Bartholows contemplate sale of family farm

   Bernard and Judith Bartholow of Muscatine are on the verge of selling a farm that has been in the Bartholow family for almost 70 years. The Bartholows own a 126-acre farm west of Elm Grove Cemetery that the city of Washington has expressed an interest in purchasing. At its most recent meeting, the city council voted to offer $1.5 million for the property. The Bartholows and their tenant, Winter Farms Inc., must sign the agreement for it to be final.

    City Administrator Dave Plyman said the city needs the property to build a new sewer plant and would also like to enlarge Elm Grove Cemetery and build a connecting road between Highway 1 and Buchanan Street.

    The property has special significance for Bernard because he grew up on that farmstead. His grandfather Emory and his father Charles bought the land in 1941. Bernard was born a year after that and lived on the farm until his graduation from high school in 1960. Bernard has fond memories of the character-building labor he performed as a child.

    ?At 5 years of age, you were expected to work,? said Bernard. ?I was no more than 10 when I was in the field all day. That gave me a good work ethic. I?m proud of the upbringing I had. A farm is the best place in the world to raise kids.?

    Bernard?s affinity for farming began as soon as he crawled out of the cradle. When Bernard was 2 years old,

he ventured outside to find his father in a field.    

    ?He said, ?Does your mother know where you are??? recalled Bernard. ?He knew very well that my mother didn?t know where I was. He wanted to remind me that I did something I wasn?t supposed to do. When we got in the house, he applied the hand properly, and I deserved every bit of it.?

    Bernard remembers that his father used a horse-drawn planter when he was a little boy.

    ?I used to come home from school and hop on the back of the planter,? he said. ?I was so thrilled to be with my dad. I tried to help in every way I could, but I was probably more of a hindrance than anything. He didn?t mind. Dad and I were great buds.?

    Emory helped Charles with carpentry work and odd jobs until his death in 1960. Charles then assumed full ownership of the farm. Charles and his wife Helen lived on the farmstead until 1976 when they moved to town. Charles died in 1990, leaving the farm to Helen. When Helen died in 2002, she left it to her three children. Bernard bought the farm from his siblings that year and has owned it with his wife ever since.

For the full story, see the Aug. 24 edition of The Washington Evening Journal