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Henry William Mesenbrink Farm

Henry William, grandson Russell, son Otto, grandchildrenVirginia and Donovan in front
My dad didn't grow up on a farm. He was a town kid, but when I was a child, we bought a farm near Ruthven, Iowa. It wasn't just a place to live, but dad wanted to do some farming.  It was only 80 acres, and he had a job too, so it was just a way to get a bit more income, and perhaps a way to rekindle some fond memories of his grandparent's farm north of Dunlap, Iowa.

I never knew about this place until I was grown. But it must have been quite the farm.
Above is a photo I received from Marge Hoster. It probably doesn't do justice to the farm, but you can see the large barns and house in the background. Here is a closer picture of the house.
And another view:
Henry's aunt, Helena Flier Mersmann, would visit from St. Louis every summer. She had such a good time I'm told and loved the experience staying at this farm. Aunt Anna made a beautiful wooden box for her that is now in possession of Helena's granddaughter.
The Mesenbrink Bulletin #3, published March 1983,  included a information from Linda (Mrs. Edward) Mesenbrink regarding the house. She said she lived there in the 1930s when the house burned to the ground. 

Here's a newspaper article from the Council Bluffs Nonpareil of February 2, 1939:
Linda Mesenbrink added that:
The house was rented from the Wright's of Dunlap, IA. the Wrights build the house in the late 1800s. The wood was hauled from Boone, IA by oxen. The Wright farm had 1000 acres at one time but was later divided into 3 sections. There was a cheese factory on the lower lawn and they milked 99 cows and raised peacocks.

The house was heated by a furnace and cookstove. The house had 18 rooms. It had 10 bedrooms and servant's quarters, a pantry, 1 bath, living room, dining room, kitchen, and separator room (icebox, washer, etc.) it also had ceiling fixtures in every room where you could hang a lamp.

The cupola on top was just decorative. It had a door and 3 windows and steps leading to the attic. 

Mabel Houts wrote in a letter to me in 2004, that her grandmother had a hired girl. The dining room was long, and the table stretched the length of it. She wrote that:
Uncles Ed, Otto, and Roy would sit across from them and wink or try to get them to misbehave. Grandpa sat at the end, and Grandma around the corner. They talked German all the time and I thought they were arguing. Of course, they weren't arguing - it was just the sound of the German.

But the thing in all this that interests me, is that these first and second generation German-Americans were able to accomplish so much. No doubt, their large family helped with all the farm work, and enabled them to rent such a large farm.




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