Ben Klasen Farm

Hi Cheryl,
Do you have a personal connection to Ben Klasen? What kind of farm did he operate on the property?

Ben & Theresa (Englemeyer) Klasen were my grandparents. They raised 5 children until moving into Sauk Centre in early 1965.
They were a small farm with cows, pigs, chickens. Today might be called a subsistence farm. Grew all the animal feed; grain, hay, corn. Grew and canned all their own vegetables. Butchered a pig each year, chickens were butchered as needed, & had a cow butchered for beef. Apple & plum trees for jelly and sauces. So the only thing purchased was sugar, coffee, mustard. In the fall would buy a crate of peaches & pears to make sauce for the winter months.

In 1965 the farm was sold to their neighbor across the road, Carl Finken.