Carlton County century farms have long, entwined history

Aug. 15—CARLTON COUNTY — Of the 89 century farms being recognized this year by the Minnesota Farm Bureau and the Minnesota State Fair, Carlton County is home to two.

In addition to their location in Carlton County and 2023 century farm awards, the Olesiak and Dahl family farms have other similar roots that were planted over 100 years ago.

For instance, both farms' founders emigrated from cultural Scandinavia, and both farms got their start with dairy cattle and later turned their focus to beef.

Both farms have a long and eventually entwined history, as told by Barb Dahl of Cromwell.

Barb will accept the century farm awards during a ceremony at noon Friday, Aug. 18 at the Carlton County Fair. Awards will also be given for the Farm Family and Outstanding Senior Citizens Awards.

"I feel like farm life is just so important. Cromwell had so many farms — lots and lots of farms — and the kids really learned how to work," Barb said.

Carlton County Extension Agriculture Educator Mercedes Moffett also recognized the importance of both the Olesiak and Dahl farms, and agriculture in Carlton County.

"It's really important that we get to celebrate the agricultural achievements that we have here in the county and the longevity of these farms being over 100 years is certainly worth celebrating," she said.

Moffett added that even though Carlton County doesn't appear "to be such a large agriculture community ... at its heart we are one, and so it helps us recognize these achievements of these people, how hard they've worked for all these years, through multiple generations."

Barb is one of nine children born to Lydia and Ray Olesiak, who inherited the farm from Lydia's parents, Andrü and Ida Kamunen. The Kamunens got their start in dairy farming when Andrü —after emigrating from Finland — bought 40 acres of land in Cromwell in 1915.

Barb said the Kamunens "more or less adopted (their niece), Lydia" and raised her as their own, and only, child. Upon marrying Lydia in 1938, Ray Olesiak moved onto the farm.

The Olesiaks would expand the farm Lydia's parents started by building a new barn that housed 30-50 dairy cows, purchasing several more acres of land surrounding the farm and starting a family of their own.

Enter Barb Olesiak Dahl and her eight siblings.

"Every one of us had our share of, as we grew, milking the cows and making hay, cleaning pens, cleaning the barn — we all got to work very hard, but it was all very (enjoyable)," Barb remembered. "It sure taught us all how to work."

The Olesiaks had six girls and three boys, Barb being the third eldest.

"By the time the boys came along, my parents had gotten a pipeline, so us girls had to lift milk cans," Barb said with a chuckle.

The Olesiak family lived and breathed dairy farming, with Dahl and her siblings milking cows before and after school. The oldest child, Virginia, would frequent the pastures on her horse searching for the cows and calves. All the Olesiak girls participated in the dairy princess contest; Barb and another one of her sisters even ran for Princess Kay of the Milky Way.

They all participated in 4-H, Lydia serving as a club leader for many years, with Barb later following in her mother's footsteps.

Ray earned a living through, of course, dairy farming, but also by working as a livestock dealer and haying the fields.

"I remember just piling them big wagon loads and hauling (square bales) home from the fields in Sawyer," said Barb. "I can remember as a young girl ... standing at the top of the elevator that went up to the top of the barn and pushing the bales off."

From 1975-1995, Lydia and Ray's middle and youngest sons, Rick and Fred, took over the milking operations. When milk prices dropped, they opted for beef cattle instead of dairy.

Eventually, the 216-acre farm was sold to Ray's grandson, Mike, who currently raises Black Angus, in addition to working a construction job. He and his wife, Jen, have three children. Their oldest daughter, Paige, will show her beef heifer at the Carlton County Fair for the first time this year.

When Barb grew up, she married into the Dahl family. But first, let's backtrack to Nov. 16, 1916, one year after Andrü Kamunen purchased his farmland, and six years after Peter Dahl emigrated from Sweden.

On this date, Peter bought 80 acres of land just west of Cromwell. Not too long after, his wife, Minnie, joined Peter on the farm where he built a little two-room house that would see the birth of their four children. The house became a chicken coop after the Dahl's moved into a bigger house in 1927 when the winters got too harsh.

Before building the little house, Peter "first built the barn, (as) they always did back in them days," said Barb, for dairy cows.

Like the Olesiaks, the Dahls supported themselves by milking cows and making hay.

Peter retired in 1954 and six years later, his son Lawrence and his wife, Dorothy, purchased the farm. Their family continued in the dairy business for a while and also grew crops; for extra income, Lawrence logged.

Like the Olesiaks, the Dahls eventually replaced their dairy cows with beef cattle, and Lawrence began working at Red Wing Peat Bog in Cromwell.

Dorothy passed away in 2000 and when Lawrence followed six years later, the farm was willed to their only daughter, Cindy. To this day, Cindy's brother and Barb's husband, Timothy, hay the 80 acres for round bales.