Wednesday, August 20, 2008

By DeManda Arkfeld

 

LESHARA - The Siebken family owns farmland that has been kept in the family for 126 years.

George Feist, the great grandfather of James and Ronald Siebken purchased 160 acres next to the community of Leshara on Aug. 8, 1882.

"He bought it for $10 an acre from the Kountze family," James said. "George fought in the Civil War and headed to Nebraska from Michigan after it ended."

Feist was married in 1880 and his family first lived in a sod house on the 160 acres.

The barn and a shed were built before the 1890s and still stand today but the Siebkens are unsure if the buildings were built by their great grandfather.

The Siebkens' grandfather, Mars Feist, was born on the farm and was married in 1913 and built a second home on the farm. Mars and his wife raised their family on the farm.

"Our mother Florence was born in 1914 on this farm," James said. "She was Mars's oldest daughter.

"She lived for 87 years and more than 80 of those years were lived right here on this property."

Florence Feist married Byron Siebken and their son James was born in 1938 while living on the farm.

"When I was little we moved to Yutan for a few years but then moved back to my mom's family farm," James said. "In 1940, the original house was taken down but part of it was moved into town and people still live in it."

James and Ronald grew up in the 1913 house that was updated in the 1970s. The house was just recently updated again by its current owners, James' daughter Stephanie Weiss and her family.

"I'm just glad we have family who still wants to live here," Ronald said.

Even though the farm ground is rented out to an area farmer, the Siebkens can remember when their mother and father had crops and livestock.

"Dad had livestock and farmed the land," James said. "He had corn, oats and pasture over the years."

One unique aspect of the farm ground is that Otto Creek runs through it and the farm has its own bridge to cross over it.

Both of the brothers were also involved in 4-H in their youth and remember doing chores that involved collecting eggs and tending to the cows.

"Now my grandkids just have to mow," James said. "It is fun to see them grow up here in the same place where we did."

The Siebkens were able to walk to school in Leshara when they were growing up, but a school no longer exists there and James' grandsons have to travel to Valley for school.

There are many other memories of the farm too.

"When we were younger my mother was in nursing training and made a lot of friends in the city," James said. "Her friends would bring their city kids out for visits."

According to James and Ronald, they did try farming back in the early 1980s but decided they would rather be a civil engineer and a computer programmer.

James was a civil engineer and Ronald was a computer programmer.

"Interest rates were horrible those years," Ronald said. "We decided it was better to rent the farmland out."

Stephanie Weiss and her family have lived in the 1913 farmhouse for the past 8 years.

"Living on this farm is a blessing that has only deepened my appreciation for its beauty and ability to connect our family," Weiss said.

She added that she grew up few miles away from the farm and many of her most cherished memories are of time spent on the farm with her grandmother and extended family.

"Now I watch my three young sons spend countless hours here with their grandparents creating their own special memories," Weiss said.

The Siebken family will be honored at the Saunders County fair by the Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben and the Nebraska Fair Managers Association as a 2008 Pioneer Farm Family.

"I think this award is a way to celebrate those shared memories and honor the generations that came before me, whose hard work and persistence has allowed me to enjoy this wonderful place," she added.