About a 1 1/2 miles south of the west end of Sheldon, IL, this is a view (looking northwest) of my farm, owned by my mother, Wauneta Staley, and farmed by Melvin Laird at the time of the photo. The Lairds lived in the house, which stood until it burned down in the late 1980s. Currently the only remaining building from this picture are the 3 small structures just to the left of the house -- a milk shed, which has a trough for water from a windmill-pumped well to keep milk cool; the shed-looking building in front of the milk shed which may have been the original house from the 1850s or '60s; & a 2-car garage -- and the wire crib at the far left. [Another view of this homestead, looking southwest, is shown in Photo 104-BIR-10]

The farm has been in our family since 1884.