Recent Comments
Lone Tree Farm on Ka… on Building Memories Melanie Lupkes Olsen on Building Memories margshurr on Building Memories Lone Tree Farm on Ka… on Building Memories Richard Bretz on Building Memories
Category Archives: Family History
Watching the Wind
Last week we had another ground blizzard similar to the one that we had back in mid-December. Both of these storms had lots of wind. The “dust of winter” made it possible to “see” the wind. What little snow there … Continue reading
Posted in Earth Science, Family History
Tagged ground blizzard, loess, ventifacts, Weather Service
Leave a comment
Tall Tower
This is the first in a series of posts that will describe the buildings spread around the farmyard at Lone Tree Farm. Some are still standing, but many have been demolished, repurposed, or replaced as the farming operations have changed … Continue reading
Posted in Family History, Farm History
Tagged Aermotor, salvaging souvenirs, water well, windmill
Leave a comment
SEASONS CHANGE
Seasonal rounds are an intrinsic part of life on the prairie. They’re an experience shared by Ice Age animals and plants, by Native American hunters and farmers, and by homesteaders and people in agribusiness. But, 2020 has been different. COVID-19 … Continue reading
Posted in Earth Science, Family History, Farm History, Life Science
Tagged pandemic, precipitation, rural, urban
Leave a comment
GENERATIONS CHANGE
Four generations of our family’s Grandmothers have lived and worked on Lone Tree Farm since 1871. All four had the kind of quiet courage that holds young families together and contributes to viable farming operations. However, each woman had her … Continue reading
Posted in Family History, Farm History
Tagged Grandmothers, homesteading, independent women, teachers
1 Comment
The “Navy” on Kanaranzi Creek
The Creek comes into our pasture about .7 of a mile above the bridge on the State Line. However, that’s the straight-line distance; it’s more than twice that far along the meandering channel. Those measurements are taken from the air … Continue reading
Posted in Family History, Farm History
Tagged canoes, children, familiies, meandering channel, rafts
Leave a comment
Civil War PTSD Along the Creek
The Farm has a connection to Civil War veterans: a son in the homesteading family married the daughter of a veteran. The families of that veteran and his brother-in-law, who was also a veteran, lived about four miles up the … Continue reading
Locating the Dugout
Although our homesteading family arrived in the area in 1870, they didn’t settle on the farm along Kanaranzi Creek until 1871. Their first home, like many other early settlers, was in a dugout. We know some things about this dwelling … Continue reading
Posted in Family History, Farm History
Tagged archaeology, dugout, homesteaders, primary sources
3 Comments
Trails to Rails
Overland trails became the routes of railroads that provided critical links between farms and markets. In the 1920s and 1930s, Grandpa George (the son of the homesteaders) shipped cattle to Chicago from a siding called Midland located in Iowa about … Continue reading
Civil War Trails
The trails that our family followed in 1870 weren’t confined to just stream valleys. Their overland route from Waseca to the Kanaranzi Creek was probably laid out 10-15 years earlier, before the Civil War. This map was compiled (Trygg, 1964) … Continue reading
Posted in Family History, Farm History
Tagged Civil War veterans, colonies, GAR, overland trails
1 Comment
