Our farm and this land have been here long before our family purchased it in October of 2017. This place will be here long after. We know we are just the current stewards of this land and farm. We are striving to do our best to continue to work with the land and honor those who have come before us. Our first year here during the winter months we took the time to look into some of the history of the farm and learn a little about the people who have come before us and their stories.
It was first Purchased on January 29th 1872 from the United States of America in two separate 80 acre parcels. For a time the property changed hands and was owned by different logging and railroad companies. Then a group of German immigrants chose to move the the area and purchase a number of land parcels. The group included Aaron Grody Sr., born in Canada, and soon after marrying Faney (Fronkia) Lichty in Stratford, Ontario in 1878 moved to the Mancelona area with a group of family and friend's from both Canada and Germany. It became known as Walnut Corners, and articles about the happenings can be found later on in the old local paper.
Wendell Grody- Aaron Grody Sr. brother purchased the back 80 acres of our property with his wife Mary Grody August 21, 1882. They had 4 children in total, one girl who survived and the last three were all stillborn. As the story goes the three babies were all buried under a chestnut tree on the property. We have not been able to locate the exact location of the original homestead on the back of our property yet. Shortly after the last birth they sold the property on August 29th 1887 and moved to Bellaire, MI.
Daniel Stahle married Leah Grody, Aaron Grody Sr., sister and moved with the group to Mancelona. Daniel was the lead mason and barn builder for the group, he supervised the original build of our large barn. We do not know a specific build date for the barn but we do know Daniel passed in 1903, and that it had to be built before his passing. It is a traditional barn, livestock in the basement which keeps them cool in the summer months and warmer in the winter. Straw, and hay stored in the upper barn with shoots to drop bales to the lower part of the barn with ease. They are a little dark without lights and can be damp during the spring and fall so it does have its downsides. But there is just something about old barns. The grain silo is long gone and just a foot print remains. It has seen many revisions, additions and had new flooring and boards a few times over. But the foundation is sound.
Conrad and Martha Scholl owned both portions of our property at different times. The back 80 starting December 28th, 1907 and then the front portion separately being purchased December 29th 1916. Their families were part of the original group who immigrated together. Martha was 13 at the time they moved to the area and 7 years later Conrad and Martha were married.
Aaron Grody Jr. purchased the front 80 acres on March 11th, 1918 and was married to Martha (Makel) Grody. They soon divorced and sold the property. Martha's brother Dan Makel purchased the back 80 acres with Conrad and Martha Scholl for the first time December 28th, 1907 though he left the area. Later Dan Makel returned to the area and on May 16th 1919 and purchased the front 80 acres and on November 26th 1919 with his wife Dina purchased the back 80 acres again and combined the property into the 160 acre farm that it is to this day.
This land has history, it silently remembers and and continues to collect the stories of its inhabitants. Piece's of the stories can be read through the soil health, the age of our woods, and specifically planted tree species. Treasures turned up while digging in the soil or discoveries on walks. Even through newspaper articles but only the land knows the whole story.
We started our chapter with the name Danu Hof. Our families heritage is Irish and Scottish- Danu is the Celtic mother goddess and Goddess of Farming. Hof- is German and simply means farm, but if you continue to trace the word origin it is Ancient Norse and not only means farm but it was specifically the community farm; the farm for everyone. We wanted to honor our heritage as well as the heritage of those who have come to this farm before us.
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