In 1884, my great Grandpa Johann decided he wanted to emigrate to the US from Langnau, Switzerland. They had 4 kids and they sent over the oldest son to check it out. He was 19 at the time. He went first and sent a letter back home to tell the rest of the family that this is a good place to live and that they should all come. The rest of the family came over by boat on a 6-week journey. After a while of living here, they found this farm for sale. My great grandpa, who changed his name to John when he was here, bought it with 320 acres. I think the main driving force of them coming here was their pioneer spirit and the Land-Grant opportunity at that time.
The oldest son Albert was going to take over the farm, but he died so Ernst took it over. Ernst was my grandpa. In 1900, he married a teacher and I think she dedicated herself to the family shortly after they got married. Ernst had pigs, laying hens, and he principally milked short-horn cattle. We are guessing that he milked 20-25 cows. Everything was done by hand and with horses, including all the crops. Early planting corn was done by using a hand tool, one step at a time. Ernst bought the first tractor and my dad bought tractors and more equipment like a combine and a corn picker. When I look at our farm, it is interesting how things have evolved over the generations.
