Category Archives: Farm History
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
Homesteading on the Kanaranzi
In the spring of 1870, John B. Shurr and his nephew, stood on a hill about one mile south of the State Line and looked out to the east over the valley of the Kanaranzi Creek. The Rock River valley … Continue reading
What’s in a Name?
“Runs as the crazy man walks.” That’s what Grandma Daisy Walker Shurr said the word “Kanaranzi” meant. This is what the Creek looked like back in the early Seventies below the hill where our house is located. A friend of … Continue reading
Making Winter Wood
Now we’ve had the first frost and the first snow of the season. The leaves are turning yellow and the snow that stuck to tree trunks has melted. It was in times like this current reprieve from impending winter, that … Continue reading
Picking Wild Plums
Several weeks ago, I waded across the Creek and picked twelve pounds of wild plums. That’s not so easy to do this week because the channel is back to running full after the latest “rain bomb”. Most of the major … Continue reading
Ice Age Animals
Last week we left the Farm on a quick, nostalgic trip to the Black Hills. We did all the “touristy” things that we haven’t done for decades, including the Mammoth Site at Hot Springs. My bright wife suggested that we … Continue reading
Kids at the Creek
These are the grandchildren of the homesteaders fishing at the Creek in the 1920s. That’s the original Lone Tree “landmark” on the skyline to the right of Dad and his older sister, Harriett, and one of the buildings up on … Continue reading
Sealing the Windmill Well
Last week the windmill well was officially sealed and abandoned. The truck-mounted well rig raised a mast so the long lengths of pipe could be pulled out. The first one to be pulled had the original old pump. It hadn’t … Continue reading
Earth Day on the Farm
Every day is Earth Day on the Farm. It’s not just a 24-hour pause to remember and honor the Earth. Earth Day on the Farm is more like Easter. It’s an annual celebration of a long-term commitment to “everlasting” life. … Continue reading
Grandmothers’ Trees
Four generations of grandmothers have lived on Lone Tree Farm and each one has had a favorite tree. Ironically, the two grandmothers who were organized and intellectual women liked wild trees. The two who were more spontaneous and fun-loving liked … Continue reading
