Determan

Continued from Page 47C

Determan enjoys working every day that he can.

“I bought the Milwaukee railroad track that runs along the heritage farm, so my dad and I bought 1.5 miles of that,” Determan said. “We’re converting it back to farm ground. The railroad ties were salvaged and we’ve been working to level the land, pull out the trees and shrubs so that it can be farmed again.”

One of Determan’s fondest memories from growing up on the farm happens to be the day he came home from school in the fourth grade and discovered his dad had bought a new tractor. His father was out plowing and when Determan sprinted out to see him in the fields, his dad allowed him to hop on and plow with him.

“We did one round and I was excited. I even beat my older brother to the new tractor. But then he came home and he got to plow for two hours. I only made it one round,” Determan said. “I had to go back and do chores. I was so happy to plow and beat him to it, but then he did for longer. I still remember that vividly.”