Senior Connections - September/October 2020 | Page 13

Sorting through 147 years of history on the Schultz farm

AMY JOHNSON
Correspondent
After Kendall Shultz passed away in February , his three children , Kelli , Wade , and Jill , were left with the daunting task of sorting through 147 years of history . The family has been sorting through and cleaning out items accumulated over four generations of farming . The family has worked hundreds of hours , filling dumpster after dumpster , often sorting through hundreds of items to find that “ one cool thing .”
Growing up on the farm
Kelli Machemehl ’ s family originally owned a farm across the field from the main farm . Kelli ’ s parents , Kendall and Marian Schultz , purchased the main farm from her grandparents when Kelli was in sixth grade . Even before moving there , Kelli spent many days at her grandparents ’ farm .
“ We played in all the barns ,” Kelli said . “ When they let the cows out in the summer , we would play ranch inside . Our little old bikes would be the cows , so we ’ d park them in the stanchions .”
The hay barn was also a popular play area for the grandchildren .
“ The hay was stacked a mile high and we ’ d climb all the way to the top up there ,” Kelli said .
Even at a young age the kids were working at the farm , doing everything from bailing hay to driving tractors . Every Sunday , all the aunts , uncles , and cousins would gather at the farm for lunch .
“ It was definitely a gathering place ,” Kelli said . “ We had a pond on the property , and we ’ d often swim in there .”
Once Kelli ’ s family moved to the main farm , the daily chores became their responsibility .
“ We all had to feed the calves and milk cows , bail hay , and all the other duties that go along with running a farm ,” she said .
A tool bucket for everyone
Since Kelli works at a school and has been off since March , she has spent hundreds of hours sorting and cleaning at the farm .
“ What makes this place interesting is that this farm dates back to 1873 , four generations ,” Kelli said . “ When I ’ m cleaning it out now , I ’ m finding that nobody threw anything , ever .”
While there were occasional auctions to sell off some large farm equipment , “ as far as nuts , bolts , tools , pitchforks , parts to old machinery , nothing got thrown .”
The nuts and bolts were stored in old coffee tins , glass aspirin bottles , and other old tins .
Kelli said , “ the containers are cool and there is history there , so I always look at them to see if I can find a name .”
The barn cleanout uncovered hundreds of tools , so Kelli came up with an idea to put together a tool
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Submitted photo
This photo was taken in 1902 , when August and Mary Schultz owned and operated the farm .
bucket for the grandkids . Kelli ’ s dad had five grandsons , and she sorted through and organized the tools .
“ Every kid got a good hammer and an old antique hammer . Every kid got a good saw and an old antique saw ,” Kelli said .
At one point , Kelli counted 47 hammers of different ages : some super old , some more modern and useful .
Finding treasure during cleaning and organizing
Kelli has come up with a process to stay organized as she sifts through items stored in the farm buildings . She takes time to surveys each item to determine if it is worth saving .
“ You have to go through every little thing to see if it is something someone might want ,” Kelli said . “ I take my big bucket in there for scrap metal and I start going through everything hanging on the wall .”
She meticulously surveys each item . If it is old and rusty , she tosses it in the scrap metal bucket . If it looks like something interesting that someone might want , she sets it aside .
The grandkids take turns coming to the farm to look through the items Kelli has set aside . While few items have much monetary value , many items have great sentimental value to the family . One of these treasures are the cow tags Kelli found .
“ It really hits the heart when I see those and think , ‘ Cow 17 , do I remember Cow 17 ?’” she said .
Another treasure is the pile of “ little black books ” containing dates and notes detailing life on the farm .
“ A lot of this is in my grandpa ’ s handwriting , and that really got to me ,” Kelli said .
The notebooks are not organized , but it appeared the farmers just opened up the books and started writing in them , logging everything from what was planted to equipment costs to where certain crops were planted . “ Seeded wheat , south of barn ” was
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