The Hutmacher Site

• Just an Ordinary Farmstead
• The House
• The Granary
• The Garage - Summer Kitchen
• The Chicken Coop
• The Barn
• The Root Celler

Stone Slab Construction

• Introduction
• Where They Got the Materials
• Building the Walls
• Wattle and Daub Wall
• Finishing the Outside Walls
• The Roof
• Finishing the Inside
• The Beehive Chiminey

The Restoration Effort

• The Hutmachers Sell the Farm
• The Farm Falls into Disrepair
• PND Takes Over
• The Learning Process
• The Problem with Cement
• Improving the Roof
• The Site as a Learning Tool

The Hutmacher Family

• Family Stories
• Valentine Hutmacher
• Frank Hutmacher

Homesteading the Prairie

• The Homestead Act
• A Typical Homestead

Pioneer Life

• Dealing with the Environment
• Who Came and Who Stayed
• Nothing was Wasted
• Getting Water
• Keeping Warm
• Subsistance Farming
• The Stress of Living on the Edge

Germans from Russia

• Germans Immigrate to Russia
• Putting Down Roots
• Germans Commumities in Russia
• Falling out of Favor
• On the Move Again
• Preserving the Culture
• The Fate of Those that Stayed
• The Melting Pot

Visitors Were Always Welcome

Visitors were always welcome on the Hutmacher farm. It was well known to family and friends that there was a pot of Veronica’s chicken noodle soup or borscht waiting for visitors after Sunday Mass at St. Edwards.

Playing Tricks

Frank was a little more on the serious side but Veronica liked to joke around. In that respect the Hutmacher children tended to take after their mother.

Life on the Farm

There was always something to do on the farm and “I’m bored” was never heard on the Hutmacher farm. Catherine noted, “Some things were interesting; some not so interesting -- like any family.”