The Day the Snakes Screamed
by Harold D. Gingerich
It is not unusual for people to
scream when they are startled by a
snake, but legend has it that there was
a time when the snakes west of Emma
did the screaming. While very little
was ever written down, many people
have heard the story of what happened
when Valentine T. Yoder lit the swamp
on fire. Ezra Miller, who is related
to Yoder, has vivid memories of the
stories he heard his father and grandfather tell about Great Uncle Valentine
Yoder whom everyone called Felty.
Three year old Valentine came to
this area as an Amish boy with his
family from Johnstown, PA, around
1845. His father, Tobias D. Yoder, was
one of the early pioneers of Newbury
Township, settling on land eight miles
west of LaGrange at what was known
as Yoder Corner.
Valentine began life on his own
several miles west of the village of
Emma where he built a log cabin for
himself and his young wife. According
to Miller, the cabin’s doorway was little
more than a horsehide curtain. For the
first three years all he had was a yoke
of oxen to clear the heavy timber and
prepare the land for the plow. Over the
years he purchased 400 acres of marsh
land for $10 per acre.
Clearing the marsh was a challenge
because it was a swamp and drainage
ditches had not yet been dug by the
county. Plus, the area was covered with
Tamarack trees. He could cut down the
Tamaracks, but the roots left in the
ground didn’t rot for years. The marsh
was also full of snakes, especially Blue
Racers. According to Ezra’s grandfather, Yoder got tired of the snakes so
he said, “Well, I’ll just do it the hard
way.” He set the woods on fire. We
don’t know many acres of woods went
up in flames.
As the story goes, when the fire
took off it was like flames racing
through pine trees. The flames were
intense and wildlife ran for their lives.
Deer, raccoons, and all kinds of wild
animals came out of the woods. All at
once there was a terrible scream that
Valentine said sounded like someone
wailing and screaming in horrific pain.
When he got close enough he could
see it was the dying snakes that were
screaming.
While Yoder remained true to his
Amish faith, he also became a very
wealthy farmer. The LaGrange Democrat (April 28, 1914) carried a front
page article, “Story of How a Comfortable Fortune Was Built by Eden Town-
ship Farmer”, about the settling of his
estate. At the time of his death Valentine owned 260 acres in Eden Township, 480 acres in Ford County, Kansas,
and a third interest in a half section of
land near Weatherford, Oklahoma. The
article estimated the value of his estate
at $115,000. Prior to his death Yoder
had distributed some $46,300 among
his nine children.
The LaGrange Democrat, noting that Tobias V. Yoder served as the
administrator of his father’s estate,
commented on his work. “In addition
to this remarkable showing it may be
of additional general interest to know
that the son, as administrator, did all
the work in settling up this vast estate
without one cent of charges for his own
services in so doing.”
Valentine’s descendants still live
in the area and are actively involved
in agriculture. Tobias V. and his son
Rufus started something that has become famous all across the nation. The
family business has been passed down
to Dick and Sharon Yoder and their son
Rusty. After all, everybody knows that
nothing beats Yoder Popcorn!
A blue racer snake.
Photo by Jon Fife
In Honor of Father’s Day, June 16th
Dawson Bontrager
Kari Lambright
He makes funny
faces that makes
me laugh.
He goes to
work and
gets us money.
By Mr. Thad Hart’s First Grade Class • Shipshewana Elementary
The Hometown Treasure · June ‘13 · pg 67