Granton dairy breakfast to be held on 150-year family farm
By Cheryl Steinbach
GRANTON – The Gary, Marjorie, and Bryan Dahl farm will host the 2019 Granton FFA Alumni dairy breakfast. Organizers say the family has been on the list to host the breakfast for seven years, due to the personal significance of the year.
August Schlinsog, Sr., purchased the farm in June of 1869. At that time the property consisted of 80 acres, a log house, and a log barn. He replaced that log house with a small wood frame home, which is still part of the existing house; the original log barn also remains on the farm.
August Jr. purchased the farm from his dad in 1907. Shortly after, he built a large addition to the house. He also built the dairy barn on the property. He continued to farm there until he sold it in 1939 to his son, Emil Schlinsog. Emil and his wife Lorraine raised three children on the farm, one of whom was Marjorie. They farmed for many years and decided to expand the dairy barn in 1964. Emil built an addition on the barn that year with the help of Les Keuer, who, ironically, was Gary’s grandpa.
Gary and Marjorie were married in June 1975, renting a house north of Granton while Gary farmed with his Dad at his farm on Highway K. Then, in 1977, Gary and Marjorie purchased Marjorie’s home farm from Emil and Lorraine. They made some renovations to the farmhouse, adding a couple of silos. They also built new heifer facilities and updated the milk house and milking system to include pipeline equipment. The latest addition on the farm was a 54 x 136 shed, built in 2012, which will serve as the main building for the breakfast event.
When Gary and Marjorie purchased the farm, it had 100 acres, a few buildings, and some equipment. At the time of purchase, they entered into an agreement for a 25 percent milk-check consignment program for the purchase and paid for the original farm in five years. Since then, they purchased an additional 260 acres of land in 1982 and rent another 220 acres on the farm where Gary got his start. The primary crops raised on the farm today include corn, soybeans, small grains and hay.
Today, Gary & Majorie’s son Bryan has joined the farming operations. The family will be honored as a sesquicentennial farm, for 150 years, this summer during a ceremony at Wisconsin’s state fair. Marjorie passed away this winter but the family will honor her and her family’s heritage, by keeping her name as a host.
The annual Granton FFA Alumni dairy breakfast will be held on the farm June 2, 7 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., one-half mile north of State Highway 10, at N3870 Pelsdorf Ave., Granton.
Special activities during the event include: music by the Balsam Road Rambler’s band, a display of antique tractors, a petting zoo, and a pedal pull competition.