From My Farmhouse Kitchen

If an ox yoke could talk, it and clear water from would have many stories of streams that were filled various owners and oxen — with fish. some with good temperaments, others … well, they are best forgotten. Sure the trees and hills were beautiful, but to haul a load of timber up and

A yoke enabled a team of down those hills? Well, that oxen to pull together. Oxen took a pulling for the oxen were used to pull freight FROM MY in my yoke (not that I am wagons and do farm work. FARMHOUSE complaining, just saying They played an important KITCHEN so). role in settling this country. By Renae B. The Luxembourgers had

Read on, as this is a story Vander Schaaf cleared the land, built their that one ox yoke might tell. homes and businesses and “For many years I sat in a corner of a barn on Buddy Jonas’s farm. Dust covered me as for a long time tractors even a church from native limestone to replace their wood frame church that had been destroyed by fire. had been doing my work. I was just an This new St. Donatus parish church old relic, forgotten except by the mice was dedicated in 1860 and still looks and spiders to whom I was a land- pretty much the same as it did back mark in a way. But at least I was still then. around and inside a building. Life was good and had settled into a

Then one day, the Jonas family routine. But then this man, Peter cleaned me up and brought me to Gehlen, who with his wife had come town. Alton, Iowa was celebrating from Luxembourg, got restless feet. He their centennial. Suddenly everyone was full of energy and vigor and had remembered it was a wagon train been very successful and was respectpulled by oxen that brought them to ed in the area. northwest Iowa from St. Donatus, Iowa. His name is still remembered in the St. Donatus area. A house he built stands and is used as a beautiful bed and breakfast with six lovely rooms available. The Gehlen House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Nearby there is a landmark that is more familiar to me. The Gehlen Barn, is also very functional, only now as a local brewery and pub. It can be reserved for weddings and other gatherings. St. Donatus Catholic Church was built by the early Luxumbourger pioneers. They had heard the storms in the area were ferocious and named the church for the patron who protects against lightening and storms. The church was dedicated on June 3, 1860. Gehlen was prosperous, so there was no reason for him to endure the hardships of pioneering again. But once a man

Many of the people who lived at St. gets a notion, it seems, Donatus had come from a country offi- there is no stopping him. And whew, cially called the Grand Duchy of did he travel. He couldn’t stop at 150 Luxembourg. Now I have never been miles, or even 200. No, he had to go there, but in listening to their conver- clear across the state to find his persations, they liked this valley in fect wilderness in Plymouth County Jackson County because it reminded which is more like a 300 mile distance. them of their homeland with its natu- When he left, some said he was off ral beauties of cliffs, nuts, wild fruits his rocker and he would soon be back. Well, he did come back after he had built a mill for grinding grain on the Floyd River — just an itsy bitsy river, not like the mighty Mississippi that the oxen and I were familiar with.

Boy, was Mr. Gehlen full of talk and enthusiasm about all the opportunities out west. He said there was plenty of land for the taking. Others soon caught his dream and made priest. Father J. Michael Flammang. plans to relocate. Obviously they He strongly discouraged them from didn’t ask me if I thought a team of going, which added another element to oxen would find the trip pleasurable. consider.

But they did talk to our parish See FARMHOUSE KITCHEN, pg. 7

Photos by Renae B. Vander Schaaf Jim Hentges (left) and Jerry DeWitt (right) received the yoke from veterinarian A.J. Neumann (center) who was given the relic by a customer.

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