O'BRIEN

purchased his 160 acres, a quarter section of land, from Rowena Edwards,” said McCreath.

“Alex paid $26.87 an acre for this land that’s across from the 1874-constructed church, which is still there today.”

The Covey Church had only been built 10 years when the firstgeneration McCreath purchased the land. Several Civil War veterans are buried at the cemetery there, and there is even a veteran of the Spanish-American War resting at the site. The first post office in the area was located just a mile west; established in August of 1875, it was served by a stagecoach that carried mail, freight, and passengers from Primghar to Spencer once a week.

See

McCREATH, Page 76C

Handing Down A Legacy

By DOUG CLOUGH Farm News writer

ASHTON — When John Streit was in his teens during the 1970s, he began his day by feeding the farm family’s heifers silage.

“By that time, we didn’t have cows, so I would be the one — after Dad woke me up — to feed the heifers while he took care of the pigs,” said Streit. “I was usually done before he was, so I would make breakfast.

“By the time I was 14, Dad would trust me to cultivate corn or run the rotary hoe through the fields. If it was bean-walking time, the family would go out and make a few rounds in the morning. In the afternoon, we'd return to the bean fields until it was time to do chores. Not too many times did we have to work after supper, but we all understood if that happened, it was part of the deal.”

Streit lived on the farm from 1964 until he graduated from high school in 1976; prior to 1964,