VICHY — There was a nice group of people who came out for the annual Century Farm dinner and presentation at the Vichy Firehouse last Wednesday night when four farm families were honored with the Missouri Century Farm designation.

Sponsored by the Maries County Extension Council, those attending enjoyed a fine fried chicken dinner with the fixings and listened to the presentations about the 100-year-old farms. Maries County Program Director, Kelsie Linebacker emceed the program.

Weller Farm

Lyn Weller was the speaker for the Weller family farm, located in Summerfield. His talk was very good and well received by all of the fellow farmers in the room. Weller said he’s a construction worker who owns a farm.

John and Minnie Weller started their family in 1914 in a one-room house. They had four children: Earive (Jake) Weller, Harry Weller, Eddie Weller and Sylvia Weller Picker. In 1919 John bought the farm they now call home and he moved his family to a bigger house.

Grandpa John raised cattle, hogs and chickens. He had a team of horses he used to work the farm and never had any modern machinery such as a tractor or a truck. Besides raising stock, John and Minnie had an orchard of fruit trees and a large garden. This is how they fed their family. Grandpa John with his sons, Weller’s dad, Jake, and his Uncle Ed would plant 7 to 10 acres of corn to feed the stock, all done by hand and hard work. They ate what they raised and would butcher hogs and make sausage and cure hams, cooking down the meat. The pork along with the fruits and vegetables would feed the family throughout the winter. There was no electricity. There was no well, just a cistern and Weller said when he was little he had to dig out the well and would be told “don’t let the snakes bite you.” They had a dug out cellar used for food storage.

Grandma Weller used a cookstove and it took a lot of wood for the week. He and Jerry would walk five to six miles in the cold with sacks over their shoes to chop cord after cord of wood. “We all worked hard, but we had a good life,” Weller said.

Jerry lived with Grandpa John and Grandma Minnie and in 1964 when Grandpa John died, Jerry and Lyn stayed with their grandmother and took care of her and the farm. She later went to live with Aunt Sylvia.

In 1970 Lyn and Glenda (Thompson) Weller bought the farm from the heirs. “We are proud to say we own the same farm where my dad, Jake, was raised.” And, just as Grandpa Jake did, they started their family on the same farm in Summerfield. Weller and his wife have two daughters, Mary Jo Weller and Gina Weller Tegart.

The Wellers raise cattle and are a 100-year cattle farm. He bales the hay off the farm to feed his cattle, just like Grandpa John and his sons did to feed their stock.

In 1982 they build a new house, which was their Christmas gift that year. The couple now has four grandchildren of their own who have all grown up on the farm. Morgan Tegart and Ashley Tegart are Gina’s girls. His daughter, Mary Jo, has twin boys, Waylyn Jake and Wyatt Glen Weller. They are proud to live on this family farm for 100 years. The Wellers continue to raise cattle and a big garden yet today. Weller said, “My grandsons tell me they want to take this place over someday and make their grandpas proud. They don’t mind working, but we sure are glad in that 100 years that we now have electricity and tractors to get the work done.” Weller ended his presentation by saying electricity is one of the finest things in his life. He got a big round of applause.

James Family

Wayne James was the presenter for the James Century Farm. The 240 acre farm is located along Highway 28, not too far from Vienna.

James said his great-grandfather, Tim Terry, on Sept. 5, 1916, purchased the property from Charles and Winnie Lyman. On Oct. 14, 1927, his grandparents, Austin and Kate Terry, purchased it from Tim Terry. On May 7, 1990, his parents, Berthal and Hazel Terry James, purchased the estate of Austin and Kate Terry. James said he acquired the property from the estate of his parent, Hazel Terry James. Now, his son and daughter-in-law, Chris and Kristan James, live on the property.

He said the farm holds a lot of good memories for him. One memory he recalled is the kitchen sink had a pump to bring in water. James family members present at the Century Farm event were Doris Bates and Ken Rutter, Elaine James and Angie Volmert, Carol Miller and Cary Miller, Wayne and Alice James and Chris and Kristan James.

Baker Farm

Robert Baker spoke about his Maries County Century Farm. His wife is Angel Feeler Baker from Vienna. The couple was married on Sept. 21, 2019 and as a wedding gift, Angel presented him with the completed paperwork for the Century Farm designation. “It was the best present you could get,” Baker said.

Their 155 acre Century Farm is located off Highways BB and 133 on MCR 636 in the Dixon area of Maries County. The farm’s original owner was J.M. Baker, who acquired the farm in 1868. Leo Baker is his great-grandfather. He built barns in Maries, Phelps and Miller counties. Baker said he was eight years old when Leo Baker died. Baker’s grandfather, Robert Baker, died in a car accident when he was in his 20’s. Baker’s father, Robert Baker, Sr. bought the farm from his grandfather. He is an electrician.

Robert W. Baker II was raised on the farm and when he graduated form high school he was sure he’d never look at that farm again. He got a job and he deer hunted. Ten years later he was tired of being on a cell phone and running down the road and came back to his farming roots.

A neighbor, Charlie Ray, who died last year, was like a grandfather to him and taught him how to run a farm. Baker said, “He was a dandy.” Baker said Charlie Ray taught him everything he knew about little, light weight cattle turning into yearlings, and about backgrounding. Now, he has cow-calf operations on this family farm and rents four other farms where he runs beef cattle.

He and Angel live on the farm. They are a busy young couple as she works at ABB and on the farm. He works selling building materials and shingles for Richards Building Supply out of the Lake and he also sells property for Mossy Oak Properties. They are very busy. He and his dad still cut hay together.

Baker said he does not mind working hard and he finds that to him, farm work is peaceful. He is on the phone all day long and he’d rather be working on a fence or taking care of cattle. However, Baker said you have to have a good job these days if you want to succeed in farming and to make the farm grow.

Wyss Farm

Marilyn Dawson presented the information about the Wyss family farm. The Wyss family story begins with Clifford’s great-grandfather, Wilhelm F. Isenberg, who migrated from Germany to the US in 1850. On May 3, 1858 in St. Louis, he deposited a land certificate for a parcel of land in Maries County. The farm is located on a ridge high above the Big Maries River southeast of Brinktown, and this is where Wilhelm, a farmer, constructed a one room log cabin.

The farm was later transferred to his son, John, in 1890. John, also a farmer, built his log home, which was one large room with an attic, within sight of his parent’s home. John raised his four sons and only daughter to work the farm with their father and grandfather.

On Dec. 23, 1919, John’s son, Clemens became the sole owner of the Isenberg farm. Tragically, Clemens passed away leaving his widow with seven small children. She was not able to keep the farm, signing it over to her sister-in-law, Wilhelmina Isenberg Wyss, Clifford’s mother. Once Clifford returned home after serving almost two years in WWII in China, India and Burma, he began working the farm and moved into the house his grandfather John had built. As the family grew, so did the house with the log room remaining the heart of the home.

The Wyss farm supported weaning pigs, beef cattle, milk cows and always a strong team of horses or mules. The crops included wheat, oats, corn and tons of hay. Not only was Clifford a full time farmer, but a well known sawyer. Many of the structures he sawed the lumber for still stand and he can recall how much lumber was used to build them.

In 1991 Clifford planted a large crop of sugar cane to show his children and grandchildren the craft of making molasses. Family, friends, and neighbors were invited to join the family of a day filled with hard work, a wonderful meal that was served on a hay wagon, and lots of reminiscing about the good old days. The cane press was set up on the original site where the Isenberg’s ground the wheat and oats in years past. The event became a family tradition that continued for 20 years. Other interested parties included students from the University of Missouri, residents from local nursing homes, local newspapers and other visitors they didn’t know.

Mae Wyss passed away in Jan. 2018 after 76 years of marriage. Clifford is turning 99 on Nov. 15, 2019 and he continues to live on his family farm in the original house built by his grandfather. Both of his sons built new homes on the farm. The older son continues to raise beef cattle and farm the land.

Sponsors

A farm owned by John and Colleen Barnhart received the Century Farm designation but the Barnharts were unable to attend.

Lineback thanked Maries County Extension Office employees Donna Backues and Tina Vogt for their work putting the event together. She thanked Juanita Butler and the Vichy Fire team for the good food. She thanked the farm families. Linebacker said Maries County had 88 Century Farms and with the additions that evening, now there are 93.

She thanked the sponsors of the event which are University Extension, Vienna Vet Clinic, Shelter Insurance-Belle, Maces Supermarket, Maries County Bank and Mid-America Bank.