This week Aunt Jeanette writes:
…to the great-great-grandson of the original homesteader.
Approximately one month ago, Dan and I attended a land auction and came home as the proud owners of 160 acres of farm ground that has held his family’s roots for several generations. In 1870, Dan’s great-great-grandfather and his bride traveled in a covered wagon from Pennsylvania to the Little Blue River valley in south central Nebraska where they homesteaded and began farming. The piece of land we purchased came into the family in 1915 and is just a mile east of the original homestead.
The fertile soil in the Little Blue River Valley made a perfect place for this young couple to begin farming and raise a family – two sons and two daughters. (Now, just between you and me, I had to learn to love this flat, treeless land where the creeks and rivers seem to flow on the surface of the ground. Believe me, it was not love at first sight! I grew up in the southeast corner of Nebraska where there are hills, abundant trees, and creeks and rivers that are cut deep into the earth, providing endless entertainment for my two brothers and me while we were growing up.)
The layout of this newly purchased farm is perfect for center pivot irrigation. The pivot is being built as you read this and hopefully it will be up and running by irrigating season. Although farming practices have changed dramatically in the last century and a half, the basic goal remains the same – to be good stewards of the land that has been entrusted to us. The ability to irrigate crops, the knowledge of which herbicides, pesticides, and fertilizer to use, and which seed hybrid is appropriate for the type of soil are all integral pieces of this farming business. Up-to-date equipment and technological knowledge are also helpful in keeping up with the ever-changing times.
Family farms and heritage are becoming a thing of the past as children and grandchildren move away in search of “the good life” and choose to sell their land. However, for Dan and me, “the good life” is right here, embedded in the soil his ancestors called home. I am grateful Dan and I happened to be in the right place at the right time and circumstances allowed us to keep this piece of 99-year-old history in the family.
Until we walk again …