In the Archives: 100 Years on the Farm
In 2018, during The Herald-Palladium's 150th anniversary celebration we did something very important for local historians: We digitized all of our microfilm. Everything we had in house (a near complete record of the last 150 years in Southwest Michigan) was shipped off to Newspapers.com (owned by Ancestry.com) and scanned. What's unique about the now-digitized archives is that they are searchable. They aren't just a bunch of pictures of old film, you can actually find stories, find names, find pictures about life in Southwest Michigan. Which leads us to our newest feature, In the Archives.
The Steinke clan has lived in Southwest Michigan for a long time, so we've been in the newspaper a time or two. If you remember, the first of my direct ancestors came to America from Germany in 1892. Fast forward a couple of decades, and you'll find this clipping from the Jan. 16, 1920 edition of The Herald-Press:
Can't quite make that out without pulling out your magnifying glass? Let me zoom in on the bottom portion.
That's a real estate transfer from Gottlieb Benke to August Steinke and his wife for a 60-acre property in Sodus Township for $1. That's August Steinke, my great-grandfather. That property is the family farm on Dutch Lane. Gottlieb was married to Adeline Behnke (nee Hafer). August was married to Hulda (nee Hafer). I don't know what Adeline and Hulda's relation was, but I'm guessing the familial relation played a role in the $1 sale.
So, as of this month, someone from the Steinke family has lived on the property for 100 years. That's an important milestone. One hundred years is a long time, which is why the Historical Society of Michigan created the Centennial Farm Program. The program "recognizes farms that have remained in the same family for 100 years or more and highlights the farm’s contributions to Michigan’s development. ... (The) property must be a working farm of 10 or more acres that has been continuously owned by the same family for at least 100 years."
I'll be working with my mom this year to fill out the application to get the farm recognized as a Centennial Farm. It'll cost a little more than $1, but I think it'll be money well spent.
The Steinke clan has lived in Southwest Michigan for a long time, so we've been in the newspaper a time or two. If you remember, the first of my direct ancestors came to America from Germany in 1892. Fast forward a couple of decades, and you'll find this clipping from the Jan. 16, 1920 edition of The Herald-Press:
So, as of this month, someone from the Steinke family has lived on the property for 100 years. That's an important milestone. One hundred years is a long time, which is why the Historical Society of Michigan created the Centennial Farm Program. The program "recognizes farms that have remained in the same family for 100 years or more and highlights the farm’s contributions to Michigan’s development. ... (The) property must be a working farm of 10 or more acres that has been continuously owned by the same family for at least 100 years."
I'll be working with my mom this year to fill out the application to get the farm recognized as a Centennial Farm. It'll cost a little more than $1, but I think it'll be money well spent.
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