 1869 1890 1896 1889 1908 1880 1899 1880 1892 1915 1883 1885 1876 1891 1891 1882 1892 1880 1884 1877 1898 1869 1905 1891 1886 1892 1878 1880 1883 1908 1886 1874 1862 1885 1888 1874

County Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison

Name

Town

James and Joyce Ringwelski Martin and Louise Rudolph Family Herbert and Darlene Salitros Paul S. Sanders Roger and LaVerne Schiller Joe and Sandy Schilling Willis and Luella Schlegel LuVern and Elaine Schomer Richard and Kathy Smude Jim Sobiech Delphine, Life Estate, sons Robert Sobiech, David Sobiech Gary Solinger Irving P. St. Onge Carol Stangl Joe and Dianne Staricka LeRoy F. and Irene F. Sullivan Severin and Mildred Terhaar Richard and Eva Thelander Allen M. and Arlene Thomalla Clarence and Isabelle Trettel Edward Trettel Bill Trettel Leon and Julie Virnig James and Roseann Wagner Linda Waytashek Ray and Carol Wilczek Donald and Marlys Will Bob and Peg Wimmer Dennis Wolters Steve Worlie Jim and Cindy Wyatt Helen R. Younk Gerald, Daniel Zimmy, Joyce Huchspring, Susan Kirchner, Michael Zimmy, Catherine Adams Zimmy Victor Zyvoloski

Year

County

Little Falls Little Falls Bowlus Cambridge Bowlus Fort Ripley Pierz Pierz Pierz LittleFalls

1909 1892 1886 1886 1878 1911 1887 1888 1901 1889

Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison

Royalton Pierz Little Falls Pierz Swanville Hillman Pierz Little Falls Bowlus Bowlus Bowlus Pierz Pierz Pierz Pierz Bowlus Royalton Little Falls Little Falls Royalton Royalton

1910 1915 1879 1907 1911 1904 1876 1894 1887 1869 1881 1919 1883 1886 1896 1884 1902 1900 1892 1887 1919 1883

Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison Morrison

Royalton Little Falls

1912 Morrison 1900 Morrison

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Page 30 • Century Farms Special Edition - July 17, 2020

POPE COUNTY

PHOTO SUBMITTED

Tracy Rasmusen sits on the Rasmusen farm property near Starbuck.

In the background are a woodshed, chicken coop, barn and silo.

A sense of

Nostalgia Rasmusen recalls childhood on small farm

BY KAYLA ALBERS STAFF WRITER

STARBUCK — Dave Rasmusen feels a lot of peace and solitude on his family’s farm in Starbuck, especially now with its newly achieved Century

Farm status. Dave often recalls with nostalgia his time growing up there.

For Dave and his four siblings, there was always something to do on the 117-acre farm, whether it was milking cows, chopping wood or trapping gophers, or now, mowing the lawn and maintaining the family history that remains on the property.

Dave said the farm is like a family museum, and he is never going to sell it.

It will always stay in the

Rasmusen family, as it has for 100 years.

The farm didn’t come into the Rasmusen name until 1920, after Dave’s grandfather, Peter Rasmusen, immigrated to the United States from Norway in 1886. Peter originally bought a farm in South Dakota. He moved to Starbuck in 1915 with his wife, Emma, and bought the farm for $100 an acre. The farm was originally 160 acres, but a railroad being built

through the property in the 1870s and 1880s cut it down to a 117-acre farm.

The house on the farm was built in 1880 and did not get running water until the 1950s. Until then, water was carried to the house with buckets.

Peter eventually sold the farm to Dave’s father, Oscar Rasmusen, and his wife, Violet, in 1945, followed by Dave, and his wife, Tracy, who took ownership in 1989. Dave is the youngest in his

family of five children, which includes Helen, Bonnie, Dan, Ruth and Dave. Dan had the option to take over the farm first, but he chose a career in the Army instead; he was not interested in the farm, whereas Dave was.

“I always felt a great sense of nostalgia, I loved the place,” Dave said.

The Rasmusen farm was always a dairy farm, with 12 cows that they would milk by hand. The Rasmusens never sold their milk, however, David remembers his family making their money by selling the cream. The family also sold eggs once a week and occasionally sold beef cattle.

Otherwise, the milk was used to feed the calves, cattle and pigs and to drink themselves. They also planted oats, corn, alfalfa and meadow hay for the purpose of feeding their livestock.

Eventually, Oscar and Violet took jobs off the farm to supplement their income. Violet started working at a restaurant, and Oscar mowed road ditches for the area game warden. This left more work for Dave and his siblings, with their parents being gone more

often.

As all farms in the early 1900s, the farm started by using horses.

By the 1940s, Oscar obtained tractors and a lot of the horse-drawn machinery was converted so that it could be pulled by tractor. All of the same equipment was used when Peter and Oscar owned the farm, and throughout Dave’s time running the farm as well.

Peter and Oscar owned the farm during WWII, the war becoming a factor when they were building the silo on the farm and had to wait to

Pope County page 31

PHOTO SUBMITTED

Dave and Tracy Rasmusen have owned the Rasmusen Family Farm in Starbuck since 1989.

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July 17, 2020 - Century Farms Special Edition • Page 31

Pope County from page 30 have the metal roof built because of the WWII metal shortage. That same silo still stands on the farm today.

Farming technology has changed a lot over the years, and a majority of the farming technology used on the Rasmusen farm was from the 1920s and 30s. Not having more modern machinery to make farming faster and easier was one of the struggles of owning a small family farm.

“Everything was small and slow and done by hand,” Dave said.

The family picked corn with a one-row corn picker, and all of the kids would drive the tractor, even when they were very young. Dave specifically remembers spending winters cleaning out the barn and throwing the manure onto a pile outside. Then come spring, they would use a pitchfork to load up the manure spreader for the field.

A lot of time was also spent hand cutting wood and chopping it with an

axe for the cookstove to stay warm during the winter. However, most of the time was spent milking the cows—twice a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

“When you did stuff by hand, like saw wood and milk cows, it is long and tedious and you just had to get through it,” Dave said. “There is no end to the work and you are proud of that, but it is a struggle at times.”

For the Rasmusen family, time on the farm was not all about work.

Dave remembers the children enjoyed spending time climbing trees, climbing as high as they could to get the branches to sway. They would nail boards between the branches to call a treehouse. They went to 4-H meetings and generally, spent most of their time together.

Something all of the kids did was trap pocket gophers for bounty. They would trap the gophers in their hole, remove the front feet from the dead

gophers and turn them in to the county for proof – and for their 10-cent bounty.

“I certainly enjoyed trapping gophers,” Dave said. “You start that when you are 5 or 6 and it seems like a pretty big deal to carry a trap out.”

One of Dave’s favorite memories growing up on the farm was going down to the creek in winter to get ice and using it in the hand-crank ice cream maker to make old-fashioned ice cream with his siblings and cousins.

“That was the most fantastic-tasting stuff on earth,” Dave said.

Dave no longer has livestock on the farm, and he rents out the cropland, but the farm still has the same buildings and machinery that Oscar used, such as his 1948 and 1949 Case tractors.

Dave and his wife, Tracy, have three children – David Jr., Michelle and Laura – who are all a part of the Rasmusen Children’s Trust. The trust will become the next

owner of the farm, when each of the three children will essentially become a partial owner.

“I’m never going to sell it. I am just going to die and pass it on to my children,” Dave said.

“Hopefully, one of them will pick it up. It is almost like a museum.”

Dave mentioned a

time when his dad was going to sell the farm, and at the last minute decided not to; he is really glad it ended up that way.

“My dad stayed there farming with his dad longer than I did, so he was married to the thing. It was a lot of hard work,” Dave said. “It’s a great place to have a family and

be part of a family.”

The farm is Dave’s home. It always has been, and it always will be.

His dad was a quiet man, but Dave knows his dad would be very proud of the farm for reaching 100 years with the Rasmusen family.

PHOTO SUBMITTED

(Front from left) Carl, Peter, Emma, Oscar and (Back from left) daughters Rosa, Cora, Olga, Emma, Myrtle and Etta celebrate Peter and Emma Rasmusen’s youngest daughter, Olga’s, wedding.

PHOTO SUBMITTED

An aerial photo from 1950 shows the Rasmusen farm in Starbuck. The silo had been built in the late 1940s and was waiting for its roof due to the WWII metal shortage.

PHOTO SUBMITTED

This large Rasmusen family gathering was held at the farm before Oscar and Violet Rasmusen were married in Starbuck.

The Rasmusen family farm is pictured in June 2019 in Starbuck.

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Page 32 • Century Farms Special Edition - July 17, 2020

POPE COUNTY CENTURY FARMS

Name Chester B. Anderson Maurice J. Anderson Carole Lea Arenson Maurice and Maureen Aslakson Erling and Zona Baalson Baalson Dairy Farm Ronald and Nancy Barsness Anna L. Bartos James Belgum Robert F. Benesh Paul and Laurie Bennett Arnold and Viola Berge Mark and Joyce Blair Willard and Darby Bowen David and Carol Braaten Chester A. Branch Mrs. Ellen Brekkestran Erling and Kenneth Brevig Pearl T. Brosvik Glenn Burnham Orville Chan Vernon G. Chevalier David C. and Judith A. Cooley Orville and Ruthe Dahlseng Curtis L. and Rose Ann Dahlseng Rick and Jody Davidson Ralph and Lucille Elliott Forest Engebretson Hans and Marjorie Engebretson Todd and Pam Engebretson Ellwood and Ann Engen Kenneth J. Erdahl James and Edith Erickson Wallace Erlandson George William and George Francis Falkner Mark G. Femrite Donald S. Ferguson Allan, Luverne, Grace, Philip, Myron and Ida, and Oronah Hopper Forbord Dennis and Marceline Forbord Myron and Ida Adlore and Olive Forbord Chad Frederick Charles and Kathie Gaffaney Gjerdingen Family Emma Gunderson

Town Brooten Starbuck

Year 1876 1877 1880 Hancock 1875 Brooten 1893 Cyrus 1897 Lowry 1875 Farwell 1870 Alexandria 1880 Lowry 1882 Starbuck 1872 Glenwood 1890 Glenwood 1877 Farwell 1919 Starbuck 1878 Starbuck 1869 Starbuck 1870 Glenwood 1888 Hancock 1878 Lowry 1868 Clontarf 1876 Glenwood 1878 Starbuck 1872 Starbuck 1895 Glenwood 1899 Glenwood 1890 Cyrus 1876 Glenwood 1869 Starbuck 1905 Sedan 1866 Sedan 1874 Starbuck 1882 Minneapolis 1866 Glenwood 1873 Lowry 1902 Glenwood 1865 Starbuck Benson Starbuck Glenwood Starbuck Glenwood

1877 1877 1873 1884 1890 1901 1872

County Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope

Name Jerome and Irene Hagen Kenneth and Rosemary Hagen Warren and Virginia Hagestuen Norman P. Halvorson Leland C. and Genevieve Hanson Howard and Sylvia Hauge Ronald M. Henderson Ralph Hendrickson Robert Hoff Clifford and Mabel Hoverud Joseph and Mary Hvezda Harold and Harriet Jacobson Glen and Jean Jergenson Brian And Laura Jergenson John Johnson Otto N. Kamrud Harold and Arloa Knutson Edmond M. Kvitek Marlin Justice Larson Roger Larson Family Trust, Marjorie Lerdahl Lerdahl Dean Lofquist Clara Casper and Edward Lysen Steven and Marilynn Lysen Roger and Marilyn Maanum Mr. and Mrs. Marcus Max Clifford and Helen Mickelson Otto and Elsie Mickelson Leslie and Elaine Moe Loren Moe Clifford M. Mortenson Stanton and Lorna Nelson Lawrence Ness Cheryl Anette Nousaine Norman and Ramona (Dalen) Olsen Alida S. Olson Donald Opdahl Arnold P. Pederson Vernon Pederson Robert Peterson Wayne and Jan Ronning

Town Cyrus Lowry Starbuck Glenwood Starbuck Sedan Glenwood Farwell Hancock Lowry Glenwood Glenwood Gleenwood Lowry Osage Starbuck Lowry Starbuck Cyrus Clear Lake Kensington Starbuck Benson Clontarf Farwell Hancock Cyrus Glenwood Brooten Lowry Benson Cyrus Starbuck Starbuck Glenwood Starbuck Starbuck Starbuck Glenwood Glenwood

Year 1872 1881 1898 1866 1870 1882 1912 1880 1875 1875 1877 1886 1898 1906 1868 1870 1899 1872 1877 1888 1910 1889 1874 1882 1904 1875 1881 1890 1875 1869 1875 1881 1889 1892 1877 1867 1890 1884 1883 1876 1872

County Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope Pope

Pope County page 33

Thank you Century Farms Things change over the years but one thing that will never change is our willingness to serve our patrons to the best of our ability. Since 1923 you’ve been with us every step of the way. From small family farms to big corporate farms, from picking up milk cans to equipment that costs more than our houses, you’ve made us what we are today! We’ve watched you grow, wept with you, cheered and laughed with you. You are our family and we are honored to have grown alongside of you for the last 97 years. Thank you!

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July 17, 2020 - Century Farms Special Edition • Page 33

Pope County from page 32 Name Donald G. Runquist Earle Cameron Runquist Dennis Rustad Lauren Sansness Dean and Elayne Schluter Dale and Rebecca Stivland Ralph Stivland Gregory Stoen Jacob and Elisabeth Strandness Jerome_Paul_Adele_Craig_Richard Swenson Milton Syverson Herman and Lavonne Talle Robert Glenn Thedin Ellsworth and David Thompson John E. Thompson Margaret and Gertie and Olga and Edna Dingwall Tollefson Benjamin Troen Ron and Jean Tvrdik Richard and Dorothy Vold Minnie Wahlmark Floyd Wilberg

Town Starbuck Starbuck Clontarf Cyrus Glenwood Lowry Lowry Starbuck Glenwood Glenwood Sedan Sedan Kensington Starbuck Glenwood

Year 1879 1879 1889 1883 1887 1874 1875 1869 1868 1866 1876 1878 1894 1876 1883

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1881 1871 1900 1899 1877 1885

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Page 34 • Century Farms Special Edition - July 17, 2020

STEARNS COUNTY

Four generations in 155 years Kosel family achieves sesquicentennial farm status

BY KAYLA ALBERS | STAFF WRITER

ST. JOSEPH – The Kosel farm has been in the family since 1865, or 155 years. They just recently earned not only century farm status, but sesquicentennial farm status as well, a huge honor for the family and very rare in the farming community.

“I would say it’s an honor to be able to keep it in the family,” said 68-year-old current farm owner Kevin Kosel.

The farm began when Kevin’s great-grandfather, Anton Schwegel, moved to St. Joseph from Slovenia in 1865. Kevin’s grandfather, Andrew Kosel, then came to St. Joseph looking for work and met Anton’s daughter, Mary Schwegel. They got married in 1863, and Andrew took over the farm in 1888. He and Mary had 10 children, one of them being Kevin’s father, Pete Kosel.

Pete and Agnes Kosel took over the farm in 1935 and ran the farm until 1978, when Kevin took over.

Now, Kevin and his fiancé of 28 years, JoAnn Sitzman, look after the farm.

Growing up on a dairy farm, Kevin remembers a lot of hard work. With his parents, Pete and Agnes, and as the only son with three sisters – Kathleen, Darlene and Karen – Kevin and his dad were doing a lot of the heavy work on the dairy farm. As was common, that also meant he would most likely be the one to take over the farm one day.

PHOTO BY KAYLA ALBERS

The Kosel barn, formerly used for milking cows, now remains on the farm unused and empty on June 12 in St. Joseph.

Kevin knew what he was getting into.

“It is seven days a week, especially with a dairy farm,” Kevin said. “Between the work you would have a Sunday that you would have off for a couple of hours.”

Kevin’s day usually began at 5:30 a.m. with his dad hollering upstairs for him and his sisters to get up. Before school, he would do all of his morning PHOTO BY KAYLA ALBERS chores like feeding the cows and calves while his dad JoAnn Sitzman and Kevin Kosel, who currently maintain milked the cows. Then, Kevin would go to school in

Stearns County page 35

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July 17, 2020 - Century Farms Special Edition • Page 35

Stearns County from page 34 a one-room school house called “Fisher School,� which he attended for eight years, and where he had one teacher. Then he went on to high school in St. Joseph. After school it was time for a snack, and then back to chores, and eating supper after he was done milking the cows. “There were always chores to be done. You were lucky if you were done by nine or 10,� Kevin said.

The Kosels never had a pipeline or a barn cleaner for their milking barn, which meant Kevin and his dad were carrying all of the milk with buckets and cleaning the barn by hand. “It was a lot of hard

work,� Kevin said.

He also remembers Saturdays in the winter being reserved for making firewood for the next year to keep the house warm. They did every-

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Pete had work horses he

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Stearns County page 36

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PHOTO BY KAYLA ALBERS

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Page 36 • Century Farms Special Edition - July 17, 2020

Stearns County from page 35 used to avoid running the tractors during the winter months, but he phased out of them when Kevin was 5 or 6 years old.

Although the hard work has taken a toll over the years, Kevin always liked working with his

dad, and he cherished the time he got to spend with him on the farm. He still has his dad’s first tractor from 1946, a B John Deere, which he had restored.

Kevin took what he learned on the farm and

taught it to his children, Kerry, Kirk and Karl.

They would do chores on the farm and help with the cattle, just like Kevin did as a kid. “They kind of enjoyed it,� Kevin said. “I think it gave them a good

work ethic because they learned what hard work was.�

The farm no longer has dairy cattle, as it was no longer economically feasible – and, it was a lot of work on top of Kevin’s outside jobs

PHOTO BY KAYLA ALBERS

This aerial photo of the Kosel Family Farm was taken when Kevin’s father, Pete, owned the farm near St. Joseph.

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over the years as a driver for a ready-mix truck, a batchman (also known as a ready-mix concrete plant supervisor) and a dispatcher for Hardrives.

Needing to do what was best for himself, he gave up the cattle about 35 years ago. “It was hard because I always had cattle and I didn’t want to get rid of them,� Kevin said. “It gets to be bred into you.�

He used to milk about 20-24 cows and he also had youngstock. At one point, Kevin had about 80 head on his farm. Now, he just has a field of hay and corn that his neighbor, JR Gertken, plants for him.

Gertken also restored Pete’s tractor.

Three of the four generations of farm owners,

including Kevin, have been born in the 1910 farmhouse that Kevin and JoAnn currently live in. They have worked to maintain the property, including cleaning up the lawn, decorating the buildings and keeping them in good condition. “JoAnn works really hard; she has put in a lot of hours cleaning everything up,� Kevin said.

With Kevin’s children being grown up and in their own professions – Kerry as a tattoo artist, Kirk as an engineer for 3M and Karl as a superintendent for Minnesota Paving (JoAnn has children Shaun and Chad Sitzman and Sherry

Stearns County page 37

PHOTO BY KAYLA ALBERS

The oldest photo of the Kosel Family Farm shows a pastoral view of the farm in St. Joseph.

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July 17, 2020 - Century Farms Special Edition • Page 37

Stearns County from page 36 Established in 1975

Pohl)—Kevin thinks he will be the last generation to own the farm.

Although the future of the farm is uncertain, Kevin is proud of the 155-year family farm.

Kevin wishes he could see it move on to the next generation, but he is glad to have seen it get this far. The Kosel farm is all about family, and Kevin’s time on the farm has been just that.

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Page 38 • Century Farms Special Edition - July 17, 2020

Name Gerald J. and Shirley Adrian Raymond Adrian Ermin E. Albrecht John and Shirley Anderson Henry B. Arnold Myra Arnold Joseph Aloys Athmann Melvin Bauer Joseph A. Bechtold Boni and Dick Behnen Kenneth Bergmann Margaret Berns Jeff Bertram Peter, Carolina, Arnold, Anna, Richard and Rosemarie Bertrum Martin A. Betow Ida Beuning Urban J. and Arlene V. Beuning Ron and Delores Bias-Czajkowski John Bienek Florian and Barbara Blenker Blenker Farm Roman and Elaine Blommel Jeremiah Ronald Blonigen Clarence Borgerding Herb and Vern Botz Bill Bredeck James J. Brick Harold J. and Marilyn Brinkman Bruemmers Farm Thomas and Nancy Buerman Arnold W. Busse Bernard and Tillie Bussmann Eldon Capes Bernard and Rosemary Caspers Anthony and Anton Cherne Carl Christen Dennis J. Christen Harold H. Christen LeRoy O. Christen Dwight and Donna Christen John Court Cremers Bros.

Ronald and Lorie Czech

STEARNS COUNTY CENTURY FARMS Town Year Freeport 1888 Belgrade 1882 Paynesville 1873 Belgrade 1894 Eden Valley 1866 Eden Valley 1866 Melrose 1865 Albany 1906 St. Cloud 1879 Richmond 1862 1893 Belgrade 1867 Paynesville 1910 Spring Hill Sauk Centre Freeport Melrose Holdingford Avon Albany Albany Freeport

1873 1882 1887 1900 1904 1900 1909 1886 1887 1891 Freeport 1870 Sauk Centre 1867 Albany 1911 Paynesville 1861 Albany 1881 Albany 1863 Albany 1907 Paynesville 1879 Melrose 1898 South Haven 1898 Melrose 1875 Albany 1880 Albany 1869 Albany 1876 Albany 1883 Albany 1883 Albany 1892 Avon 1862 Albany 1877 Holdingford 1886

County Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns

Name Dennis Frank Deters Henry J. Deters Jeffrey D. Deters Lynn Dingmann Dennis Dirkes Joseph Jr. Doll Sylvester and Lydia Doll Werner J. Eibensteiner Thomas and Dorothy Elfering Anthony B. Ellering Ronald E. and DeLayne E. Erpelding Elmer Faber Helen B. Rooney Felling Ralph Fichtinger Leon and Linda Flint Vernon and Doreen Frericks Tom and Barb Frieler Douglas R. Fuchs John and Darlene Fuchs John Joseph Fuchs Thomas and Kim Fuechtmann Henry J Fuechtmann Jr James and Michael Gamradt Mike and Rita Garding Earl and Gwen Gehrke LeRoy R. Gertken Michael Gogala Donald and Annette Grebinoski Greg and Joan Grebinoski George and Francis Grindahl Alvin and Merlyn Gritzmacher Martin J.Jr. Eugene Gross and Jean Hellermann Ellering Gross Joseph and Anna Gruenes Jesse and Lucy Hagemeier Eugene Haider Laurence Haider Hansen Brothers Laura Hanson Lyle Heaton Cyril Heid Florence V. Heim

Town Belgrade Belgrade Osakis Cold Spring Albany Freeport Albany Sauk Centre Freeport Melrose Watkins Watkins Sauk Centre Freeport Richmond Melrose Melrose Cold Spring Paynesville Cold Spring Melrose Melrose Sauk Centre Paynesville South Haven Richmond Albany Holdingford Holdingford Brooten Sauk Centre

Year 1885 1880 1895 1911 1862 1880 1880 1862 1880 1885 1900 1866 1867 1870 1909 1897 1881 1856 1892 1856 1905 1913 1893 1874 1919 1878 1865 1894 1886 1865 1880

County Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns

Sauk Centre Richmond Albany Belgrade Belgrade Rockville Annandale Clearwater Kimball Sartell

1875 1909 1908 1886 1882 1855 1897 1898 1880 1875

Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns

Stearns County page 39

July 17, 2020 - Century Farms Special Edition • Page 39

Stearns County from page 38 Name Kathleen Heim Leo and Bernetta Heinen David and Carol Heinze Marjorle Heitke Hartmann Michael and Jean Hellermann Hellermann Family Farm Leo and Mary Jo Hemmesch Merwyn M. Hemmesch Elmer Hennen Oswald and Lorraine Hennen Bernard and Diane Herkenhoff Allen A. and Eileen Hertzberg Stan and Jan Herzog Richard and Dolores Hiltner Donald and Donna Jansen Hinnenkamp Leonard Hinnenkamp Ralph and Doris Hinnenkamp Peter and Denae Hlebain Gary and Mark Hoffmann Alvin Holdvogt Andrew and Richard Holdvogt Bros.

H. Jack and Doris Holthaus Ronald and Janice Hoppe Leo and Thelma Hoskins Richard and Rita Huberty Howard and Jean Huls Margaret S. Huls Kevin and Julie Hurrle Fayette Huston Scott and Jennifer Hylla Dennis and Kathleen Illies John Illies Bernard J. Imdieke Raphael A. Imdieke Al and Veronica Inderrieden James and Irene Jaeger Louis Job Lyle T. Johnson Mervin J. Johnson Michael J. Johnson Raymond Jr. and Kathleen Jonas Alvin Jungles Edward D. S. Kantor, Dolores M. Kantor

Town Sartell Melrose Belgrade Paynesville Melrose Melrose Paynesville Richmond Kimball Freeport Paynesville Avon Melrose Melrose Melrose Melrose Rice St. Cloud Freeport Melrose Paynesville Freeport Kimball Cold Spring Avon Holdingford South Haven Sauk Centre Holdingford Sauk Centre Belgrade Sauk Centre Melrose Belgrade Belgrade Freeport Belgrade Brooton Belgrade Albany Watkins Holdingford

Year 1873 1873 1887 1919 1893 1993 1901 1868 1882 1866 1900 1878 1875 1885 1886 1884 1896 1885 1917 1914 1907 1891 1888 1865 1871 1900 1892 1878 1873 1903 1862 1887 1882 1879 1890 1882 1866 1865 1871 1885 1893 1891 1903

County Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns

Name Ruth Katzner Elmer M. Kaufman LeRoy and Kathryn Kemper Marjorie Kemper Elmer and Marlene Keppers Ervin and Jeannette Kerfeld Arthur and George Kjeldahl Ernest Klaverkamp David and Ann Kluempke Richard and Lois Klug Clifford Knebel John and Robert Jr. Knettel Alois B. Koetter Herbert Koetter Kenneth and Teresa Koltes Paul Koshiol Raymond and Cathy Kostreba Donald Joseph Krebs Eldred Kremer Joseph N. Krippner Utley Kronenberg Donald and Mary Kuechle John, Mary, Ann, David and Mary Kuhn Daniel A. Kuklok Roman and Joyce Kuklok Sylvester and Marcella Kuklok Lloyd and Marlene Kunkel Gerald and Delores Lahr Kenneth and Jeanette Lahr Robert and Randy Paynesville Lauer and Son Claude and Agnes Legatt Theodore and Grace Lemke Bill and Bev Lieser Gary and Sandi Lieser Roman P. and Theresa Lieser Harvey M. and Marilyn C. Lieser Duane Lieser Gary P and Corrine J Lieser Jason J. and Megan E. Lieser Gary and Teresa Linn Mary Ann Litchy Ray and Marlene Lodermeier

Town Albany Watkins Sauk Centre Sauk Centre Avon Melrose Belgrade St. Cloud New Munich Albany Paynesville Freeport Richmond St. Cloud St. Cloud Holdingford Albany Watkins Kimball St. Augusta Watkins St. Cloud Holdingford Holdingford Holdingford Kimball Richmond Richmond St. Stephen Albany Belgrade Paynesville Paynesville Paynesville Belgrade Belgrade Belgrade Watkins Avon St. Joseph

Year 1875 1883 1885 1866 1873 1899 1876 1875 1893 1891 1869 1893 1873 1864 1910 1862 1879 1885 1880 1878 1885 1884 1854 1881 1891 1883 1892 1874 1870 1863 1875 1880 1890 1871 1874 1892 1892 1918 1910 1882 1891 1855

County Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns

Stearns County page 40

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Page 40 • Century Farms Special Edition - July 17, 2020

Stearns County from page 39 Name

Joseph and Pamela Loehr Ken and Kathy Luethmers Aloysius J. Luetmer Donald and Agnes Lutgen Lyle and Linda Mader Leo J. Maehren Esther Magedanz Alois Mareck Edwin Marthaler Dean Martini Roland H. and Rita Maus Anna, Cyril Voigt May Ronald and Sheila Mehr Dorothy H Meier Victor and Stella Meller Frank A. Mensinger John and Jane Merdan Mike and Renee Mergen Clemont Meyer Cletus M. Meyer Herbert and Lucille (Hoppe) Meyer Leon B. and Martha Meyer Linus A. Meyer Alfred F. Miller Arthur Miller Orion Miller Almo Noel Moen Andrew and Eunice Moliter Glen Moscho David and Evelyn Mrosla Edward and Katherine Mueller Robert J. Mueller Edward and Beth Murphy James A. Nathe John L. Nathe Edwin Nett Neu Trust Neu Anthony Niehaus Jerome and Joan Niehaus Arnold H. Nietfeld Bernard and Delphine Nietfeld Bernard and Natalie Niewind Steven and Janet Notch Edward H. Oberman

Town

Year

Belgrade Albany Melrose Watkins Freeport Avon Richmond Albany Melrose Avon Kimball St. Cloud Richmond Holdingford Avon St. Stephen Avon Albany St. Joseph Melrose Freeport Melrose Melrose Sauk Centre Sauk Centre Paynesville Belgrade Cold Spring Freeport Bowlus Melrose Belgrade Clearwater Melrose Melrose Albany Eden Prairie Melrose Richmond Melrose Melrose Eden Valley Freeport Albany

1898 1887 1884 1870 1890 1878 1882 1881 1868 1899 1875 1892 1897 1914 1880 1872 1889 1888 1874 1889 1865 1869 1869 1866 1886 1871 1883 1869 1894 1886 1895 1881 1879 1882 1868 1873 1897 1888 1895 1874 1867 1909 1897 1890

We’re More Than A Business, We’re Family

County Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns

Name James E. Oehrlein Clarence and Joan Olmscheid Terry and Diane Olmscheid Dan Olmscheid David Lee Opatz Jerome E. and Gayla R. Orbeck Robert Osendorf Overman Lakeside Dairy Inc. Joe and Luilla Pramann Pelzer Jon W. Perry Leona Pierce Emil and Marcella Pintok Lou D. Plant Melvin P. Poepping Matt Pogatchnik Mr. and Mrs. Victor Pogatchnik Harold H. Pramann William Pramann Keith Pundsack Daniel and Mary Ann Pung Marvin and Karen and Daniel and Doreen Schwieters Rademacher Paul and Mary Rademacher Scott Radtke James and Jean Ramacher Donald M. Rausch Gary and Lu Ann Reeck Gerald and Iva Reimann Jerome A. and Dorene H. Rennie Larry Rien Alfred and Adeline Ritter Dennis and Judy Ritter Floyd and Joyce Rodenwald Joseph Roelike David Roering Raymond and Dolores Rolfes LeiLani Rolfes Wilfred and Estella Rosha Ernest and Ann Rudnicki Dennis and Sheri Ruehle David and Mary Sabrowsky Alcuin Sand

NEW

We at Murphy Chevrolet are a third generation business like many of the Century Farms in the area. Century Farms deserve a big Congratulations for being productive for the long haul. It takes a family to make a business thrive in everything we do and we want to say thank you for helping us stay in business for the long haul as well.

TREE

T F

Albany Freeport Freeport Freeport Holdingford Paynesville Sauk Centre Albany South Haven St. Cloud Pennock Holdingford Sauk Centre Melrose Albany Albany Sacred Heart South Haven Freeport Melrose

1887 1887 1896 1917 1893 1882 1878 1890 1896 1861 1873 1884 1880 1876 1875 1875 1858 1909 1915 1866

Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns

1879 1891 1853 1892 1867 1885 1890 1887 1868 1879 1902 Albany 1886 Melrose 1907 Melrose 1874 Richmond 1861 Freeport 1883 Clearwater 1877 Avon 1891 South Haven 1889 Albany 1891 Melrose 1881

Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns

Belgrade Freeport Albany Albany Paynesville Paynesville Belgrade St. Joseph Paynesville Avon

AWD Premier Redline Edition | Stock #20095 MSRP ............................................................................. $37,690 Murphy Price ..................................................................$ 35,995 Customer Cash*.............................................................. -$4,500 Sale Price ..................................................................... ...$31,495 Savings ........................................................................ ... $6,195

$31,495

2020 Chevrolet Equinox

, MN OLEY

County

After COVID-19 shut down, manufacturers are up and running - new vehicles arriving weekly. Stay tuned to our website for availability and please call ahead for appointments.

Stop in, say hello & take a look around for your new Chevrolet.

LEN S

Year

Stearns County page 41

At Murphy Chevrolet, our entire team works together to provide you with the ultimate Chevrolet shopping expectations. We are here to exceed your exceptions, deliver the best service possible, and make car shopping fun again.

211 G

Town

9

5632

*See dealership for details

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NEW

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NEW

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Open Monday - Friday 8-5:30 • Sat 8-12 « www.murphychevrolet.com

July 17, 2020 - Century Farms Special Edition • Page 41

Stearns County from page 40 Name

Mr. and Mrs. Werner P. Sand John Sand Schackmann Farm Roman Schaefer Kenneth J. Schaefer Scott and Kathleen Schaefers Ray J. Schindler George H. Schlangen Mr. and Mrs. Henry Schlick Leona Schloegl Richard J. Schloemer Clarence L. and Kathryn Schmidt Bernice Schmidt John and Lisa Schmidt Dennis and Emily Schneider Mark and Gail Schneider Mark Schneider John and Marilyn Schoenberg Jim and Darlene Schoenberg Donald and Elizabeth Schramel Loretta E. Schroeder George J. Schulte James and Marilyn Schumer Andrew Schwinghammer Howard Shay Timmy and Dawn Shay Ervin and Rita Silvers Silvers Meadowbrook Farm-Donald Bruce and Cindy (Silvers) Berghorst Michael and LouAnn Simon Clarence and Cyrilla Skroch Anton G. Smoley James Sobania Rita I. Sobania Dale and Melanie Sobania Joseph Soenneker Gerald J. Sonnen Dan and Bette Frieler Southview Farm Edsel and Joyce Sowada Valentine and Josephine Sowada Kenneth and Mary Sowada Sowada Farms Al Spanier Milton and Gladys Spaulding Anthony and Patricia Stalboerger Richard Stang Daniel and Kathleen Steichen Ralph Stein Lester Stelten Douglas and Mary Stock Steven Stock Elmer and Jaletta Stommes Erwin M. Stommes David C. Storms Harold Storms Stanley and Mary Streit David and Judy Stueve Ben and Alice Supan Mary Katie Joanne Surma Theiler Flint

Town

Year

County

Avon Albany Richmond Paynesville Melrose Roscoe St. Joseph Richmond Paynesville Sauk Centre St. Joseph Clearwater Clearwater Albany Melrose St. Cloud Kimball Melrose Melrose Richmond St. Joseph St. Joseph St. Stephen Albany Freeport Albany

1860 1908 1890 1869 1897 1861 1879 1865 1869 1909 1886 1874 1881 1889 1893 1862 1883 1879 1898 1869 1856 1873 1881 1870 1872 1868

Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns

Albany Albany St Joseph Holdingford St. Joseph Rice Rice Rice Melrose Melrose Melrose Rice St. Joseph Holdingford Rice St. Martin South Haven Belgrade Paynesville Kimball Watkins Kimball St. Joseph St Joseph Richmond Richmond Clearwater Clearwater Avon Albany St. Stephen St. Cloud

1887 1887 1914 1883 1874 1888 1893 1911 1890 1887 1875 1899 1876 1899 1902 1870 1873 1898 1883 1865 1881 1876 1879 1860 1887 1882 1867 1867 1874 1889 1915 1882

Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns

Name Jeffrey Symanietz Ervin and Dolores Tamm Ronald and JoAnne Tamm Arnold and Jacob Terwey Terwey Brothers Partnership Allen Theel Alphonse and Josephine Theisen Peter and Jill Thelen Robert and Sharon Thell Marvin and Judy Thielen Leander and Karen Thielen Verena Thielen Tomsche Family Farm, LLC Cyril Traut Victor and Beatrice Tschida Charles and Debra Uphoff John Jr. and Mary Jane Urbashich Mr. and Mrs. Gregory A. Utecht Linda and Ralph Van Beck Bob and Renee VanDreble Viere Farm Inc Ralph A. Vogt Anna May and Cyril Voigt Ralph and Betty Vossen Rick and Barb Wait David J and Mary K Waltzing John Walz Bruce and Cheryl Warga LeRoy Warnert Allan and Donna Warzecha Jerome Weber August Wedl Curtis and Carol Wegner Norman and Mathilda Wehlage James Wehlage Alois Weis William Welk Dave and Kathy Welle Adolph Wensmann Leo J. and Doris A. Wentland Arthur and Cherylene Westendorf Leon and Diane Wieber John Wilwerding Edward J. Winter Robert Wittkop Richard L. Woeste Jason Wohletz Kurn and Wendy Woitalla Lyle and Joyce Wolhart Roman Wolter Melvin M. Worms Alvin and Janice Wuertz Michael Yamry Ervin A. and Eileen J. Zeis Wayne and Shirley Zenzen Gerald Lawrence Zimmer John Zimmer Edgar B. Zimmerman Roman Zwak

Town

Year

Avon Albany Albany

1882 1880 1891

Stearns Stearns Stearns

St. Joseph Paynesville St. Cloud Richmond Freeport Melrose Eden Valley Melrose Albany St. Cloud Freeport Melrose Albany Watkins Melrose Melrose Melrose Richmond St. Cloud Watkins Richmond Freeport St. Joseph Holdingford St. Joseph

1865 1864 1881 1919 1908 1869 1884 1869 1892 1872 1887 1888 1875 1870 1891 1894 1904 1884 1892 1887 1910 1917 1862 1906 1879 1888 1910 1852 1873 1892 1888 1867 1881 1889 1883 1895 1894 1893 1886 1881 1898 1884 1910 1897 1913 1884 1882 1876 1889 1886 1890 1860 1906 1882 1881

Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns Stearns

Freeport Richmond Paynesville Sauk Centre Sauk Centre Roscoe Paynesville Freeport Melrose Holdingford Melrose Richmond Freeport Melrose Albany Sauk Centre Albany Avon Sartell Watkins Melrose Paynesville Holdingford Albany Melrose St. Joseph St. Joseph Paynesville Holdingford

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Page 42 • Century Farms Special Edition - July 17, 2020

TODD COUNTY

disease that, at the time, come. was not routinely vacci“You knew it wasn’t The Berscheit family – something that was insurnated for.

Lester has no (front, from left) Nadia, idea how his herd got it, mountable,” Bill said.

Julie, Bill, Anika, (back, Julie agreed. She said but the veterinarian knew from left) Anthony and there are never bad days, what it was right away.

Nicholas – raises 1,500 acres of crops on their “When I came home only bad moments. There farm near Grey Eagle. and told my wife [Doro- is always a plan in place This year is the 100th thy] that we lost those 20 for farming, but anything year that the farm has head of cattle, she was can change at a moment’s been in the family’s just all upset. And I told notice. ownership.

“There’s an attitude of her, ‘don’t worry about it,’” Lester said. “’I’ve get up, get going and figstill got you and we have ure out how to get through our family.’ I think that it,” Julie said. “It’s continwas the biggest hug she ual change. Farming is never stagnant.” ever gave me.”

The farm has passed They relied on each other and God during from generation to generation, and has come a long those tough times.

“You have to have way since Lester grew up faith that God will pro- there.

The Berscheit farm vide, but also know you have to work to achieve began in 1919 when it a good outcome,” Lester was first documented as being owned by Lester’s said.

Bill added that there grandfather, John, and his were two years in a row wife, Katherine, who setthat 30-40% of their crops tled there from Iowa.

The 160-acre farm were hailed out. This was Bill, and the two daugh- one year that he lost al- a financial hurdle for the Todd County ters chose other career most half of his cattle to farm, but it was somepage 43 paths. black leg, an infectious thing they could over“I told my wife, ‘none of those boys are graduating from high school and staying here with me.

They are going to go off someplace and do whatever they want to do,’” Lester said. “’If they want to come back, fine. But they need to make sure they want to farm.’”

Bill and Dave had been working on the farm together in 1996, but in 2006 Dave suffered a spinal stroke that left him paralyzed from the chest down. Bill eventually took over the farm with his wife, Julie, in 2008.

Lester and Bill have

BY ANDREA BORGERDING many great memories of The Berscheit family farm in 1961, when Lester BerscheitPHOTO took ownership from his life on the farm, but some father, John. Lester and wife, Dorothy, raised their five sons on the farm. obstacles also come to mind. Lester described PHOTO SUBMITTED

Century farm means stability for Berscheits A love for farming stays in the family despite challenges

BY KAYLA ALBERS STAFF WRITER

GREY EAGLE – Over the years, the Berscheit family has loved farm life, and the family life that comes with it.

And despite the challenges the Berscheits have faced over the years – from having family always in the military, obstacles on the farm and family members who were ill – the Berscheits managed to keep the farm in the family, and it is

now being recognized as a century farm 100 years later.

“We really enjoyed it, you know,” third-generation farm owner Lester Berscheit said. “They [the kids] enjoyed working with me, and it just continued on.”

Although his kids enjoyed working with him on the farm, Lester never expected them to take over. He encouraged them to have their own experiences and make sure the farm life was right for them. Lester, a widower (his wife, Dorothy, passed away in 2010), had five boys – John, Bill, Pete, Dave and Jim, and two daughters, Mary and Ruth. Pete, Dave and Jim went into the military right out of school, but the two oldest sons, John and

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July 17, 2020 - Century Farms Special Edition • Page 43

Todd County from page 42

started with log buildings that John built himself out tof scrap from torn-down buildings in Sauk Centre.

He built a small log house dfor his family of five boys ,and three girls to live in. eThey raised wheat and ecorn, along with chickens, gpigs, cows and turkeys. s In 1954, the farm was passed onto the next genferation – Lester’s father, Tony, and his wife, Helh

en. However, Tony became ill with rheumatoid arthritis. This left Lester, the youngest in the family, and his three brothers, Bernard, Gordon and Lloyd, to begin work on the farm at a very young age.

“We were real young when we would drive the horses and milk the cows,” Lester said.

All the boys had to

make sacrifices if the farm was going to survive.

Bernard never completed high school. Instead, he became the primary worker on the farm while his brothers finished their high school education.

Without that commitment, it would have been

A champion

for rural Minnesota Congratulations

Century Farm Owners

Todd County page 44

s

d

P

g p

Senator Torrey Westrom

A vote you can be proud of

m t s s s

Paid for by Westrom for Senate Committee P.O. Box 210, Elbow Lake, MN 56531

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PHOTO BY ANDREA BORGERDING

Lester Berscheit (right) visits with cousin Bruce Berscheit in the farm’s office on May 26.

Lester is 86 years old and continues to help on the farm by driving tractor and semi.

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Page 44 • Century Farms Special Edition - July 17, 2020

Todd County from page 43

CIH 7140

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FWA, 3400 hrs. - $62,000

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FWA, 3600 hrs. - $69,000

very difficult to keep it all together.

In 1953, Lester’s third brother had been drafted to the Korean War, leaving Lester to work the farm. When his brothers came back, Lester was drafted shortly af-

ter in the spring of 1957.

It was not until 1961 that Lester returned from service, married Dorothy and officially bought the farm from his father. As the youngest, Lester had that opportunity because his brothers had their own

farms at the time.

Through all of the brothers going off to war and Tony being sick, the Berscheits managed to keep the farm in the fam-

Todd County page 45

2W, 4000 hrs - $37,000

NH 492 haybine $6,500

Various V arious Sizes S izes of of Rakes Rakes On O n Hand Hand

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We W e have have a large la arge supply s upp ply of twine, twine e, nett wrap wrrap and and bale ba ale Àlm lm O ON N HA HAND AND

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Sitrex QR12, QR10, QRS rakes ................ New NH 144 inverter.................................... $2,500 Many sizes of rakes available

TILLAGE CIH Tigermate II, 30’ .......................... $21,000 CIH 530C ripper w/lead ...................... $23,500 CIH 7500, 6-bottom plow..................... $7,500 CIH 7500, 4-bottom plow..................... $5,000 DMI Tigermate, 26’ .............................. $9,500 DMI 2500 ............................................. $6,500 IH 480 disc, 19’.................................... $3,200 JD 2810 6-bottom plow ....................... $5,500

GRAVITY BOXES VARIOUS SIZES OF GRAVITY BOXES ON HAND Demco 650 ...........................................$13,000 Demco 450 .......................................... $7,000 Parker 310 ........................................... $3,500 All sizes of used Demco gravity boxes avail.

PHOTO BY ANDREA BORGERDING

Brothers Nicholas (right) and Anthony Berscheit empty the planter after finishing spring planting on their family’s farm near Grey Eagle.

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The Berscheit farm as it was in 2008 when Bill and Julie purchased the farm. Bill had previously operated the farm with brother, Dave.

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July 17, 2020 - Century Farms Special Edition • Page 45

Todd County from page 44 ily. Lester has spent his entire life working on the farm. Even in his semi-retirement he would drive semi-trucks and drive tractors for the farm. Julie said Lester loves to be busy. On a Sunday, he called asking if there was anything he could do.

“I enjoyed working, from a little kid, I really did,” Lester said.

When Lester was working on the farm, they raised corn, oats and alfalfa for crops, as well as managed livestock such as hogs, chickens and dairy cows. He owned the farm until Bill and Dave took over in 1996.

Upon taking over the farm, Bill and Dave acquired more acreage.

They went from farming 500 acres to farming 1,500 acres. They stopped milking dairy cows in 2002 and converted barns to raise hogs. They raised hogs until 2008, when Bill and Julie took over.

The farm currently has no livestock and only raises crops.

Now, Bill and Julie’s

sons, Nicholas, 18, and Anthony, 14, are also working on the farm. Bill and Julie also have two daughters, Nadia, 13 and Anika, 11. Any one of them could be the next generation to take over and keep the farm in the family.

To be recognized as a century farm means to be labeled as a farm that has been owned by a single family for over 100 years, and it is a huge honor for the Berscheits. This honor represents a deep family history, and the stability that farming has brought to the family.

When asked what it means to hit the century mark, Bill immediately responded with “stability.”

“It kind of makes you feel insignificant because it wasn’t me that got us to the century mark,” Bill said. “The whole thing makes you realize that it’s not you, it’s a lot of history.”

PHOTO BY ANDREA BORGERDING

The Berscheit family farm is adjacent to a lake near Grey Eagle. The farm has been in the Berscheit family name since 1919.

American Foods Group would like to recognize all the Century Farms throughout Central Minnesota.

PHOTO BY ANDREA BORGERDING

Sisters Nadia and Anika Berscheit stand near their trampoline covered with a grain bin top on their family’s farm near Grey Eagle.

Your hard work and dedication through the decades is inspiring

Farming is truly a family affair.

Especially a century later.

We look forward to working with you in the future.

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THE MOST DANGEROUS JOB IN THE WORLD? FARMING!

While farming is a rewarding profession, it also brings with it hazards unique from other occupations. Almost 200 farm workers are injured each day.

The TOP 5 Dangers on a Farm Safety Man is brought to you by Elmdale Farmers Mutual Insurance, Inc. We’ve been standing behind Central Minnesota farmers and homeowners for over 100 years.

PLEASE BE SAFE THIS YEAR!

5. Grain Bins: In just 20 seconds you can sink and become engulfed. With an average time of 4 hours for emergency responders to rescue you, it’s no surprise there is a 62% fatality rate.

4. Electrocution: 62 farmers each year die from electrocution. Contacting equipment with power lines is the most common risk. Remember to look up.

3. Corn Pickers & Combines: Be aware that if you are trying to unjam a roller, it takes only a 1/2 second for your hand holding a stalk 3 ft. long to reach the rollers.

2. PTO’s (Power Take Off ): Use your protective guards and remove loose clothing.

1. Tractor Rollovers: Heavy machines combined with uneven terrains are a recipe for disaster. Even experienced operators have been involved in a rollover.

Elmdale Farmers Mutual Insurance, Inc. For a Minnesota agent nearest you, contact 320-573-2151 or go to elmdalemutual.com Serving 15 Counties in Central and Western Minnesota

Page 46 • Century Farms Special Edition - July 17, 2020

TODD COUNTY CENTURY FARMS Name

Great Doors, Service and people. American Door Works.

• Commercial Overhead Doors • Residential Overhead Doors • Farm Overhead Doors

• Parts & Repair • 24-Hour Emergency Service • Preventative Maintenance

www.AmericanDoorWorks.com Alexandria 320.763.3667 / Brainerd 218.829.8365 St. Cloud 320.253.1310 / Willmar 320.235.7688

Charles and Mary Ann Anderson Ronald R. and Carmen C. Arnold Allan and Leanne Becker Scott Becker Sylvester and Helen Botzet Olga Branum Joe Brichacek Stan and Ginger Brichacek Family Jeffrey And Elizabeth Brown Alma Bundy Kenneth and Elaine Carlson Frank and Agnes Chihos Anthony and Debra Clasemann Jack D. Costello Richard and Judith Decker Gerryl Didier Denis and Kathleen Duecker Denis Dueker Mary Ehnes Earl R. and Lynn William Erickson Iris L. and Lyle E. Evers Merl Farber Robert and Christine Feierabend Robert Gaugert Reinhardt and Florence Haase Robert A. and Lavonne Haburn Robert and Lynnae Hager Wayne D. and Donna Hansmann Charles Robert Hector Ron Hengemuhle Gordon Holm Loren Hughes Karen Hustoft Florian Hynnek Charles A. and JoAnn F. Jackson Donald and Rebecca Jackson Audrey and Warren Jacobson David M. Jacobson George and Geraldine Jagush Alden N. Johnson Joseph C. Johnson Royce and Dorothy Johnson Earl Johnson Dale Katterhagen

Town

Year

County

Long Prairie Long Prairie Staples Osakis Clarissa Browerville Browerville Browerville Osakis Eagle Bend Clarissa Long Prairie Grey Eagle Bertha Osakis Osakis Osakis Eagle Bend Verndale Grey Eagle Lowry Grey Eagle Staples Bertha Osakis Browerville Sauk Centre Osakis Long Prairie Sauk Centre Osakis Sauk Centre Browerville Eagle Bend Eagle Bend Clarissa Sauk Centre Browerville Osakis Osakis Long Prairie Bertha Browerville

1902 1875 1881 1914 1888 1890 1912 1889 1884 1870 1892 1910 1910 1870 1890 1911 1898 1898 1914 1882 1882 1911 1910 1913 1883 1895 1907 1895 1884 1913 1882 1867 1898 1891 1901 1891 1901 1883 1915 1881 1868 1888 1914 1879

Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd

Todd County page 47

This year marks the 125th anniversary of our brand: More than a century of commitment towards five generations of farmers across the globe.

SAUK CENTRE, MN

320-352-6543 | Hwy. 71 South

PIERZ, MN

On a farm, you don’t work 9 to 5.

Neither do we.

Let a local independent agent help you cover all you’ve worked so hard to build.

• SAUK CENTRE

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580 Main St., Holdingford, MN 56340

• ALBANY

• LONG PRAIRIE

• PIERZ

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140 5th Street, Albany, MN 56307

9 Central Ave Long Prairie, MN 56347

205 Main St N Pierz, MN 56364

502A E Main St. Melrose, MN 56352

320-468-2161 | Hwy. 27 West

WWW.MODERNFARMEQUIPMENT.COM

320-252-6650 |advantageoneins.com

July 17, 2020 - Century Farms Special Edition • Page 47

Todd County from page 46 Name Fred A. Katz Norman Kleinschmidt Donald Klinkhammer David J. and Georgetta Kohlhase Cecilia Kortan Theodore Jr. and Judy Kramer John Kroll David E and Celesta I Kyar Joseph Mary and Robert Lamusga Philip and Marlene Larson Duane and Shirley Laumeyer Roy and Joan (Rapp) Lee Gerald Lenk Louis L. Lenk Dale Lovelace Harrison and Chrystal Lowe Sidney A. and Rita M. Lyon Vernon Macho Joseph Marte Ray and Lucy Marthaler Lee Martinek William F. Marty Michael J. and Josephine Maschler William and Tammy Maschler Raymond Mau Herbert and Rosemarie May Rudolph May Raymond L. and Nora A. Mikkelson Esther and Sons Moore Robert and Roselyn Motl Anne Nalewaja Wendell and Lucille Olson Larry and Carole Paskewitz Glenn and Geneva Pesta Duane B. and Linda L. Peterson Richard and Ruth Peterson Paul and Lois Pischke Paul Reinbold Richard and Sandra Barrett Rexeisen

Town Bertha Long Prairie Long Prairie Bertha Sauk Centre Long Prairie Long Prairie Hewitt Browerville Osakis Long Prairie Long Prairie Browerville Browerville Verndale Long Prairie Grey Eagle Browerville Browerville Osakis Browerville Grey Eagle Browerville Browerville Long Prairie Browerville Browerville Osakis Osakis Browerville Browerville Long Prairie Browerville Long Prairie Eagle Bend Long Prairie Sauk Centre Long Prairie Little Sauk

Year 1892 1894 1914 1883 1902 1907 1890 1917 1888 1905 1899 1893 1900 1888 1884 1886 1889 1878 1913 1891 1908 1883 1882 1898 1892 1889 1887 1881 1873 1898 1919 1878 1907 1908 1900 1891 1893 1898 1879

County Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd

World Class Cattle & Quarter Horses

Name Gerald and Allen Roerick Wanda Rosenow Bruce Sadlemyer Ervin and Nelda Schlichting Mabel Skoglund Mrs. Virgil N. Sliter Vene and Janice Smith Herman and Shirley E. (Hanson) Sorenson Darrel Stenmoe Frank and Deborah Strom Arthur T. Swanson Morris H. Titrud Howard and Dennis Tyrrel Uecker Family Farm Bernard and Dorothy Voge Craig, Kirk Voge Larry L. and La Vonne A. Wegner Rodney and Bertha Westergren Aloysius Wettstein Walter and Hazel Wiese Robert and Katherine Williams Agnes Woge Edward W. Zappe David Zinter

Town Freeport Long Prairie Carlos Bertha Eagle Bend Hewitt Motley Osakis Osakis Bertha Long Prairie Clarissa Browerville Grey Eagle

Year 1904 1918 1913 1900 1892 1887 1892 1883 1875 1891 1891 1892 1873 1905 1890 1912 1896 1892 1914 1897 1987 1892 1874 1900

Bertha Bertha Bertha Long Prairie Sauk Centre Clarissa Browerville Long Prairie

County Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd

Let us help you customize your farm

Free Estimates ates • Free Delivery Locally Owned and Operated

Call C ll Randy or Derek Today!

• Residential • Agricultural • Light Commercial • Drafting

St. Martin, MN • www.lifestylelumber.com • 320-548-3459 • 800-699-9774

Brookwood Farms is committed to breeding, training, showing and selling world class quarter horses and cattle.

Owned and operated by the Jerry and Elaine Bauerly family in Sauk Rapids, MN 2168 Primrose Road NE Sauk Rapids, MN 56303

320-309-4896

Supreme champion calf at the 2019 Minnesota Beef Expo.

www.brookwoodfarm.com

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320-352-5261

SC

CHLANGEN’S USTOM ABINETS,Inc.

550 Meeker Ave. East P.O. BOX 217 Eden Valley, MN 55329

320.453.2718 | WWW.SCHLANGENSCABINETS.COM

Little Falls (320) 632-9240 • Sauk Centre (320) 352-5261 Glenwood (320) 634-5209 • Long Prairie (320) 732-6195 Paynesville (320) 243-3556 • Glencoe (320) 864-4304 Faribault (507) 334-3232

Page 48 • Century Farms Special Edition - July 17, 2020

What’s right for you?

DeLaval VMS V300 ™

A SYSTEM APPROACH • Contributes to Improved Farm Profitability • Contributes to More Milk per Labor Hour • Contributes to Healthier Cows • Contributes to Highest Milk Quality

We are here to support you during this difficult time!

Big John Bedding Separator

Moov Feed Pusher

The Moov feed pushing robot is a fully automatic robot so there is no need for wires or steel strips set into the floor.

SEPARATOR

FEATURES

Proven again and again to achieve 36-39.4% dry matter

• SMART control panel technology • Automatic weight control arms • New HD basket with screen • Reduce bedding costs • Increase liquid storage capacity • Environmentally friendly • Readily available bedding materials on a daily basis

Swinging Cow Brush & Mini Swinging Brush MSB Designed to improve cow health, comfort and welfare – and delivers even more!

BY

Jamesway Dura Chain Scraper Vertical Pump Prop Agitator Hammermills

AÄLab™ In-Line, Real-Time Milk Analysis • Early identiÄcation of health problems including: Mastitis, Ketosis, Ruminal acidosis • Provides milk component data used for monitoring and planning feeding regimes and for early detection of nutrition problems: • IdentiÄes the presence of blood in the milk allowing aÄmilk to stop milking, protecting bulk milk from contamination

afimilk® Vital know-how in every drop

Proudly serving you from Brookings, SD; St. Peter, MN; and Melrose, MN. 58 Interstate Drive N.W., Melrose, MN 56352 | 800-636-5581