3/18/81

Introduction

Howard J. Brusveen Born
Scope and Content Note: Howard born on 81-acre farm and lived whole life there until 1977; father, born 1876, came to Green County from Tarpa, Norway, at age 9; mother, born 1882, came to Green County from Jaren, Norway, at age 2 1/2.

Brusveen's Parents Buy 81-Acre Farm in 1912
Scope and Content Note: After marriage in 1907, worked on two farms, later bought 26-acre farm (Section 6, Town of York, Green County), finally bought farm on which Howard born.

Educated at York Center School
Scope and Content Note: Started at age 4 1/2; educated through eighth grade. Accident shucking walnuts at home left him with one eye impaired during first year of school. Walked or skied two miles to school in any weather. No allowances made for farm work. Had chores to do at home before and after school each day.

Father Sells Wood for Extra Winter Income in 1920's and 1930's
Scope and Content Note: Howard often helped.

Typical Chores during Childhood
Scope and Content Note: Helped with milking at age 5. Swept feed alleys and put down bedding. After school, carried silage by hand in steel baskets.

Father Also Does Carpentry and Blacksmithing
Scope and Content Note: Forged own summer and winter horseshoes and plow shares. Forge area located in what became garage.

Howard Brusveen's Family Identified
Scope and Content Note: Father Hans; mother Bertha. Brother Thomas born in 1908. Sisters Mabel and Dora born 1912 and 1914, respectively.

Background of Wife Avis (Colden) Brusveen
Scope and Content Note: Born east of Loyalty School in Town of York, Green County. Father Teddy Colden; mother Elizabeth.

Howard Finishes School in 1930
Scope and Content Note: Would have liked more schooling but began work on farm. Brother Thomas hired out to Oscar Vamstad farm near schoolhouse.

Gets “baptism” Behind Walking Plow in Spring 1930
Scope and Content Note: Clydesdale horses were good pulling team, trained by grading roads. Father gave Howard, small for his age at age 13, rockiest piece to plow. Lines under arm and around neck pulled him over when plow hit big stones. Had to finish field nevertheless.

Other Field Jobs
Scope and Content Note: Rode six-inch disc all day; picked rocks for days after plowing. Also dragged, drilled and planted corn.

All Equipment Repaired by Father in Early Years
Scope and Content Note: No welders in county. No electricity until June 8, 1938, when Wisconsin Power and Light lines reached farm.

Description of Farm Acreage
Scope and Content Note: About 160 rods long, 80 rods wide. Forty-one acres cropland in eight fields; all but seven upland north of farmstead. Anecdote about gully erosion along corn rows after spring storm in 1930's. Howard reorganized field arrangement in contours after buying farm from father in 1960.

Works Clydesdale Horses until 1935
Scope and Content Note: Very old by then; father bought pair of three-year-old Belgian mares, which were worked until 1942.

Buys First Tractor in 1942
Scope and Content Note: Bought tractor to save on feed grain; several consecutive dry years by then. First tractor an Allis-Chalmers B with steel lugs; came with mounted plow. Traded off for John Deere 4B with two 12-inch plows. Sold horses in mid-1940's to Gilman Helmeid in nearby Yankee Hollow.

Rotates Corn, Oats, Alfalfa on Cropland
Scope and Content Note: Kept as much land as possible in hay and grass to avoid erosion. Corn land manured. Oats planted as nurse crop to alfalfa; red clover not hardy enough.

Non-Cropland Kept as Open-Wooded Pasture and Lowland Meadow

End of Tape 1, Side 1

Introduction

Steam Engine Powers Some Farm Implements
Scope and Content Note: Bought cooperatively in the 1920's by York Center farmers Hans Brusveen, Peter Paulson, Bennett Paulson, Ed Thompson and one other. Same farmers also owned silo filler, thresher and corn shredder. Engine often got stuck because lugs pulverized soil. Machine rescued by Clydesdales.

Clydesdales Used for All Transportation Before 1932
Scope and Content Note: Same horses used for farm work also pulled surrey and light buggy.

Livestock Kept to a Minimum in 1920's and 1930's
Scope and Content Note: Kept four brood sows and their litters until 1940's. Kept chickens. Kept 16 to 18 dairy cows, including young stock; tractor power helped support 20 or more.

Water Pumped by Windmill, or by Hand if No Wind
Scope and Content Note: Took up to half a day to pump water by hand for cattle.

Disposition of Crops and Animals
Scope and Content Note: Corn ensiled for feed; leftovers cut and shocked, then shredded in October and used for bedding or feed. Hogs, calves, and “market” cattle sold in New Glarus or Blanchardville.

Milk Sales
Scope and Content Note: Hauled to York Center Cheese Factory on York Center Road. Had 11 patrons at first. Whey barrels filled by cheesemaker for patrons who used it for hog or sometimes calf feed.

Seed Purchases
Scope and Content Note: Bought from New Glarus Feed and Fuel Co-op or Tri-County Co-op Feed in Blanchardville. Seed corn and then grass and alfalfa seed later obtained directly from seed companies.

More on Farm Machinery
Scope and Content Note: Hand-operated grass seeder. Horse-drawn grain binder and horse-drawn corn binder with bundle carrier. Father constructed hay hoist with carrier track in barn loft.

Poor Year for Hay and Corn Harvests in 1936
Scope and Content Note: Harvested only seven loads of hay, mostly foxtails, because of hot, dry weather. Horse-drawn mower had sickle bar and dump rake, but anything mowed slid right through dump rake. Hay and corn harvest just enough for survival of 12 to 15 cattle.

Soil Supplements Used by Brusveens
Scope and Content Note: Manure applied to corn ground only. No commercial fertilizer until 1940's. Sweet clover sometimes used as green manure. Lime not necessary.

Description of Farmhouse
Scope and Content Note: Center section built long ago, of logs. South section added in 1915. North end built on in 1944 to replace old kitchen with wood floor and open rafters.

Howard Brusveen Family Lives in South Section of Farmhouse from 1942 to 1970
Scope and Content Note: Moved into rest of house after parents died. Description of living in south section during the 1940's. Kitchen range bought from Henry Hoesly Hardware in New Glarus for no money down and no set terms. Farm operation shared by Howard (40 percent) and father (60 percent).

Description of Barn and Silo during Early Years
Scope and Content Note: Barn's first section only 20 feet long, enough for five or six cattle. First addition built around 1917; 26 feet added in 1921. Silo constructed of wood staves. More spacious roof built by Brusveens when silo full so they could stand inside and work. Silo collapsed during windstorm in 1960's.

End of Tape 1, Side 2

3/24/81

Introduction

More on the Silo
Scope and Content Note: Built in 1915-1916. Father decided to change and build “hip” roof in 1946. Roof's design described. Anecdote about putting up silo pipes.

Milkhouse Built Adjacent to Barn in Early 1930's
Scope and Content Note: Former milk cooling method was to pump water over ten-gallon milk cans. Swiss cheese production required better cooling and milkhouse. First cooler was cold water in a pipe system over which milk poured. Electric bulk cooler bought in early 1960's.

Windmill Supplies Water from 1917 to the Present
Scope and Content Note: Originally built about 1917 in bottomland for cattle water; moved to present location on upland in 1927. Family members and neighbors laid pipes by hand from well to farm buildings. No leak in system until 1977.

Blacksmith Shop Built South of House in 1916
Scope and Content Note: Built by father, Bennett Paulson and Benhard Brusveen. Part of building made into auto garage. First Ford Model T bought in 1926; father bought Model T touring car in 1929 and converted to truck to haul milk and grain.

Hog House Built South of Barn in 1939-1940
Scope and Content Note: Logs cut on the farm hauled in wagon to sawmill in Postville. Well-built building held five brood sows; lean-to in back used as tractor shed.

Chicken House North of House
Scope and Content Note: Built before Brusveen born; still stands on farm.

Cornerstone on Southwest Corner of Barn Laid by Maternal Grandfather in 1921
Scope and Content Note: Was stonemason all his life. Paternal grandfather, a blacksmith, also a good woodsman, grubbed prairies and cleared land west of New Glarus.

Grandparents All Came from Norway
Scope and Content Note: Mother's parents, Thorston and Ingeborg (Ellefsrud) Ragnhildrud, brought her to the United States in 1884. Earned living by farming, stonework and bridge construction. Father's parents, Haldor and Marit (Venden) Brusveen, brought him to the United States in 1885. Earned living by blacksmithing, clearing timber and some farming.

Specific Location of Brusveen Farm
Scope and Content Note: Straddles York Center Road in middle of Section 11, Town of York, Green County. Parents earlier owned 26-acre farm straddling present State Highway 39 at Drummond Valley in Section 6. Before buying that farm, had worked on the 60-acre Venden farm now bisected by 39 just north of Highway 78 in Section 5.

End of Tape 2, Side 1

Introduction

Brusveen Baptized, Confirmed, Married at York Center Lutheran Free Church
Scope and Content Note: Old church located southeast of York Memorial Lutheran Church which is at junction of Highways 39 and 78. Was torn down and replaced during congregation's centennial celebration in 1955. Discusses membership schism in late 1800's. Brusveen has served church in different capacities.

Leaves School after Eighth Grade to Help on Farm
Scope and Content Note: Father 54 years old at the time; Howard felt obligated to help.

Begins Full-Time Carpentering in 1950
Scope and Content Note: By 1949, farm could not support both families. Brusveen sold share of cattle to work with Olin Nelson. One of a crew of five that built barns and homes. after Nelson died in early 1950's, worked with Bernie Barr, Arthur Juve and Orvin Phillipson to build homes and barns, install barn cleaners, etc.

Father Rents Out Farmland in Late 1950's
Scope and Content Note: Decided farm becoming unprofitable, so rented to neighbors. Howard disturbed because land cropped and nothing returned to soil.

Howard Brusveen Buys Farm in 1959-1960
Scope and Content Note: Money borrowed from local source and Federal Land Bank for land contract purchase. Paid $100 per acre. Laid out upland on contours and strips. Also rented about 20 acres from nearby 40-acre farm.

Interview Interrupted by Arrival of Visitor

Tape-Recorded Interview Resumes after Visitor Leaves

Gets Clear Title to Farm by 1966
Scope and Content Note: Bought out interests of parents, brother, sisters; converted all debts to Federal Land Bank. Bought almost all used equipment, through Bank of New Glarus. Savings in Bank of New Glarus was basis of credit.

Makes Own Farm Repairs
Scope and Content Note: Bought welder; worked in shop adjoining garage. Had no repairs made in town; left good working equipment when he quit farming.

Resumes Basic Corn, Oats, Hay Crop Rotation after Contouring
Scope and Content Note: Contouring consolidated upland 41 acres into 77-foot wide strips running from one property line to the other. Tried to keep at least half in hay.

Seed Information from Old Neighbors in Early Years
Scope and Content Note: Criteria for hay seed choice were thriftiness in summer and survival in winter. Corn seed came from best ears in field; dried in attic of house.

Corn Planting Done with Hand Planter until 1946
Scope and Content Note: Plant marker marked three rows at a time; could plant five or six acres a day with two hand planters. Still uses one planter for garden sweet corn.

Begins Using Hybrid Corn Seed in Late 1930's
Scope and Content Note: Impressed with Alvin Paulson's results after he won bushel of hybrid seed in mid-1930's. Improved drought resistance; higher yield. Open-pollinated varieties used before hybrids were Golden Glow and another variety. [Brusveen recalled the hybrid's name, Yellow Murdock, in an unrecorded discussion on July 7, 1981.]

Use of Commercial Fertilizers Begun in 1938
Scope and Content Note: Very little used at first, for corn. Each year, gradually increased amounts. Never keen on commercial fertilizer; now convinced of its overuse.

Pasture Land Used until 1977
Scope and Content Note: About 40 acres, open wooded; could not go in with implements so pastured cattle there. About nine acres in bottomland plowed under and reseeded occasionally.

Pastures and Water Supply Both Improved by Contouring
Scope and Content Note: Well on hill was critically low by 1959. after contouring, water held on hill instead of running down valley. Galvanized steel pipes laid in 1927 now need replacing, especially under barnyard; water level itself not reason for improvement.

End of Tape 2, Side 2

Introduction

Brusveen Grows Oats during Entire Farm Tenure

Hogs Raised until Early 1950's
Scope and Content Note: Breeds included Duroc Jersey, Spotted Poland China, Belted, Land Race. Land Race lean but difficult to raise to 220 pounds. Hogs and chickens gone after early 1950's, after which grains fed to dairy cattle.

Chickens Raised until Early 1950's
Scope and Content Note: Kept from 100 to 125 chickens per year; kinds included White Rock, Plymouth Rock, White Leghorn, Brown Leghorn, Bantees. in early years, eggs brought important income to buy boots, clothes, groceries.

Work Horses
Scope and Content Note: Heavy-footed Clydesdales great work horses. Mares bred for colts in addition to field work. Colts sold; not needed on farm. Description of various wagons pulled by horses.

Rocks Picked from Fields Every Season
Scope and Content Note: In early days, rocks picked, piled, unpiled, hauled to crusher, crushed for lime; lime hauled to and spread on fields.

Every Farmer Owns Surrey Before Model T's Arrive
Scope and Content Note: Description of surrey. First area Model T Ford bought by Bennett Paulson. Brusveen given first ride to York Center Cheese Factory and back.

Plows Seven to Eight Inches Deep Using Horse Power
Scope and Content Note: Farm soil shallow loose soil over deep red clay. if plowed too deep, moldboard would not scour. First had walking plow, later obtained David Bradley riding plow which was used until first tractor purchased.

Buys Tractor from Erb Implement Company, Inc. in New Glarus
Scope and Content Note: Tractor, unlike horses, did not eat anything when unused. Had steel lugs and mounted 16-inch plow. Bought corn cultivator and corn planter in 1946-1947; worked for neighbors for extra income. [Also see Tape 1, Side 1, 25:10.]

Other Tractors Obtained
Scope and Content Note: Sold Allis-Chalmers B to George Lewis of Forward. Bought McCormick H in 1946 from brother-in-law Ed Jorenby. Was first tractor in community with rubber tires. Dependable even in coldest weather; kept until 1977, by which time had also bought two McCormick Super C's.

Corn-Raising Implements Change from Horse-Drawn Cultivator, Planter and Binder to Tractor and Combine
Scope and Content Note: In 1950's, father began to rent neighbors' combine for harvesting. Brusveen continued renting in 1960's. Combine covered 30 to 40 acres per season.

Buys First Grain Binder from Zumpker Brothers of New Glarus

Buys Used Haybalers
Scope and Content Note: Bought first at auction in Belleville, second from neighbor in exchange for pick-up truckload of corn plus $75. Brusveen fixed up both balers; probably still used in neighborhood. Service important in keeping good farm machinery.

End of Tape 3, Side 1

Introduction

Converts First Allis-Chalmers B Tractor to Rubber Tires Soon after Purchase
Scope and Content Note: Four-inch lugs on gravel road would “just about shake the liver out of you.”

Later Uses Grain Binder on Neighbors' Lands for Extra Income
Scope and Content Note: Binder a McCormick with four levers; had to operate one or another constantly. Earlier-owned binder, also with no bundle carrier, was much heavier, requiring three horses to pull it. Anecdote about once shocking grain behind binder without rest as a storm was coming.

Shocks Corn Behind a Binder Also
Scope and Content Note: Heavier and slower work; bundle carrier used behind binder eliminated need to run during shocking.

Other Equipment
Scope and Content Note: Corn elevator bought as junk and rebuilt; also owned auger elevator. Corn picker owned during last six or seven years on farm.

Never Irrigates

Begins to Use Commercial Fertilizers in 1940's
Scope and Content Note: Used sparingly because expensive; also, felt it was a contaminant. Discusses similarity between fertilizers and nuclear fallout as contaminants to environment.

Brusveen Writes Often to State and National Government Representatives
Scope and Content Note: Responses varied; has no respect for local politics. Believes should relate “Golden Rule” to political problems; international examples of its neglect discussed.

Uses Some Commercial Fertilizers and Pesticides in Later Years
Scope and Content Note: Fertilizer use minimal before 1960. Insecticide use required after 1970 when Brusveen grew corn two consecutive years on bottomland. No major insect problems. Herbicides not used very much.

Noxious Weeds
Scope and Content Note: Yellow rocket first seen in mid-1960's. Every year, family members all pulled out weeds after rains. Mustard also a problem; pulled twice a season from corn fields. Used scythe and corn knife in open, wooded pasture to cut thistles, a three-day job for whole family.

Family Members Work Both on and off Farm
Scope and Content Note: After 1930, brother Thomas worked another farm a few years before becoming a barber in Monticello. Both sisters hired out to help support family. Howard worked farm at home; wife Avis helped with farm work after marriage. Howard a full-time farmer besides carpentering during later years.

End of Tape 3, Side 2

Introduction

Works at Both Farming and Construction
Scope and Content Note: Even while full-time carpenter in 1950's, Brusveen did chores and field work when needed by father. Earlier in father's tenure, neighbors often worked together on their construction jobs.

Full-Time Farmer and Part-Time Builder after 1960
Scope and Content Note: Construction work included adding onto Sylvan Erickson's barn, installing barn cleaner in brother-in-law Byron Kittelson's barn. Had green chopper during last ten years, so collected and fed green chop forage before and after construction work most days. Green fed forage more effective than pasturing.

Brusveen Himself Does Most Work with Implements in the Field

Brusveen Children Help on Farm Before Eventually Leaving
Scope and Content Note: Steve, born in 1950, a good, conscientious farm worker but did not like milking. Now a fourth generation woodworker who lives in New Glarus and works in Madison. Betty, born in 1953, also helped on farm; later worked with deaf people.

Exchange Work with Neighbors
Scope and Content Note: Worked well without formal record keeping until around 1970. Seasonal help not needed except back in days of cooperative harvesting work. Women made meals together. People enjoyed the company although outside work was hard and dirty. Cooperatively owned 22-36 McCormick International Harvester Tractor succeeded steam engine later.

Family Garden Furnishes Large Part of Food Supply
Scope and Content Note: Father and children prepared garden; mother and Avis cared for it and canned. Garden hand hoed.

Neighborhood Butchering
Scope and Content Note: Neighbors often butchered beef or hogs cooperatively on various farms during winter months. Describes goodness of home-canned meat.

Garden Care More Intensive Than Field Care
Scope and Content Note: Plowed in spring and cared for with hand tools. Area was 40 feet by 60 feet. Shared sweet corn, planted around edge of field, with raccoons. Cultivated garden in early days with riding horse and one row cultivator. Later used two-horse cultivator with pin-break to avoid rock damage.

Farm Shifts to Emphasize Dairy Production in Early 1950's
Scope and Content Note: Kept some chickens and brood sows until the mid-1950's. in 1946, sold eggs to Southern Wisconsin Produce for 74 cents a dozen. No higher in price today, which doesn't seem right.

Size of Dairy Herd Expands from 12 to 25 Head Between 1920's and 1970's
Scope and Content Note: Included all ages. in 1920's and 1930's, no milk produced from December 1 until around March 15 each year. in later years, kept about 15 to 16 milkers at a time; cows freshened to keep milk flow even all year. Cream separated from first milk in spring and made into butter; stored at neighbor's springhouse all summer.

End of Tape 4, Side 1

Introduction

Stream on the Farm
Scope and Content Note: Farm stream was deep enough for fishing. Anecdote about falling off bridge into water as child. Stream fell in size after well drilled.

Dairy Feeding Done Largely by Hand Through the Years
Scope and Content Note: Before hay baled, loose hay in field put up into haycocks with dump rake. Cured for two or three days. Harpoon fork used to hoist hay to mows. Seven mows in barn; each held about 1,000 pounds of hay spread with a fork. Temperature probably at least 100 degrees in mow.

Feeds More Grain, Feed Supplements and Green Chop after Silo Collapses
Scope and Content Note: Fed mostly concentrated grain rations and hay in winter. Fed hay and grain also in early years if silo froze up. if a dry year, fed shredded stalks combined with diluted molasses; enough to sustain dry cows through months.

Begins Buying Feed Supplements and Concentrates Periodically after Early 1940's
Scope and Content Note: Some roughage not nutritious enough. Experimented after obtaining information from advertisements in farm papers.

Need for Supplements and Medications Increases after 1960
Scope and Content Note: Seemed to be more diseases among livestock than before Brusveen purchased farm.

Improves Grade Herd of Early Days to Purebred Standards
Scope and Content Note: No paperwork kept. in 1930, got purebred calves from Roscoe Smith near Monroe for 4-H project; home improvement of herd begun at this time. by the 1960's, utilized artificial insemination from purebred bulls. Hogs were improved also.

Keeps Bull from Time to Time Before Artificial Breeding Becomes Reliable
Scope and Content Note: Artificial breeding part of attempt after 1960 to build more productive herd and farm; began to haul 60 acres worth of hay from nearby rented land.

1936 as a Year of Summer Drought and Winter Deep Snows
Scope and Content Note: Harvested only seven loads of hay instead of normal 30 to 40 loads. No land available to rent to obtain extra hay. Rain in September allowed harvest of foxtails and any other plants. Salvaged everything possible from fields. Winter had five weeks below zero degrees; couldn't get off the farm for over three weeks. No mail delivery was possible for two weeks.

In 1930's, Everyone Works Own Farm So Little Nearby Land to Rent
Scope and Content Note: Brusveens and relative rented farm halfway to New Glarus for several years in early 1930's.

In 1960's, Brusveen Rents Land Wherever Possible
Scope and Content Note: Used three tractors for convenience. Rented on halves of crop instead of renting for cash.

Health Prevents Desired Expansion of Farm to 120 Acres
Scope and Content Note: Wanted to buy 40-acre farm to the northeast. at first, lost out to a higher bidder; later chances passed up because of developing problems with neck and shoulders.

Builds Up, But Never Registers, Holstein Herd
Scope and Content Note: Herd was of registrable quality, however. Also had purebred hogs for breeding stock. Hog variety switched from time to time to follow market demand.

Returns Crop and Animal By-Products to Land When Possible
Scope and Content Note: Spread manure with tractor-drawn spreader from 1940's on. Piled manure until he had time to put it out on corn ground. Crop residues salvaged when useful for feed or put back in ground for humus.

Hauls Milk to York Center Cheese Factory until 1967
Scope and Content Note: York Center factory remained in operation, but smaller farmers lost control when cheesemakers increased volume, relied on larger pro- ducers, and reduced quality of product. Next, sold milk to Pure Milk Products Association (PMPA). Considered PMPA satisfying to an extent, but overall, thought all cheese discriminated against farmers. Last two or three years, sold milk to Milwaukee Cheese Company in Monroe.

Remains Grade B Milk Producer until Retirement
Scope and Content Note: If health had permitted, would have updated barn and upgraded equipment to produce grade A. Felt, however, he was already producing milk under grade a standards.

End of Tape 4, Side 2

4/9/81

Introduction

Begins Mechanizing Dairy Operation in Mid-1940's
Scope and Content Note: First milking machine, with two DeLaval units, bought in 1946. Before then, took a “long couple of hours” to milk 15 cows by hand. Mechanization allowed addition of a few head of cattle but required more care to maintain clean, bacteria-free equipment and standards. Converted from can storage to bulk tank in 1964. Never interested in installing a pipeline milking system.

Owner-Sampler Milk Testing
Scope and Content Note: Kept track of breeding records but not milk weights. Owner-sampling just as good and honest as Dairy Herd Improvement Association (DHIA). Describes possible ways to cheat if one so inclined. Decided it didn't help a farmer to emphasize production records, but to upgrade herd in both milk weights and butterfat. Learned owner-sampling procedure from another owner-sampler; bought own bottles and scale.

Hauls Milk for Family after 1930
Scope and Content Note: Took over hauling chore from brother; hauled milk in light wagon and both horses. at first had no filters or coolers so hauled twice a day; later obtained a milk cooler in which water flowed through pipes. Reduced milk hauling to once a day.

Brusveens' Milk Made Into Swiss Cheese
Scope and Content Note: Required extra cleanliness of coolers from milk solids buildup. Quality of swiss cheese reduced after state regulated butterfat content. Cheesemaker used separate cheese kettle for milk with increased butterfat level to make cheese for farmer-patrons.

Condition of York Center Road to Cheese Factory from Farm
Scope and Content Note: Was dirt or dirt and rocks until 1933; then graveled.

Possible Origin of Brusveen's Neck and Shoulder Problem
Scope and Content Note: Possibly related to incident with milk hauling wagon at age 9 or 10. Fell out of milk wagon when horses bolted; landed on head on frozen rocky ground.

Uses for Buggies and Wagons
Scope and Content Note: Surrey for luxury riding; buggy for regular trips to Blanchardville and New Glarus. Hayrack wagon and heavy hauling “lumber” wagon used for other functions.

Farm Trucks
Scope and Content Note: First truck a home-converted Model T Ford in late 1920's. Next a V-8 Ford coupe bought and converted in 1943; traded for factory-built 1949 Ford pickup. Finally, traded for 1966 pickup, still used to haul wood for heating house in New Glarus.

More on York Center Road Improvement
Scope and Content Note: Blacktopped in 1933 and made freer of dust, although traffic may have increased as a shortcut between county highways. Road had already been relocated from factory to State Highway 39 in 1933. Formerly had run east to area of junction of County Trunk a and County Trunk J, then swung north to Highway 39. Anecdote about having to hand-shovel road from farm to Highway 39 during winter of 1936.

Brusveens' Immediate Neighborhood
Scope and Content Note: Close neighbors existed around work and joint ownership of machinery; “everyone was pretty much equal.” Good neighbors north of farm, but formed a separate crew. Always got help when needed it; not like that today.

Farmhouse Changes Little after Kitchen Rebuilt in Early 1940's
Scope and Content Note: Bathroom built in mid-1940's. Water heater installed in 1959.

First Area Telephone Company, Farmer-Owned, Begins in 1916
Scope and Content Note: Father a member of cooperative which built and maintained own lines; serviced by United Telephone Company, which later became owner. First telephone in house still hangs on wall of den in New Glarus house.

Electric Lights First Obtained in 1938
Scope and Content Note: Before that, lantern and aladdin lamps lighted house; kerosene lantern lighted barn.

First Refrigerator Received as Wedding Present in 1942
Scope and Content Note: Crosley Shelvador, it still operates in basement at New Glarus home.

First Freezer Obtained in Early 1950's
Scope and Content Note: Used for garden produce and home butchered meat.

End of Tape 5, Side 1

Introduction

Freezer Still Important for Preserving Garden Produce in New Glarus
Scope and Content Note: Easier than canning, although Brusveen misses taste of good canned meat. Used to can 40 to 50 quarts of meat a year.

First Electric Washing Machine Obtained in Late 1930's
Scope and Content Note: Purchased just after electricity installed. Recalls first washing machine, operated by hand lever. First electric dryer obtained in mid-1960's.

Brusveen Listens to Radio from Childhood On; Television Since 1954
Scope and Content Note: First radio in family an Atwater-Kent. in 1940, bought a Silvertone from Sears. Claims first item heard after once picking up radio from repairman was news of Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. In 1948 bought one of the first table model AM/FM Philco radios. Whole family would hurry with evening chores in order to hear “The Lone Ranger”by 6:30 p.m. Bought television in 1954.

News Shows Important during World War Ii
Scope and Content Note: Brusveen's brother served in France during the Battle of the Bulge and D-Day.

Buys Television Because Nearly Everyone Else Has One
Scope and Content Note: Bought a used Zenith from cousin Earl Erickson.

Installs House Plumbing in 1945
Scope and Content Note: Plumbing installed with help from neighbors. Gravity-fed system brought water from well at top of hill. Heated bath water on stove range before electricity and hot water heaters.

Heats Both Farm Home and New Glarus Home with Wood
Scope and Content Note: Less expensive. Good neighbors continue to permit access to cut wood on their property, in exchange for other help.

Takes Two Vacation Trips during Career
Scope and Content Note: Went fishing in Canada for a week in 1946 with father-in-law and brother-in-law. in 1972, Brusveens went to Badlands and Black Hills for ten days while son Steve milked. Felt vacations would often lead to neglect of something on a dairy farm.

Spare Time Usually Devoted to Carpentering and Remodeling; Some Photography and Fishing
Scope and Content Note: Started doing photography in 1959; used to fish for trout in local streams after evening work.

Family Goes to New Glarus Or Blanchardville Doctors for Health Care
Scope and Content Note: In 1920's, mother hospitalized in Madison after nervous breakdown. Father had hearing problem and dizziness every morning for years. Brusveen had high blood pressure; arthritis now bothersome.

Neither Son Nor Daughter Interested in Financial Investment Necessary to Take Over Farm
Scope and Content Note: Each spent year at Madison Area Technical College. Son a good farm operator but never cared for milking; opted for wood work. Daughter now a housewife; has worked with the deaf.

End of Tape 5, Side 2

Introduction

Daughter Finds Financial Investment in Farming Too Great for the Return
Scope and Content Note: She and husband started on a farm as hired hands, but wages not good enough. Husband began working for Monroe Cheese Corporation.

Down Payment from Sale of Farm in 1977 Helps Clear Loan with Federal Land Bank
Scope and Content Note: Brusveen had borrowed to buy farm from father on land contract. Later, incorporated all loans and put them into Federal Land Bank. Used some of new owners' down payment to pay off Federal Land Bank in 1977. Farm sold in 1977 for $1,000 an acre; might be worth $1,200 an acre if a willing buyer existed today.

No Neighbor Farmers Offer to Purchase Brusveen Farm
Scope and Content Note: Some interest but no money.

New Owners of Brusveen Farm Do Not Farm It
Scope and Content Note: Charles Bauer and Charles Beckwith bought farm from Brusveen but put more of land into trees. Brusveen respects fact that land not being hurt and will be there again when needed.

Brusveen Believes Bigger, Expanding Farms the Wrong Trend
Scope and Content Note: Large farms alter demand for farmland. with high per-acre prices, high farm loan interest rates, plus taxes and insurance, landowner becomes “a slave to either agriculture or the government.”

Father Once Rents Out Farmland in Late 1950's

Brusveen Obtains Farm Knowledge Mainly by “School of Hard Knocks.”
Scope and Content Note: Absorbed what he wanted to from Wisconsin Agriculturalist, Farm Journal, The Prairie Farmer. Received the Capital Times and the Blanchardville Blade regularly.

Informed by Agriculture Programs on Radio and Television and Soil Conservation Service (Scs)
Scope and Content Note: SCS helped him lay out contours. Also, joined Conservation League in 1950 and planted pine trees in a grove north of the house.

Enters Farming Discussions Mainly with Neighbors
Scope and Content Note: Talked usually during exchange jobs or spare time.

Little Contact with County Extension Agents
Scope and Content Note: Absorbed what he wanted from a few publications. Only real contact with county agents was in youth when he and sister obtained 4-H purebred calves. Little connection with New Deal programs or Farmers Home Administration.

Assistance of SCS Support Programs
Scope and Content Note: Discusses dairy parity prices; contrasts dairy farming with automobile manufacturing and relates the difference to political discrimination.

Farm Operators Who Survive Will Be the Most Efficient, Not the Biggest

Federal and State Election Results Benefit the Larger Operators and Owners, Not the Most Efficient
Scope and Content Note: Federal government has often discriminated against farmers altogether. Local election results have not affected farmers much.

Since the 1930's, Brusveen Family Has Leaned Toward the Democratic Party in Elections
Scope and Content Note: In later years, Brusveen saw no difference between Democratic and Republican parties; voted more for individuals advocating his beliefs. Persistent letter-writer on many subjects to representatives and public institutions. Discusses container disposal laws, American Heart Association opinions about dairy products and heart conditions, and the “farm surplus problem.”

Belongs to the National Farmers' Organization (NFO) from Early 1960's Through Early 1970's
Scope and Content Note: Tried through NFO to obtain the right to bargain for milk prices that cover the cost of production plus a reasonable profit margin. Indicates other farmers' organizations, like Farm Bureau or National Farmers' Union, profit from membership without offering such a program.

End of Tape 6, Side 1

Introduction

Participates in NFO Milk Holding Action in Mid-1960's
Scope and Content Note: Leadership backed down after President Lyndon Johnson received permanent court injunction; Brusveen would have ignored the order. Individuals in an organization cannot be too effective unless they exert themselves.

Participation in Government Set-Aside Programs
Scope and Content Note: Set aside an allocated percentage of his corn land. Program helped in some years, but no real effect in good years. In 1976, yield so poor that program had no effect.

1976 as a Difficult Farming Year
Scope and Content Note: Drought started in 1975 carried into summer of 1976. Following winter was very cold, yet robins and a blackbird stayed on farm year round. Ice storm in March knocked out area's power for nine days, with three inches of ice on telephone wires and trees breaking under strain. First milked by hand, then improvised milking unit using vacuum created by pickup truck

Gravity-Fed Water Supply and Windmill Function Well during Ice Storm of 1977

Brusveen Wants to Participate in Woodland Tax Program, But Needs All His Pasture Land

Builds New House on West Edge of New Glarus
Scope and Content Note: Zoning regulations restricted him from reserving an acre on farm for new home; couldn't get waste percolation test done. New Glarus location easier for water supply, grocery access and resale value. Move ended 61 years living in the farmhouse, most of the time in the south wing.

Daylight Savings Time Worthless to Farmers
Scope and Content Note: Discusses disadvantages and advantages.

Holds Position of Property Tax Assessor in Town of York from 1950 to 1973
Scope and Content Note: Job got more difficult with increasing age and health problems. Also did soil sampling for Green County one fall in mid-1960's, as part of the county's soil sampling service to get mineral requirement data from the University of Wisconsin.

Has Belonged to Sons of Norway Since 1972; Member of Board of Directors for Several Years
Scope and Content Note: Joined to get opportunity to speak Norwegian again. Sings in Norwegian church choir. Neighbors all spoke Norwegian to one another for many years. In early years whole community was Norwegian; first Norwegian neighbor moved out in 1942, and more left after 1960.

Change Among Neighborhood Farms in Town of York
Scope and Content Note: Not nearly as much land utilized today; much of that poorly handled. Brusveen's contemporaries were good operators; fears that once his generation and the one after disappear, no one will be left to utilize land properly, especially if need rises again. New owners of Brusveen's farm leave over 99% of land idle compared to when he farmed it. Believes yearly growth of vegetation, however, can help build and preserve the topsoil.

Brusveen Learns from Schoolbook in 1920's That Japanese Farmers Contoured Their Farmland
Scope and Content Note: In the United States, neither his family nor anyone else in community contoured until federal governmental programs began. Hard to understand why not.

Other Changes in Area's Agricultural Economy
Scope and Content Note: Included transfers into beef and sheep operations and expansions of dairy operations. Little non-farm development.

Brusveen Works on Township Roads, Grading and Removing Snow, from Mid-1950's until Early 1960's
Scope and Content Note: Recalls removing snow with Earl Erickson for a funeral in 1959. Job took from Thursday morning to Tuesday evening; had only about four hours' sleep and three meals, given by neighbors, during that time.

End of Tape 6, Side 2

7/7/81

Introduction

Arrival at Pine Acres Farm, Formerly Owned by Brusveen Family and Now Owned by Bauer and Beckwith
Scope and Content Note: Sounds include house wrens, car doors, and wind blowing against the microphone of the tape recorder.

Beginning of Farm Tour-Interview on Location at the 80-Acre Farm in Section 11, Town of York, Green County
Scope and Content Note: Quick walk past flower garden and up ridge toward barn; high growth of bromegrass and chicory noted.

Examination of Tractor Attachments Stored Outside Behind Barn
Scope and Content Note: Home-made carrier for fencing materials and other items, and grapple fork for picking up loose hay both lay idle. Brusveen describes each.

Entering the Upper Level of the Barn
Scope and Content Note: Brusveen describes hay hoist system for loading hay into the mows. Lumber once salvaged from a building still stored. Sickle bar mower found. Corn bedding chopped by Brusveen still covers floors. Hay now stored in barn probably made up for Bauer and Beckwith on share basis.

Walk Up the Ridge from the Barn Through a Barnyard Above It
Scope and Content Note: Multiflora observed as farmyard hedging; planted by Brusveen to help keep cows in yard. Occasionally froze out though.

Observing the Windmill
Scope and Content Note: Brusveen describes it. Mechanism still connected but hasn't operated since new owners installed pressure system by the house. Windmill now vine-covered.

Continuing Up the Ridge Across Acreage Formerly Contour Stripped
Scope and Content Note: Contour strips now grown over with bromegrass; few alfalfa plants remain. Strips were 76 to 78 feet wide alternating corn, oats and hay. Brusveen points out an old contour strip boundary.

Anecdote About Accident Falling Into Badger Hole in 1975
Scope and Content Note: Tore arm from shoulder to elbow while haying. Badgers still quite active in the area.

Accident Adds to Mobility Problem Which Eventually Forces Early Retirement
Scope and Content Note: Would liked to have kept farm two or three more years to finish paying for it before giving it up.

Nearing Crest of Ridge and Far End of Former Upland Cropland
Scope and Content Note: Forty-one acres of cropland lay on this ridge of the farm.

Standing on Crest of Ridge
Scope and Content Note: Four corners of farm seen from crest. Brusveen discusses landmarks and farm layout; discusses some neighbors whose lands or buildings are visible from ridge. Talks about windmills; believes should return to them instead of over-reliance on electric pumps.

Walking Down Ridge Aiming for Other Side of Farmstead
Scope and Content Note: Discusses hauling manure up the ridge in bad winter weather. [Wind on microphone a problem here.]

Discussion of Advantage of Continual Undisturbed Growth of Grass on the Ridge
Scope and Content Note: Plant materials allowed opportunity to decay; should help topsoil build back up a bit.

Standing at Bottom of Former Upland Cropland, Northwest of Barn
Scope and Content Note: Thick growth of crownvetch and birdsfoot trefoil observed in one contour strip; never planted by Brusveen but probably planted as contaminants with alfalfa. Discussion of weed seeds contaminating crop seed.

Observing Burr Oak Grove West of Farmstead
Scope and Content Note: Has been good source of building materials.

Sampling Black Raspberries Growing Wild Along Field Road Just Above Barn
Scope and Content Note: Oak grove next to road was open wooded pasture for cows; was hog grazing ground before that. Area is steepest part of farm.

Examination of Steep Portion of Lane on West Side of Barn
Scope and Content Note: Driving tractor here could be “hazardous to your health.” if tractor got stuck on way up, could fall back over 15-foot bank into pasture land. in the early 1950's, Brusveen and tractor fell backward while manure spreader attached.

Examination of Old Silo Location
Scope and Content Note: After silo collapsed, Brusveen compensated with concentrates and dry feed. Couldn't afford to erect new one. Wood stave silo kept silage well enough but would be hard to find today in the region.

Examining Stanchion Level of Barn
Scope and Content Note: Nothing changed since early 1970's. Brusveen rebuilt this part in 1960 with oak lumber from own grove, sawed by Robert Hanson west of Blanchardville. Manure shovel, barn scraper and straw fork still visible in barn. All stanchions still in place, but rusting a bit.

Standing in Corn Crib Portion of Hog House
Note: Tape recorder malfunction between barn and hog house necessitated farm power sources for remainder of interview.

Hog House Corn Crib Swept Clean
Scope and Content Note: One of the current farmhouse residents now sleeping in it.

Anecdote About Dog Eating Mice during One Season's Cleaning of the Corn Crib
Scope and Content Note: Mice escaping when cleaning operation reached bottom of crib. Little brown collie swallowed two to four dozen mice; then vomited them in the yard, just at dinner time.

Interviewer Recapitulates Tour from Field Road and Silo to Hog House Because of Recorder Malfunction

More Comments on Hog House Structure

Viewing South End of Farm through Window on South Side of Hog House
Scope and Content Note: Field just below hog house was “probably the best acre and a half in this part of the country.” Produced more feed than five acres of bottomland or ridge land. Rough hillside east of driveway was site of Brusveen's initiation with a walking plow. [See also Tape 1, Side 1, 14:30.] One of farmhouse residents seen gardening in bottomland.

Interview Continues in Garage
Scope and Content Note: Tour proceeded from hog house/granary to chicken house. Date carved in stone of chicken house wall indicates 1915, but Brusveen believes structure built before that. Scrap iron lying beside chicken house salvaged from dairy processing plant in Monticello; intended to be used for repairs and equipment construction. Tour moves to root cellar just north of farmhouse.

End of Tape 7, Side 1, Part 1

Introduction

Discussion of Root Cellar
Scope and Content Note: Dug out of hillside. Used to store potatoes and vegetables in winter. Used also as a storm cellar in summer; threat of big storms coming up valley from southwest.

Discussion of Back Yard Area
Scope and Content Note: Old summer kitchen, now a shed, separate from house; still has Brusveen's mother's stencil decoration inside.

Discussion of Farm Blacksmith Shop Located Next to Garage
Scope and Content Note: Old iron and materials cleaned out; portion of forge remains. Some woodworking power tools formerly housed in shop taken to New Glarus home.

Viewing Southeast Area of Lawn and Farm from Blacksmith Shop Doorway
Scope and Content Note: Lawn area just outside shop kept as croquet court; farm neighbors came for night games which had severe ground rules. Games could go until 3 or 4 a.m. Closer examination of stony area, uncropped lowland, and formerly cropped bottomland.

No Farming Relatives Remain in the Area
Scope and Content Note: Neighbors were all relatives of Brusveen from time he was born until early 1960's. at least 7 out of 10 or 11 nearby farms owned by relatives at one time. No old neighbors remain in 1981. Only one relative, a third cousin, still farms in the 6- to 7-mile-long valley of York Center Road.

Brusveen Knows Only a Few of the Neighborhood Farmers Today
Scope and Content Note: Met some who moved in during his later farming years. Clifford Rear, a son-in-law of Oscar Vamstad, took over Vamstad family farm of about 240 acres southwest of Brusveen farm.

Interview Continues after Water Break
Note: Day of interview is over 90 degrees Fahrenheit outside; interview continues in shade of blacksmith shop.

Sale of Farm Helps Pay for New Home in New Glarus
Scope and Content Note: Believes the agricultural land should be preserved but wouldn't have minded if new owner had built houses on the non-agricultural land.

What Brusveen Might Have Done Had the Opportunities Been There
Scope and Content Note: Would have expanded operation within the 81-acre farm to make it more prosperous; would have improved equipment storage facilities. Getting rich, though, wouldn't have brought more happiness.

Satisfied with Life and Operation of the Farm

Discussion of Farming as a Way of Life Versus Farming as a Business
Scope and Content Note: Government hasn't made effort to preserve family farm. Nationally, the United States has reached dangerously low level of skilled agriculturalists with “down-to-earth experience.” Modern equipment alone won't sustain agriculture. Wishes farming could remain a way of life but feels too many elements of big business are invading.

Farm Incorporation
Scope and Content Note: Believes wisdom of family decision to incorporate farm depends on financial situation and whether farm being passed to younger family members. Government actions also affect such decisions.

Government Support of Agriculture and of Other Industries
Scope and Content Note: Discusses President Ronald Reagan's recent decision to cut dairy price support level to 70% of parity. Questions why agriculture shouldn't have parity as one looks at oil and automobile industries; why an automobile sells for $10,000 with full sales lots and gas costs $1.25 per gallon.

Opinion That People Living on Bauer-Beckwith Land Today Will Live Well on It as Long as Their Outside Business Holds Up

Pine Trees
Scope and Content Note: Trees planted over the years while member of Green County Conservation League; planted thousands by hand.

Major Factors Leading to Success of Brusveen's Farm Operation
Scope and Content Note: Had to be conservative by doing most work himself and buying only what he needed.

Why Brusveen Bought Farm in 1960 Instead of Working in Construction
Scope and Content Note: Felt it was his life to live on the farm. if had the chance to start all over, would have been other things of interest, but he probably would have farmed. Believes that farming has challenges, but “there isn't a greater place to live in the world than out on a farm.”

Anecdote About Cow Bought for Top Price in Early 1960's That Had to Be Marketed Again Within Three Days
Scope and Content Note: Cow very sick; sellers had doctored her up for the auction. Sickness showed up the next day. Brusveen got only 10 percent return on what he paid for the cow; no choice but to absorb the loss.

Anecdote About Cow Close to Freshening That Died Within a Few Hours Between Brusveen's Visits
Scope and Content Note: Government “disgusting” because does not allow farmers to write off such a loss.

More on NFO
Scope and Content Note: NFO farmers dumped milk in mid-1960's. Stopped after an injunction by President Lyndon Johnson, but Brusveen felt NFO should have continued. Brusveen dropped membership about three years before quitting farming but felt the organization's policies and goals were right.

Life More Difficult Today Than 25 or 30 Years Ago
Scope and Content Note: A would-be farmer would have harder time starting without better finances now. Would go back to carpentering if not for specific health problem. “I'm just a helpless creature out at the end of the stick right now.”

New Home in New Glarus as Compared with Old Farm Home
Scope and Content Note: New home better insulated, but old one better sheltered on slope surrounded by pine trees.

More on New Home in New Glarus
Scope and Content Note: New house, built for wife Avis, liked by both. Avis took care of Brusveen's parents for many years; also raised family just in south wing of house. Married 40 years.

Feelings About Interview; Nothing Else to Add
Scope and Content Note: Probably will think of something later. Interview ended with provision that it may be continued later.

Huge Burr Oak Broken off during Ice Storm in Winter of 1976
Scope and Content Note: Burr oak, a foot in diameter, broken along with maples all along the valley. Bluebirds used to live in bird houses in the oak grove, then started disappearing; now reappearing.

End of Interview