McCreath

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Alex and Agnes had three boys and one girl; one of those boys was Jon’s grandfather, James John (Jim) McCreath. Agnes died in 1894, just four days after giving birth to their fourth child, Margarite Agnes, who survived. Alex passed away in 1931, but turned the land over to Jon’s grandfather Jim and greataunt Agnes in 1928.

“Grandpa Jim was the one who farmed it,” said Jon McCreath. “Jim and Harriet (Williams) were married in 1921 and had four children, three girls and my dad James ‘George’ being the youngest; their oldest daughter Dorothy died at childbirth, and Martha — second oldest — died at 10 years old. My Aunt Margaret, born in 1932, will turn 91 this July.”

Jon’s Dad passed away in June of 2019.

“Dad grew up in a house on that land, farming the land while growing up there,” said McCreath. “My grandfather died in 1957 when Dad was in college, and Grandma Harriet moved to Primghar. Dad didn’t come back to the farm after college. He married my mother Sharon in 1959, going into the Army for two years, serving in Germany where I was born. My brothers Todd and Scott were born stateside.”

Since 1979, the McCreath family has been leasing their land out for agricultural purposes, specifically corn and soybean production.

James, who went by his middle name George, had different aspirations from his predecessors. “Dad returned from active service in Germany, and my parents eventually bought the Standard Oil Station on Interstate 80 in Ogallala, Neb., in 1969,” said McCreath. “They owned that station for 25 years, selling it in 1994. Dad semi-retired and mom, who was a librarian, raised three rowdy boys. Mom will be 89 in December.”

Ogallala will always be home to Jon and his brothers Todd and Scott, but there is also something endearing about the family farm history.

“Traditions are in place, and Dad was one of those who felt strongly about passing the land down as many generations as possible,” said McCreath.

“Eventually, the farm will be handed down to my brothers and me. My brothers and I all have a bit of attachment to the land,” he continued. “I would not be surprised that if we sold it, that we would hold back some acres for each of us. It would be sad for us to sell all of it, especially now that we are closing in on 150 years, essentially ending this piece in McCreath history.”

Their father’s only instructions were for the land to be continued to be used for agriculture.

“I get the sense of how my grandfather may have felt when Dad chose not to farm,” said Jon McCreath.

“Our father wanted us to take over the Standard station, but we all had moved on to other things. Life’s transitions aren’t always easy, but the land by the Covey Church will always be special to our family.” parcel of 93 acres was handed down to Mike when John died in 1918 and then to Tony when Mike passed away in 1953. After Tony retired, his son Paul lived on the homestead and farmed the land. Paul married Shirley Gettier in 1952 and had four children: Sam, Sally, Tim and Tom.

When Paul and his family moved to California in 1964, Leonard and his family moved to the homestead. Leonard married Luella McGrath in 1949, and they had five children: Gary, Craig, Mary, John and Nancy. Leonard farmed and eventually purchased the entire 346 acres.

Leonard retired in 1994 and sold the acreage with buildings to Douglas and Cindy Roth.

After Leonard passed away in 2013 and Luella in 2014, their son John purchased the remainder of the original 93-acre homestead. John married Jennifer Peterson in 1984 and they had three sons, Michael, Will and Stuart.

Even though the years progressed from generation to generation, many things remained the same from Streit’s father’s time on the farm.

“For my dad, neighboring was a verb,” said Streit. “We had three other farm neighbors who we