The Last Farmers
By the early 1940's, Louis Kerler's
surviving children were in the 70's
and 80's. The Kroenings were running their farm, and the Kerler
farm was being run by a tenant farmer.
Louis
Kerler's children cir. early 1940's: August, Marie Kroening, William,
Veronica Muehl, and Louis. Note the fake brick on the house.
Photo supplied by Bill Gutknecht.
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In 1942, recently-married Fritz and Ruth Gutknecht moved onto the
Kerler farm and took over as tenant farmers. The Gutknechts originally
paid the Kerlers half of their farm income, but Ruth convinced her
Uncle Ed Kerler to give them a better deal so that they could have a
better
chance at making a fresh start. It was then agreed that the Gutknechts
would only pay the Kerlers $100 a month in rent. Fritz and Ruth ran
the
Kerler farm for the next ten years.
Newspaper
clipping supplied by Bill Gutknecht
On the south side of 104th street, Ruth's brother, Louis, was operating
the Kroening Farm. Originally the farm belonged to Henry Kroening who
acquired it from Edward Kerler. According to a 1930 land plat, it was
owned by Mathilda (Kerler) Addicks for a short time before Louis
Kroening became the final owner of the farm.
Henry
Kroening Farm cir. 1920's. The house (the same one Edward Kerler built
in 1851) was
located on what is now the property at 4017 S. 104th Street. The
adjacent barn sat approximately on what is now the property at 3977 S.
104th Street. The house was destroyed by a fire around 1930. Henry
& Marie replaced it with a new lannon stone house on the other side
of the street, which exists today as 4010 S. 104th Street. Photo
supplied by Bill Gutknecht.
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In
1952,
Fritz and Ruth
left the farming business and built their own house on the corner of
the Louis Kroening Farm. The red, brick house they built is currently
located
at
4081 S. 104th Street. Ed Kroening, Ruth's brother, remained to work on
the Kerler
farm. Over the next three years, Louis Kerler's three remaining
children,
August,
Louis, and Edward, died. Developers were interested in the land,
and it was decided among the Kroenings to sell the land and retire from
farming.
Below is an abbreviated genealogy
to show the Kroenings who were living during the sale
of the Kerler and Kroening farms in 1956.
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Marie P. Kerler Kroening
(1877-1958)
Louis
Henry Kroening (1910-1985) &
Pearl Ida Gutknecht (1911-2005)
George
H.
Kroening & Karel Heise
Louis E. Kroening & Elizabeth "Shonsheree" Giles
Paula Kroening1
Margaret Kroening & Kurt A. Harry
Edwin
William
Kroening
(1912-1996) & Elizabeth Ruth Zaun (1912-1989)
Holly
J.
Kroening & Bruce Melloch (1949-1996)
Mark J. Kroening
Ruth Marie Kroening
(1917-2014) & Fritz Gutknecht (1918-2001)
Bill Gutknecht2 & Grams Netko
Jean Gutknecht
& Howard Helmle3
(1944-2011)
Bonnie Gutknecht
& Frank M. Stanislawski
Mary
Louise Kroening
(1924-2009)
& Adrion Clifford Isaacson (1917-1967)
Barbara
L. Issacson
Kathleen R.
Isaacson & Eugene W. Hamm
Russell A.
Isaacson (1956-2001)
Elaine M.
Isaacson & AlwynY. Philippa
Dana E.
Isaacson
James Isaacson
1. Paula Kroening is a descendant still living on the old farm.
Her house, which is just four houses away from my mom's, was built by
her father on property that was once owned by her
great-great-grandfather, John Kerler.
2. Bill Gutknecht contributed a lot of material to this project.
3. Howard's mother,
Bernice, was a
third-grade-teacher at Jefferson Elementary School in Greenfield in the
late 1970's. Ironically, the school (now a church)
sits on land that was once owned by the Kerlers.
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The genealogy below shows the
Kerler lineage to Frank Baldwin. Frank was a major contributor to this
project.
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Emma
Kerler
(1879-1959) & Albert Kurtze (1881-1959)
Louise Selma Kurtze (1907-1987) & Rev.
Frank L. Baldwin (1914-1989)
Rev.
Frank Baldwin
& Barbara E. Ellson
Carol Baldwin & David Guth, Jr.
Walter Kurtze
(1910-1963) & (1) Marie Pinzel & (2) Viola (Holtze) Ludwig
(1913-1995)
Nancy
Kurtze (1934-2009)
& (1) Paul Carter & (2) Edward
Wainwright
Robert Kurtze
(1913-1999) & Doris Emma Guhr
(1920-1988)
Paul R. Kurtze
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