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Tuesday, August 12, 2008
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Farm all in the Schley family - for 100 years CENTURY FARM By AMY FREDMAN Staff intern In 1908, Henry Ford introduced the Model T, William Taft was elected president and the first New Year's ball dropped in New York City.
The same year, east of Brainerd, German immigrant John Schley started the Schley family farm.
A century later, with the Model T in museums, Taft long since passed away and the New Year's ball a tradition, the Schley farm is still in operation.
This summer, the Garrison Township farm was honored by the Minnesota State Fair and the Minnesota Farm Bureau as a 2008 Minnesota Century farm. To qualify, farms must have been in continuous family ownership for at least 100 years and be 50 acres or more.
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Earlier this month at the Schley farm in Garrison Township, Greg Schley and his son Joe worked on a 1950s vintage John Deere tractor. Brainerd Dispatch/Steve Kohls
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After combining the property of two Schley generations, the Schley farm is 240 acres and is owned and operated by Greg Schley, the grandson of John Schley.
"With all the trials and tribulations, to keep a farm in the family for that long, we're pretty proud of that," Greg Schley said.
John and Bertha Schley commuted between Melrose and Brainerd before officially moving onto the farm in 1914. "My dad was quite progressive," said John Schley Jr. "He had milk machines and pressure water. ... It was all done with gasoline engines until they got electricity in 1939." Other farms in the area did not get electricity until after World War II ended in 1945.
The elder John Schley willed the farm to his son, John, who ran the farm with his wife Bernice for about 10 years before deciding to stop actively farming and find outside jobs. "It wasn't working too well," John said.
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Three generations of the Schley family walked near the farm's cattle herd recently in Garrison Township. Bernice Schley (left), her grandson Joe Schley, her husband, John Schley, and the couple's son, Greg Schley, the current owner and operator of the 2008 Minnesota Century farm, are part of five generations that have enjoyed the farm. Brainerd Dispatch/Steve Kohls
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John worked at Potlach for the next 31 years, and Bernice worked in the business office at the state hospital.
"(Farming) was OK," John said. "The money just wasn't there."
John and Bernice knew that their active farming career was over during a harsh winter when a building that formerly housed 5,000 chickens caved in, because its roof was weighted down with ice and snow.
Even though his parents sopped farming, Greg knew that farming was something he wanted to pursue as a vocation. During his freshman year of college, Greg was the Future Farmers of America Minnesota state president.
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The Schley farm was recently honored as a 2008 Minnesota Century Farm. Located in Garrison Township, the farm has been in operation since 1908. It is currently owned and operated by Greg Schley, the grandson of the farm's founder. Brainerd Dispatch/Steve Kohls
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After a year and a half of college at the University of Minnesota, Greg returned home to run the farm full time. He rented the farm before buying it in 1978.
2008 Century Farms
The following farms were honored as part of Minnesota's 2008 Century Farms. Qualifying farms must have been in continuous family ownership for at least 100 years and be 50 acres or more.
Aitkin County: Les and Yvette Hyovalti, 1908, Aitkin, and Richard and Jennette Alleman, 1908, Finlayson.
Cass County: Andersen family, 1907, Pillager.
Crow Wing County: Gregory J. Schley, 1908, Garrison township.
Morrison County: Donald and Phyllis Marstein, 1892, Bowlus, and Walter C. and Bonnie M. Parkins, 1880, Royalton.
Todd County: Pesta family, 1908, Long Prairie.
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John and Bernice then moved onto 80 acres of land adjacent to the property.
Now, the farm raises hay for cattle. Greg also owns four head of cattle and rents 17 head. In previous years, the Schleys grew corn, oats, soybean and barley.
The farm, however, is not self-supportive. Greg went back to school 10 years ago, and he now works as an accountant for Jim's Electric in Brainerd.
John said he remembers the decline of the family farm beginning in the 1950s.
At one point, Greg ran four farms in the area, all of which had once supported families.
Greg said that everything about farms has gotten bigger. He raised pigs for a while and had 65 sows. "That kept me pretty busy," he said. "Now that's just one room in a big operation. They're raising thousands of sows."
Greg also said that machinery has gotten bigger. "I had a two-row combine, and everything I could do all week, a bigger combine could do in eight hours today."
With the size of the Schley farm, Greg considers it "a hobby farm at best."
Even so, five generations of Schleys have enjoyed the farm, from its founder to his great-great-granddaughter, Isabel, 2, of Mora. "She runs it when she's here," Greg said with a laugh. "Trust me, she runs the show."
Greg's four adult children are not interested in farming the land, but rather in its recreational value, as the family enjoys hunting and fishing on the large acreage.
The Schley family received two plaques and a commemorative driveway sign that recognize the Century Farm.
AMY FREDMAN may be reached at amy.fredman@brainerddispatch.com or at 855-5866.
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