1979 LANCASTER COUNTY CENTURY FARMS Milton Brubaker LITITZ To the neigh boring communities, the Brubaker Homestead at BrunnerviUe Road, Lititz, is known for its continual dairying operations. For Milton Brubaker and his sister, Mary Clark, the days of milk routes and jugging have passed; although many memories remain. According to Milton and Mary, this century farm was purchased by Jonas Brubaker in 1873, with the forthought of selling it to his son, Nathamal. As expected, Nathamal married Mary Hess m the fall of 1874 and the farm became their home. Nathamal and Mary Brubaker gave birth to J. Clayton Brubaker, the father of Milton and Mary. J. Clayton Brubaker was well known for his efforts in agriculture and its farm related organizations. His children are proud of his - <4* i **v. ' -V " -I'.. •j - * * »** * c* This stone farmhouse, located by the "Little Conestoga” is owned by Mervin and Emma Peifer. Built in 1792 by Christian Oberholtzer, the stone has been covered with plaster and has remained basically the same throughout the four Peifer generations. Mervin and Emma Peifer MANHEIM - In March of 1855, Christian Peifer in vested $16,244 in a tract of land along the ’’Litle Conestoga”. The purchasing price averaged $l3l an acre for the 124 acres. Since Christian’s in vestment, the farm has remained in the Peifer family for four generations. Mervin and Emma Peifer presently hve m the original farmhouse built m 1792. As a stone home, covered with plaster, the interior has many areas of interest. In an upstairs bedroom, there is a cask, an original with the house. Naturally, no closets were built into the 1792 plan of the house. This large cask provided plenty of storage space. A smoke house was built into the attic. Many smoked meats were stored in this designated area. A blue-green swirl, painted by Mervm’s grand father, adds character to the center stairway. Under each stair mat, he also pamted the name of his wife, Mary Ann Peifer. A major portion of the and Mary Clark nomination as a Master Farmer (1927). He also served as state president of the Farm Bureau and was on the board of directors for the national organization. Their mother, Florence, was a charter member of the Lancaster County Farm Women Societies. For the Brubakers, the family dairy industry began in 1905. They began bottling milk and selling it to homes in the neighborhood. As Milton Brubaker took over the farming operation, the dairy herd was replaced with an Ayrshire herd. According to Milton, the milk from this breed, had a strong selling point, namely, the amount of cream at the top of the bottle. The housewife also favored Ayrshire milk because it was easily digested and had higher amounts of protein than some milks. In 1960 Milton Brubaker, -rW 5 h- wooden doors and window trims have been finished with a light varnish. Texture was added to the finish with fine, gentle feathering strokes. The Peifers are not sure how the design was completed. It has not been effectively reproduced since the original finish was com pleted 88 years ago. A corner cupboard, beheved to be an original with the home, is located m A corner cupboard in the Peifer home features the butterfly shelf edging. Mary Clark and her husband took on a new enterprise. The mtroduced the first milk juggmg operation in Lan caster County. The idea had originated in western Pennsylvania and spread to the east. For the Brubakers, it met the ad dition of a dairy process room and store. Neighbors and visitors stopped in the store to purchase their half or one gallon bottles of milk. They also were able to buy cheese, and baked items. Milton and Mary can remember having traveling salesman from Allentown stop m to purchase the milk. Many people from Lititz, Manheim, Mount Joy, Cornwall, Leola, and Bareville would also stop as regular customers. During this era, Mary’s husband was responsible for the merchandising of the milk. Milton managed the "" / *K- - ' ~ Sfe, & V?' * *<l* * f the present duung room. It features the hand carved butterfly shelves that are laden with precious dishes and knick-knacks. Arched wood frames the wmdow panes in the front doors. In the future, Emma would like to refinish the cupboard to its original likeness. Although the home has remained basically the (Turn to Page 26) Mifton Brubaker and his sister Mary Clark, were born and raised on a dairy farm near Brunnerville. Mary Clark presently resides on the farm, where her. husband and brother began one of the first jugging operations in the.county. dairy herd and the farm activities. It was only recently that Milton sold his dairy herd. At the present time, James Brubacker is renting the land and has his own herd in the barn. The original stone far mhouse, features the deep window sills. The house has Three generations of Frys, from left, Miles, his son Morton, and Mortons children Vincent and Victoria pose in front of the original homestead built in 1764. The Miles Frey Family FRYSVILLE - Love of land and family—that’s what keeps people on the same farm for eight generations. Miles W. Fry, R 3 Ephrata, says he is convinced those two things account for his family being on the same land since before the Revolutionary Wan He shares the farm with his son Morton S. Fry and a third generation of Mort’s children. The history of the Fry farm, which today com prises about 325 acres, goes back to 1752 and a man named Peter Gundy. Gundy obtained a deed for property East of Ephrata from Thomas and Richard Penn. The original grant was for 1100 acres. When Gundy died in 1772 the land went to Martin Bowman. But’ by 1780 Bowman’s property was sheriffed. It seems Bowman had gone broke trying to put in a mill race where there was not enough water to turn a wheel. The property was pur chased by Hans Martin Fry, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, November 17,1973 had numerous additions to accomodate the families and the dairy business. Throughout their lifetimes both Milton and Mary have remained active in com munity servie organizations. Milton was president of the Ayrshire Breeders organization and has cen whom present day Frys refer to affectionately as Old Hans Marty, or just The Pioneer. Hans Martin Fry came to what then was Cocalico Township, Lancaster County about 1740 from Frystadt in the Palatinate, Germany. He took up a tract of land situated on both sides of the Little Muddy Creek, cleared and farmed the land, and built and operated a mill and sawmill. Legend has it that when he first looked at the creek it was red with mud from a recent rain he said, “Das is die Mode Bach” (this is the Muddy Creek). Legend or not, Muddy Creek is the name of the stream today. The Pioneer seems to have prospered. Several miles downstream and below the confluence of the Big and Little Muddy, was the Martin Bowman tract which Hans Martin purchased. Prior to this, Hans Martin Fry had acquired two ad jacent tracts, one from Philip Roth and the other from Peter Gundy. turned to work with the Lancaster 4-H Dairy Club. Mary Clark has continued in the example of her mother. She is involved with the Lancaster County Farm Women Society 1 and has been a leader in the Manheim - Lititz Community trum to Page 24) A parcel of land at that time was 200 acres, and The Pioneer paid 30 pounds sterling for the Bowman land. The Pioneer was third generation American at that early date. He had come down from New England to Philadelphia and then up the Schuylkill to Reading in 1722. He had 14 children and the first two, John Martin Fry and Margaret Fry never left the Frysville community until their deaths. Because the farm was split up for family members over the years, the original land is now down to 72 acres. The home place there was built in 1773. And generations of Frys have lived there. There was John Martin Fry; Martin Fry, Jr.; John Fry, born in 1815; and Jacob Fry, bom in 1848 who is Miles Pry’s father. At 81 years of age, Miles has three generations of Frys around him today. While much of the Fry’s income over the centuries (Turn to Page 32) 17
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