She looked around her at the land they worked so hard for together. She remembers the first time they saw it, sprawling hills and meadows, a stream running North to south, and fields as far as the eye could see. It was untouched land, free of humans and machines that would one day carve out a living for them. It was government-owned land to be auctioned off to the highest bidder, and on auction day, only a small group of potential buyers showed up.
He had saved every dollar he made as a carpenter and a government check from injuries he sustained in the war that never should have happened. She worked in town as a schoolteacher and did some sewing and any other work she could find. And in six long years, they were ready to begin a different kind of life, farming the land they hoped to buy when the land auctions were posted in the newspaper with pictures of every parcel being auctioned off. This year's postings were slim, with just three locations up for grabs.
The small group gathered around as the auctioneer began taking bids for the land they wanted, starting at $4,000. "Can I get four thousand?" he asked into the microphone. "Let's go, folks." Do I hear four thousand? He raised his hand, and the auctioneer acknowledged his bid, asking for five thousand, but no hands were raised. Going once, twice, sold to the man in the John Deere hat for four thousand dollars. An amount much less than they ever thought possible. The remaining six thousand they had saved would be put to good use: clearing the land, buying seeds and plants, building a house and barn, buying some livestock, and providing enough fencing to span a six-acre plot where the cows could graze without risk of predators.
In total, they purchased forty acres that really wasn't that much, considering they wanted to plant twenty of those acres with corn and another twenty with soybeans. But they needed a few acres for their vegetable garden, where several kinds would sustain them through the hard winter months. The house and barn would sit on three acres, with lush grass and a stand of ancient oak trees that would provide shade during the hot summer months.
The first year came and went, as did the second, as their dreams and hopes for their land continued to grow with every cut board and every nail pounded. He finished their house in late summer, giving them time to prepare for the harvest, the most important time of the year, as market prices for corn and soybeans were at an all-time high. Day after day, he would harvest the fields sometimes by using the tractor's headlights to guide him through the row upon row of crops. She would bring him his lunch and supper, making him stop long enough to rest a minute, but slowing down wasn't in his nature as he kissed her cheek, wiped the strawberry jam from his mouth, then climbed back on his tractor to continue until he was done.
Time passed, and their dreams kept growing as fast as the crops. The adjacent property, about thirty acres, came up for auction, and they were determined to purchase it if the price wasn't too high. As luck would have it, nobody was interested, and they were the sole bidder as the auctioneer asked to open the bidding at ten thousand dollars. He responded with a five-thousand-dollar bid, and by law, if only one bidder submitted a number and he had the cash on hand, he would be awarded the land. all thirty acres.
Their intentions were to let the land be until they decided the best use of it, and after two years had passed, they decided to separate the land into five-acre plots, which they would lease to other farmers and even a couple of city slickers, as it turned out, who wanted a place to grow vegetables and take them back to the city where fresh vegitables were scarce at best. This plan worked for everybody, and as time passed, they had fenced off even more acreage until all that remained of their corn and soybean fields were more five-acre plots and a waiting list to lease.
Eventually, all but five acres where their house and barn stood became fenced-off parcels containing dozens of varieties of vegetables and fruits. Harvest time became a steady flow of weekend farmers bringing in their crops, with some making a trip to the buyers to sell off all they had grown for a nice chunk of change. Others preserved their bounties by canning almost everything and storing them in root cellars, where they'd stay until needed, especially when they were the only source of fresh vegetables in the cold winter months.
Over time, the farm, which was mostly run by part-time farmers, became a tourist attraction as city folks stopped in to see what all the talk was about. They bought bags of everything and often needed more than one bag to hold it all. Not long ago, they took a ride on an airplane, looking down at row after row of fenced-in parcels, creating a sort of maze filled with the colors of lettuce, green peppers, tomatoes, and strawberries. Carrot tops and cabbage. pumpkins and watermelons, onions and sunflowers.
With hundreds of plots all bringing prosperity to both the lessee and the lessor. They had an average annual income of $2 million, plus a never-ending supply of vegetables and fruit. Now, after a long and often hard life, they sat back and waved to the city folks, most of whom they knew by name. But they still had one more surprise. Years ago, when they first got the land, they walked the tree line until they came across three acres left untouched, except for the Christmas trees they planted. Over one hundred trees, to be exact. And this was the year they would open the tree farm on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. People came from miles to find the perfect tree that they could cut down themselves, just another way a city slicker could brag to his buddies. As it turned out, they purchased another 5 acres and planted more trees.
Decades passed, and the two of them grew tired. They looked out over the many plots they had leased and the acres of planted trees, and a light came on when they talked about selling the individual plots rather than leasing them. The cost, based on her calculations, would bring in over $5 million, more than enough to sustain them until their dying days. And so it was that, when she passed away, with him not far behind, their land became a protected state park where, for many years to come, park employees would watch over everything, making sure the farm would never change. People would travel from miles away to see and purchase only the freshest produce and beautiful Christmas trees that grew right along with their dreams.
Mike 2026
