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For a more recent summary of places in this series, see The Places. For the most recent portfolios of photographs, see Going Back: Midwestern Farm Places. Stark Home Place, West Point, Nebraska See Stark Place for more information The farmhouse in which most of these photographs were taken was originally built by Nancy's mother's grandparents several years after they emigrated from Germany during the 1880s. Nancy visited this farmhouse in 2003 with her sister Sandy and their friend Colleen Hendrick, who grew up in Iowa not far from Omaha. They spent several days driving the back roads near the Herchenbach Place looking for old farm buidings to photograph. Colleen's mom used to sell Shaklee to the people who lived at this place, but she couldn't remember the family's name. While Nancy was photographing the house, she ran across this notice for the auction held to sell its contents, and found the name Aldag on that. Aldag Place No. 1Aldag Place No. 2 Aldag Place No. 3 Some years ago Nancy's aunt Ferny, who lives near West Point, had a serious problem. Her farmhouse was literally falling down around her. She and her husband Marlin got a federal loan to buy one in better shape a few miles away near Aloys, Nebraska, and move it to her own property. At that time Aloys consisted of small set of buildings including a bar and general store, a truck scale, a church, and a couple of houses. Nancy and her mother Opal met Ferny at the store so they could all go look at the house she wanted to buy. While she was waiting for Ferny, Nancy photographed Walter, the store owner, in his store. She also photographed the oversize load when the house was actually transported to its new location. When Nancy returned to photograph Aloys ten years later, Walter had just passed away and the store was closed up. There has been talk of preserving the store, which was an institution of sorts in the area, and moving it to the county fairgrounds, but that might be difficult. Ferny is now living in the house that got moved to her place from Aloys. Ferny's old house, which is still (barely) standing, is one of Nancy's favorite subjects. See Ferny's Place, below. Cecilia's Home, West Point, Nebraska Cecilia Koudele's father built this house over a hundred years ago for his new bride, who died shortly after giving birth to a son. Cecilia's father eventually remarried, and Cecilia and another sister were born. Ceclia never married and lived here her entire life. Nancy's cousin Donna and her husband Mike own a grocery store in West Point. They knew Cecilia from the store, and Mike introduced her to Nancy. Unlike most of the other buildings photographed as part of this series, Ceclia's house was meticulously maintained and has special historical status in Nebraska as a "Century Home," meaning that it was inhabited continously by the same family for over a century. Ceclia passed away soon after this photograph was taken. Nancy visited this place on another expedition with Sandy and Colleen in 2005. The Christensens were the last family to live there. Colleen arranged for Nancy to visit this home in 2004. Colleen's brother-in-law's father, Mr. Cristofferson, is over 80 and still lives there. The images are all of farm buildings, taken from the outside. Cristofferson
Place No. 1 Ferny's Place, Beemer, Nebraska Ferny's place was the second home photographed as part of this series. Aunt Ferny raised a family in this house. Nancy remembers visiting her and uncle Marlin there as a child. They continued to live in it for many years, even as it was deteriorating. In 1995 Aunt Ferny and Uncle Marlin got a federal loan to purchase a house from another farm and move it to the land (see Aloys). The loan included money to tear down their old house, but unbudgeted expenses (including a large tree branch blocking the way) came up in the course of the move. As a consequence the abandoned house is still there. Uncle Marlin passed away in 1997. It wasn't until some relatives removed the exterior siding in 2002 that Nancy discovered its photographic possibilities. Until then it had been too dark inside. She continues to photograph it every year. Uncle Marlin in front of the new house Ferny's
Place No. 3 Herchenbach Place, Wiota, Iowa The Herchenbach place in Wiota, Iowa is the family home of a dear friend of Nancy's sister. This home has been in Colleen's family since 1870, and is designated as an "Iowa Century Farm." Colleen is the youngest of 6 children raised there, and her mother continued living in the house on her own until 1996. Colleen's paternal grandmother was born there in August 1885 and died there in December 1984, just eight months shy of her 100th birthday. Herchenbach
Place No. 1 In 2005, Nancy ran into a man named Schulz in Beemer who had lived in this house as a child. He told her it would be all right to visit, and how to get there. The house is off the main road, overgrown and easily overlooked. Nobody could remember the name of the last owner, but Nancy discovered a mailing tube in the attic addressed to "Floyd Kroeger." Aunt Ferny's parents-in-law (the Moellers) lived a few miles from her farm. The Old Moeller place has been abandoned for around 15 years. Nancy began photographing there in 2005 and has returned every year since. She began with the interior, not knowing how long it would remain safe to enter, especially the upstairs. She has also made photographs of the exterior and some other farm buildings. Each year it's a bit different, as nature does its work; a new hole in the roof can illuminate something she hasn't noticed before. Old
Moeller Place No. 10 Another discovery from a drive near Wiota with Colleen and Sandy. Jim Weber's family lived here when Colleen was a child. They moved to a different farm south of Anita Iowa many years ago, but still farm the land around this abandoned house. |
