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VELKOMMEN TO PLAIN VIEW HERITAGE FARM,
RURAL BRYANT, SD!
A Day Lily from Plain View Farm's Garden!
"Sa langt som osten er fra vesten later han vare misgjerniger vare langt fra oss."
"Far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our sins from us."--Psalm 103:12
HILSEN FRA PLAIN VIEW HERITAGE FARM AND BRYANT, SD!
Stadem Small Fry in Covered Wagon
We offer these new PVF poems to you based on a single theme:
"The sacredness of common things,
not derived from themselves, oh, no;
but kindled by God's holy ones
in earthly tasks for many a year
they enter the place where God's Spirit will blow.
I touch a little bit of heaven
when I touch each common thing--
a wooden spoon, a lamp, a clock and trunk
joy and wonder bring."--
Ron Ginther, Jan. 30, 2012, Watertown, SD
"Plain View Farm's Fancy Clock," by Ronald Ginther
"The Old Wooden Spoon," poem by Grandson Ronald Ginther about Grandma Bergit's Hand-carved Wooden Spoon
Is Art Stadem in this picture? Pictured in the A.A. history, "We Would See Jesus," by Dr. Oyos of Augustana College (on page 141), the Augustana Academy Choir is pictured from the late 1930s, and one young gentleman in the last row seems to be Arthur Stadem!
As I have observed from quilt exhibits various places, quilts can tell stories if the quilters want them to and make them good story-tellers too. Why not a quilt for telling our Heritage at PVF? Of course, it can be done, we just need quilters with a pattern that will best tell it. Here is a suggested pattern. If the details are not quite clear enough on this copy, we shall give them in detail so you can get the "full picture". It would be wonderful, and not impossible, for a quilter, or quilters, in the family relationship to make a Heritage Quilt for the coming dedication of the Heritage Barn Center.
VISION IS NECESSARY TO LIFE: The Bible says that God's people (us) "perish without a vision." How true the Word of God is! Historians tell us that prisoners of war in World War II, or the Korean and Viet Nam wars too, were goners the moment they lost hope. Hope kept them alive in the most brutal conditions. Without a Vision, we can have no hope for a better life, right? Vision and hope are intertwined in us, and we must have them to live and go forward. We find vision and hope in our ancestors and forebears over in Old Norway. With these two lamps, they lighted the vast, dark unknown way before them as they took the giant step of leaving all they knew and were familiar with in Norway for America, the stupendous ? which they knew very little about. It took faith in God for those who preceded us--strong, unwavering faith! But it took vision behind that faith, and hope too that it would work out in a good way. We owe them everything--the valiant, persevering, godly Stadems and Holbeks who exercised this faith, hope and vision to carve out a brand-new life for us all on this great, free land of America.-- Ed.
Two Plain View Heritage Farm vision poems written at Christmas 2011 are:
"The Sisters' Vision," and "The Old Turkey Barn" by Ronald Ginther
A 2011 Christmas Poem for you, "The Old Lantern," by this site's webmaster, Ron Ginther, with a link to the updated page of Tributes to Pearl Stadem Ginther:
"The Old Lantern"
Pearl's "Missing Throw"--We are searching for the whereabouts of a special "Rainbow Throw Quilt" made for Pearl Stadem Ginther and presented to her for her 100th Centennial Birthday, Sept. 13, 2009. This is front and back of the quilt, so you see it cannot have gotten away without someone seeing it. Please let us know where it is. The maker would be relieved in her mind to know, and we with her!I suggest that it would be best at the Heritage Center, as we are bringing a number of her special things there for permanent display. This quilt has a tag on the back that is especially meaningful, referring to God's promises that will bring comfort. He is always faithful to His promises to us, isn't he? He certainly was faithful to Pearl Ginther!
WHAT IS THIS? IF YOU KNOW, YOU ARE DEFINITELY NORWEGIAN OR SCANDINAVIAN. THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE NO CLEW, WE HAVE INFORMATION FOR YOU AVAILABLE COMING. IF YOU STILL DON'T CARE ABOUT IT, WHY CARE THEN ABOUT ANYTHING SCANDINAVIAN OR NORWEGIAN? YOU MAY EVEN THINK LIFE WITHOUT LEFSA IS WORTH LIVING! IN THAT CASE, WE WILL BE PRAYING FOR YOU, FRIEND!
REVIEW OF THIS WEBSITE FOR 2012:
Why keep going with this site, which is now 14 years old? Many thousands of dollars have been spent on it since 1997--it is good we didn't keep a tally, as it would truly be too much to think about!
The reason we do it, friends, is still this: for the sake of preserving and sharing the Heritage of our forebears passed on to us by them, sharing it with the younger generation and their parents, so that it can become a part of their lives and give them meaning they won't have without it. We will be much the poorer if our godly Scandinavian/Pioneer farm family heritage is lost and abandoned, and so ignorant that we won't recognize the fact.
In the early 19th century many Africans all across that vast continent had a rude awakening. They were forced to wake up to the fact they were woefully deficient in education and hygiene and the technical means of improving life--how? Colonial Europeans arrived who had huge advantages which were plainly visible to the Africans. The Europeans had magical-seeming watches and timepieces, but they also had had universities and schools of all kinds, hospitals, standards of hygiene, all kinds of wheeled and motored transportation, huge iron steam ships, highly advanced agriculture, businesses of all kinds, banking, advanced construction--whereas the Africans had little or usually nothing of these things, nor the means to obtain them. Until then the Africans had no idea how bad off they were, true? They thought they were advanced in civilization, but they were far behind the rest of the world, particularly the European nations. It was a terrible shock to most of these ancient African societies and tribal peoples. If they had known earlier, they might have tried to change and adapt and improve, but they didn't know, they were so ignorant. Ignorance and presumption locked them into their backward state. In the same way, we can be in a backward state and not know it as 21st century Scandinavian Americans. Our material circumstances may look good vis-a-vis our neighbors and then lead us to presume we are advanced or improving, when we are not at all--we are backward and going further backwards all the time.
Losing your inheritance of your legacy of our forebears, that is the best way to impoverish yourself spiritually and culturally. We Scandinavian Americans have striven far beyond other ethnic groups to hold on and maintain our heritage, and have been successful to a degree beyond the others--but still we are losing it increasingly and going backwards, landing ourselves in the turbid soup of the popular culture in America which holds to hardly any of our values and beliefs (in fact, it repudiates them).
A friend from Montana called today who discussed this with me, and he said it is true, and some members of the older generation (the World War II generation) realize that they dropped the ball, and failed to transmit their values and heritage and faith to their children. They were too much concerned with "getting ahead" materially, and let their heritage twist and die in the wind; consequently, their children are now growing up ignorant of their heritage and how wonderful it could be in terms of giving them values, direction, a purpose, and meaning in life. Their children are going to live impoverished lives, in that respect, and won't know it even, just like the African natives who were living substandard impoverished lives (with high death rates among all ages, low levels of education, hardly any labor-saving conveniences, dependence on a single crop in many instances which left them wide open to crop failure and famine, etc.
Why not do something yourself to help preserve Heritage and pass it on to your children, fellow Stadems whoever they are and wherever they live? There are a hundred ways at least, and just talking about it and sharing it is a good way that doesn't cost you anything but your time. You may spend plenty time on your cell phone talking to others, use your cell phone occasionally t speak about Heritage to people, what you value about it. Get your talk off yourself and your problems or affairs for a minute or two, talk about lasting values and Godly Heritage that includes our pioneering forefathers who brought us here to America and established us here in a land of real freedom and real opportunity, all because they had faith in God to help them do it! This is my challenge to you. It is the challenge I accepted in 1997, when Jerry my youngest brother brought over one day a Webtv set-up for me to use as my own to get the Plain View websites started so I could share Grandpa's story of redemption based totally on my Mother's own account and testimony. That story I wanted eveyone to know about and be blessed by, controversial as it was and still is today. God made that possible through Jerry, to get the story out to everyone, whether they appreciated it or not. It was for His glory, and I still believe it glorified Jesus Christ our Redeemer. When this is all over, and we stand in heaven with all the Stadems that were saved, then this story will come out in its fulness for all to know and rejoice in. I believe this is going to happen, for God will wipe away every tear from our eyes (and many tears were shed for Grandpa in his once lost state by my Mother and his own wife that Jesus will need to wipe away in heaven, not to mention those of the family that lost their father Bob Ginther as a consequence), so that all crying will cease forever and our rejoicing will have no end.
Since the older generation did not pass on to me and my generation (the postwar and Baby Boomer generation) the Heritage of our forebears (though my mother was unusual in that she shared with me many things and also collected innumerable items and documents, books and letters that came to her over the course of her over 100 years of life), I had to start from scratch to gain knowledge of it.
Lately, I have gone to the books of the library, and found a number that are helpful. "Norwegians in America, the Last Migration," by Hjalmar Rued Holand, Translated by Helmer M. Blegen, and "Their Own Saga, Letters from the Norwegian Global Migration," Edited by Frederick Hale, and "America-America Letters, A Norwegian-American Family Correspondence, Edited by Bjorn Gunnar Ostgard, are three of those I have looked into, which I recommend. I have learned that Scandinavians are outstanding, if not unique, in some ways. They value their heritage higher than other ethnicities in holding to it the most tenaciously, and have continued to do so for generations. They are small town enthusiasts, and shy away from large urban centers for the most part. Coming mostly from agrarian Norway, not its bigger cities, they find the small town habitat most congenial to preserving their heritage as Scandinavians. Family, the church, evangelical faith, hard work and thrift, honesty, patriotism, farming, education, these conservative values are what they cherish.
I also learned from a book called "The West Viking," how Vinland came to be discovered, named, populated, and finally abandoned by the Nordic seafarers and colonizers, hundreds of years before Columbus set sail for India and discovered America. I learned how Greenland was probably not known as an island and did not mean just what we see as Greenland today but to them then consisted of the shores across from the Davis Strait that were part of Baffin Island and leading down to Labrador and Newfoundland. Scandinavians founded an "Eastern Settlement" and also a "Western Settlement" on the island itself, but they went on to attempt settlement in Vinland too and there was a colony there for a time before it vanished, perhaps because Vikings were notorious for bad public relations (they strongly tended to swing the sword and battle-ax and ask questions later whenever confronted by the natives, whom they called "Skraelings").
It has been a source of heated controversy for decades among the scholars and historians: have you heard about the Kensington Stone, the stone that had rune-like inscriptions, or actual runes, carved on it, which a Minnesota farmer who thought it was a fake found entangled in tree roots and then used for a doorstep? Well, the controversy is finally being resolved. Fake--not likely! It is now largely accepted by authorities as genuine, and so the Vikings made it no doubt via the St. Lawrence River to the Great Lakes and thence...who knows for sure, but it is possible, along Minnesota's Lake Superior shores and even voyaged up the rivers and lakes far in. Sorry, Minnesotans, the stone may have been carried far from its original site by Indians, who were known to carry away cult looking objects as things to venerate. But it is not impossible that Vikings made it to Minnesota since Viking ships could go most anywhere, from sea-going to lake-going to creek-going, using the waters of this well-watered area of the continent to explore deep into our North American heartland.
But settlement failed on the continent, for Scandinavians, and it took about 9 centuries more before the Scandinavians returned, this time to stay. And they did more than just stay, they flourished despite all the difficulties! And they preferred the northern regions to the southern as healthier for their kind, which compared most to their homeland in Norway and Sweden and Denmark.
There is so much to be learned and re-discovered in our heritage, I could go on with this piece, but it is just to whet your own appetites to do reading on your own, but know as long as I can I am not going to stop trying to learn more about us in America and Norway too. As an enthusiast for such things, I have studied all sorts of other cultures and histories of civilizations all over the world, just as my interest led me to do, but now I will make up for lost time if I can in turning to my badly neglected Norwegian forebears and learn all I can in the time remaining to me. Yet what I learn, I know will die if it is not passed on. This website serves to "pass it on," so here it is, and if you take advantage of it, you will learn much, I believe, that will enrich your life and the lives of your children and descendants.--Editor, Ron Ginther
CDs AVAILABLE SHOWING ALL THE WORK DONE THIS SUMMER OF 2011
SINCE JULY AND ON THROUGH NOVEMBER ON THE HERITAGE CENTER. Walmart
gave me seven copies, at $2.97 a copy. It took three sessions
there, killing my legs to do it, as I had to stand at a
machine and select pictures and repeat my selections
that many times to get it done right (it was a learning process, a learning
by error mostly). I will send a copy to Steve Stadem, and he can
make copies if people want them in his related families
Scene of Norway Sent by Holbek Cousins:
Scene of Norway Sent by Holbek Cousins:
HOT LEFSE UPDATES:
THE STADEM NAME RINGS A "BELLE" IN FLANDREAU: Chad Stadem, great grandson of Martin and Ingeborg (Belle) Stadem, and son of the late Myron and Patricia Stadem, is featured in the South Dakota Magazine, Nov-Dec 2011 issue. He is the coach of the Flandreau High School in Flandreau, SD, which won the championship in 2010. The article gives fine photos of the team and also a good history of the team's comeback to glory, after many years being built up by Chad's predecessor, Coach McGlone. Barb Benson identified Chad Stadem as a Stadem, and he is listed, she said, on page 13 of the Stadem Genealogy book.
1. Latest Pictures of the Heritage Center Barn's Cement Floor Being Laid, Complete with Plastic Heat Tubing!
Besides the cement floor being laid, the staircase in completed, that connects from the bottom floor to the north end loft on the third level. Bernie Iserman completed the staircase after he and Steve installed the big sliding glass doors and windows on the south side which were donated by John and Jodi Brown. Helping with the cement laying were Peter and his son David.
Plain View Heritage Barn Pictures
2. OUR DANISH PASTRY CONNECTION! Our Holbek cousins in Kristiansand, Norway, have clinched the hunch Grandpa Alfred Stadem had long ago about our Holbek ancesters in Norway having a Danish connection. Indeed, they do! Arne Age Holbek has forwarded us pictures and genealogy that really prove the Danish connection is factual. Though my Grandma Bergit, then, and Alfred Stadem her husband, a lot of us Stadems now have valid claim to being part Danish. For years I heard some mention of the red hair trait, so unmistakable in many Stadems (see the picture below). Where did it come from, other than Grandma Bergit? Yet people said it was typical of Norwegians. Then how did she come by it? Here is a picture of Mandal in the extreme south of Norway where the Holbeks landed and sank their roots.
Well, Mandal being close to Denmark, which is just across the channel between Norway and Denmark, you might well wonder about the Holbeks, whether they once resided in Denmark and then for some reason chose to hop across the water to settle in Norway. That is what happened, it seems. Grandpa, writing to the Social Security Administration about his wife's Holbek name and ancestry, mentioned that "Holbek" was taken by the family for a name from a placename in Denmark, to distinguish or separate them from other Anderssons. So the Holbeks were at one time Anderssons, I understand. We have his statement of this, typed out by him in his wife's name. That was in the 1950s. Now in 2011, 50 or more years later, comes the facts of the case from Holbek cousin Arne Age, and a picture of Holbek, Denmark as it appeared long ago (looking like a sleepy village with a large church, but situated on a fjord with a ship on it). Wikipedia shows the modern Holbek is a thriving town and port with a population of 26,000. It is located on Sjaeling, a large island directly across from South Norway. Those of us who are visiting Norway in the future may well want to hop across from Kristiansand, Norway to Holbek, Denmark and take a look around! I would love to be one of them, to be sure. There must be some buildings dating back to our Holbeks who emigrated to Norway, to become Norwegian citizens. In those days, of course, the change did not mean any change of government, for Denmark ruled Norway for a long time, then Sweden ruled, with a Dual Monarchy set up with Sweden, in which Norway was the junior partner. Even the language the Norwegians speak today is called Dano-Norwegian. Hans Nielsen Hauge, the great Norwegian evangelist, routinely traveled to Denmark and had some of his books printed there--so Denmark and Norway were much in communication from those times on to now. In culture and history, even language, there wasn't much difference. Perhaps that is true today as well. If you want to know more, you can! Look up Holbek, Denmark on Wikipedia and other sites. Or go to the genealogy of the Holbeks, which can be provided you if you ask here, and do a search on your own. You may be able to find Holbek cousins over in Denmark if you are persistent. Wouldn't that be a discovery! We have a lot of catching up to do, we who are Holbek descendants (through Katrine and Bergit Holbek) and our Danish cousins, whoever and wherever they are!
Except for the one we took of him at his home in Minnesota, we have need of some pictures of Gene's for the following
update (I left the brochure containing pictures at his home in Onamia!):
Who says the epic Norwegian seafarer Thor Heyerdahl and
his Kon Tiki rafting in the Pacific from Peru to Easter Island has anything over
the Stadems and the Isermans? His Ra II, a vessel built of papyrus,
sailed from Egypt or thereabouts to South America, thereabouts,
doesn't change anything either. We Stadems have done him one better! Gene Iserman, a true Christian Viking, has returned home after finishing
his epic 2,400 mile kayak journey down the Mississippi River
from its start at Lake Oswego to its end not far from the Gulf
of Mexico. He kayacked right into the Gulf of Mexico too,
then was hauled back to shore by a friendly boater. A celebration in Minnesota is planned
for Labor Day, celebrating God's
care and protection and provision for Gene and
two young men who accompanied him part-way (though Gene
had to go alone 900 miles of the route), who did
it for God's glory and "Water for Life,"
a program that has James and Betty Robison featuring
Gene and his journey in a beautiful brochure. Please
contact Naomi his mother, or Gene, regarding
any info you might want, as he is still seeking
support and needs more funds to complete the
pledged amount for "Water for Life," which
provides clean water to thousands of children
in Africa presently forced to drink polluted water
that is going to kill them at a very young age.
Who says the epic Norwegian seafarer Thor Heyerdahl and his Kon Tiki rafting in the Pacific from Peru to Easter Island has anything over the Stadems and the Isermans? His Ra II, a vessel built of papyrus, sailed from Egypt or thereabouts to South America, thereabouts, doesn't change anything either. We Stadems have done him one better! Gene Iserman, a true Christian Viking, has returned home after finishing his epic 2,400 mile kayak journey down the Mississippi River from its start at Lake Oswego to its end not far from the Gulf of Mexico. He kayacked right into the Gulf of Mexico too, then was hauled back to shore by a friendly boater. A celebration in Minnesota is planned for Labor Day, celebrating God's care and protection and provision for Gene and two young men who accompanied him part-way (though Gene had to go alone 900 miles of the route), who did it for God's glory and "Water for Life," a program that has James and Betty Robison featuring Gene and his journey in a beautiful brochure. Please contact Naomi his mother, or Gene, regarding any info you might want, as he is still seeking support and needs more funds to complete the pledged amount for "Water for Life," which provides clean water to thousands of children in Africa presently forced to drink polluted water that is going to kill them at a very young age.
For a Day by Day Journal Gene kept, along with pictures, go to:
Gene's music disk, which may still be available:
Gene's mother Naomi Iserman has gained similar national attention, but for a different reason, her testimony of how Billy Graham's Gospel crusade touched her with God's saving grace. Want to read how? It is a wonderful, true account.
"Naomi's Testimony", Excerpt from "Invitation--Billy Graham and the Lives God Touched," Stories of Real People Transformed by God," by Basyle and Aram Tchividjian, Grandsons of Billy Graham
Yet another work session at the Farm, and the Heritage Center inched forward once again toward the grand goal, Open House 2012! Its progress has gone by leaps at times, when the manpower was temporarily sufficient, but it is mostly a persevering, day by day slog with few doing the work.
Steve Stadem went to the Hutterites a few miles away (a Christian traditionalist group from Germany years ago) and was able to buy a 48-foot-long beam for the top of it, and Tuesday we will be going to pick it up! Bernie Iserman figured out a way to transport it to the Farm. Fortunately, it is just a few miles down country roads, so we will not be encountering highway traffic. This too, we feel, is a tie of friendship and faith in Jesus with these Hutterite brothers and sisters in the Lord. Who knows where that will lead? Ordinarily, they do not sell their special beams to the public, only through large retail outfits like Walmart or Menards, I understand. But Steve shared his Christian love and faith in Jesus with them, and they responded to his request, even asking him to dinner! He couldn't accept, having other commitments, but received their shish kebabs and 2 ears of fresh-picked Hutterite corn! They asked him what denomination and church he belonged to, but he said that didn't matter much to him, it was that he was in Jesus, and that was what mattered, for himself and for fellowship with others no matter what church they belonged to. JESUS ONLY! That is the basis for our coming together. The other things are not basic for unity in Christ. Please pray for a continued line of communication with the Hutterites, as well with all Christians and God-fearing folks in the reachable area of Plain View Farm. Thank you! And please pray for the work, that more willing hands and hearts (and financial means) join with the raising of the Heritage Center on Plain View Farm for His Glory!
WORK SESSIONS IN SEPTEMBER ENDS WITH PLYWOODED TARPAPERED ROOF AND ALL PLYWOOD PUT ON FRONT AND BACK AFTER FRAMING WAS COMPLETED. Steve Stadem, Tom Stadem, Nate Stadem, and Bernie the Boss were the primary workers, with wonderful help for 1 1/2 days by a foreign student from Cameroun, West Africa. Despite high winds that prevailed at the last, there were no accidents, Praise the Lord! Next, at the late October work session, the bottom floor needs to be cemented, septic dug, and braces put in place, in prep for the backfilling along the foundation walls. Funding and manpower are critically needed for this last work of the 2011 season. Would you pray, and also contribute what you can? You see the great progress accomplished despite low funding and few people available.
In this picture, Nate Stadem, Tom his dad, and Bernie work on plywood and nailing it down on the trusses to make the roof.
November's work party has virtually concluded this second week of the month, with the bracing of the bottom walls being done by Steve Stadem and Bernie Iserman. Go for a look at the pictures taken of the work just completed, including the heat pipe installation and the cement laying over the heat pipe grid:
Heritage Center Pictures, Part I
Latest Heritage Center Work Party Pictures, Inclucing the Cementing of the Bottom Level Floor and Heat Pipe Installation, plus Sliding Glass Windows Installed:
Plain View Heritage Center Pictures, Part II
PEARL'S OLDEST SON PASSES:
"Sing to the Lord,
Bless His name,
Proclaim the good news
of His Salvation
From day to day."--Psalm 96:2
Darrell Ginther, age 76, has gone home to heaven to his reward from the hand of his Lord Jesus and to join his mother and youngest brother and all our Stadem loved ones and friends. A memorial service is planned for Oct. 1 at the United Methodist Church he attended located on 6th Avenue, downtown Tacoma, just a few blocks to walk from his apt. There he called his mother daily, so the pastor and secretary got to know Darrell well and his mother too.
He was an evangelist to the end, constantly witnessing to anyone who would listen to his scriptures and songs and cheering words--which ministry he had since his earliest years, as he emulated his dad who was a preacher and a worker in the Union Gospel Mission in Sioux Falls. No doubt thousands of souls were saved by his ministering the Gospel and preaching on the streets of large cities in Washington, Oregon, California, Montana, Minnesota, South Dakota, and even over in Europe and Norway, during innumerable trips he took over a lifetime. He was particularly close to Mother during her years of advanced age, calling her every day and having devotions with her over the phone and praying with her. He continued this even after she had gone, even the last week or so of his life, calling the closest and best friend Mother had, which was the closest he could get to his beloved mother.
There are tributes to Darrell on-line on this website, a series called "Prince of Zion," containing his autobiographical account of his deliverance from the powers of darkness, offered for some years now, and his written heritage accounts of "bygone buggy days."
PEARL'S YOUNGEST SON PASSES JULY 2011: Jerry Ginther, age 58, youngest son of Pearl Ginther, has within weeks followed his beloved mother in passing to heaven a few days ago, apparently from a heart attack suffered in his Lakewood apartment. Joyce our sister noted hise absence in calls or visits and went to see him, and not able to enter the extremely hot apt., called a neighbor, who went in and found him expired. A rent receipt marked July 1 left on the door, Joyce noted, caused her to think something was wrong, which it definitely proved to be. Please pray for Joyce, as this had to be a most shocking experience for her. Until this he did not suffer any great pain, fortunately, that we knew of, despite his several years or more of diabetis and sleep apnea (for which he had a special machine regulate his breathing at night). He attended Mother's memorial at Mt. View and the memorial given at her mobile home park club center, contributing to both occasions. He also helped his sister Joyce subsequently in her move into mother's house when she chose to take it for her own residence. He worked hard for Joyce to accomplish this, removing the old carpet so she could have the house recarpeted. Jerry was practicing his love for family in this last act of his, as he had been deeply involved in helping his sister and family for many, many years any way he could.
Jerry was my youngest brother, ten years younger, so I always knew his age. He was fifty eight when he passed to heaven. Unmarried, with no children, his children seemed to be what was on his heart of the last ten or so years, the future prospects of Plain View Farm and the now building Heritage Center where the old barn Grandpa Alfred Stadem built once stood. Jerry's friends know his unique attributes and gifts and friendship over those fifty-eight years, and family and relatives know them too, in varying degree. Personally, I can perhaps best describe him for everyone as the "Crossroads Man," the very special fellow whom God chooses to go stand at the crossroads of certain lives, when some wandering, troubled individual needs direction right then and there, so that he can take the right turn or the right road in life. Jerry did this for me at various times in my life, and I have heard from another person lately who testified to me that Jerry had done it for him too, making all the difference for him in what kind of life he would ultimately have (serving God and loving his wife and family).
I could speak a very long time about Jerry's extravagant generosity, indeed, giving me all sorts of gifts (not just on birthdays but all through the year) that suited my various interests and helped me along my path in life (spiritual books, heritage books, all sorts of history books). He was the main reason I even began family heritage on the Internet and the work on the Plain View Heritage Farm websites. I could speak of all his encouragement personally to me over the years, when I was feeling down or discouraged. His bubbling, bouyant laughter and sense of humor couldn't fail to get me feeling upbeat again about life. You seldom if ever found Jerry down in the mouth or sour about life. He was too busy helping others enjoy life and find the humor in things.
He loved his mother dearly (giving her always the biggest cards you could imagine, covered with all his words of affection for her), and did many things as well to enhance and improve her later years. He bought all sorts of hearing aids and visual aids and phone systems to keep her quality of life as high as possible when infirmities of advance age began taking their toll.
He provided her series of TV sets, video systems, and all sorts of videos and films and music. Hundreds, even thousands of dollars from his minimum wage job as hotel bell man and later, wheelchair pusher at the SeaTac International Airport, went to pay for these items. Not one hint he should be reimbursed either came from him! I couldn't name all the things he bought for Mother over the years, and he did the same pretty much for other family members too. Besides all this, he spent countless hours sorting and gathering into albums the many hundreds of family and relatives' photos, and presented each family member their own personal album, the rest going to the Heritage Center. Considerable sums were spent by him for fillers and albums too.
He rescued our deteriorating decades-old Ginther family films (dating back to the 1940s, most of them) by gathering them onto a video tape, adding wonderful hymns to them! He could always choose the most beautiful and appropriate hymns for what we were viewing on the video. But more important even than these endeavors of his, Jerry was the man whom God could use to step into some of life's most difficult places to lend his help, love, and support, when no one else seemingly cared or was sensitive enough to God's leading to do so. He was:
"The Crossroads Man"--I saw him be this again and again in the lives of others, both friends and family, and I know he did it in my own life. Of all my family, Jerry was most supportive of me, other than my mother, supporting my dreams and prospects in any way he could, whether it was opening up his apartment for me to stay with him for a while when I was searching for a new residence, even giving me his car for transportation on another occasion, giving me a needed winter coat, taking his own off and handing it to me, when he saw I was leaving for Europe on the plane without a good coat to wear--the instances are just too many for my memory to do them all justice!
It was very hard, if not impossible, to outgive Jerry! You got not one card from him but always two, often with embedded music! Plus other gifts that were tailored to you!
In fact, he gave sacrificially the same way to the Heritage Center to the last of his life--more than any other person, probably, except his own mother and his Uncle Leroy Stadem. Would you kindly remember Jerry in a memorial gift of some significant amount to his memory, forwarded to Eloise Hefty, Secretary of Plain View Farm? Jerry shared his mother's dream for the Heritage Center project, not merely in feeling but in money he could have spent on himself but instead gave so that others might have such a facility to enhance their own lives while glorifying the Lord Jesus. God bless you richly, whoever remembers this special "Crossroads Man" in this way--a man who was positioned by the Lord to help set others straight and back on the narrow way to happiness, true meaning and purpose in life, and heaven.
Why did he do so much for others? He could have cared only for himself and his own needs. After all, it was a struggle to meet bills and expenses on a minimum wage salary at his work places. So what motivated him to think of others and go out of his way to help others find the right path in life? One explanation is that Jerry loved Jesus and knew Him as His Lord and Savior. He also was motivated by his mother's example of giving selflessly of herself and her money to the needy and those lacking care and love, spending herself on neglected and "unloveable" individuals who were not necessarily thankful or gracious to her in response. Anyone who was at the Centennial birthday celebration at Mt. View Lutheran Church for his mother Sept. 2009 will never forget Jerry's acapella singing of "Amazing Grace" which ended the program. Though without training, Jerry sang purely from his heart, for he was a man like David, who was a man after God's own heart. I recall that I had prayed specifically for that song to be sung at Mother's birthday celebration, and Jerry came forward right at the close with this most special song in tribute to his mother and her faith in Jesus! That climaxed the whole Centennial birthday program for me and no doubt many others among the hundreds of people present. Christ our Savior was indeed glorified and lifted up.
A service for Jerry was held on Aug. 19, Friday, 11 a.m. at the Mt. Tahoma Vets Cemetery, in Kent in the Seattle-Tacoma area, Washington State, for Jerry served in the Navy during the Viet Nam war and aboard a Navy ship briefly in Vietnamese waters, for which he and his unit received decorations. A retired director of the Bible School Jerry attended said that Jerry "epitomized the Beatitudes." His sisters Roberta and Joyce sang two numbers, "Victory in Jesus," and the Rapture and Second Coming song, "The Countdown Song." Jerry, his sister Joyce told the gathering, was always speaking about the Rapture and the importance of being ready.
Ron Ginther has lately moved to Watertown, forty miles from
the Farm, and is sorting the trailer-load of rosemaling
artifacts, books, archival materials, pictures, albums,
movies, tapes, cookbooks, clocks, quilting materials, glassware, tapestries, stained glasses,
and authentic PVF farmstead items, for the
Heritage Center. All these items were selected and
collected for years from Pearl Ginther's possessions. Authentic
lamps from the Farm were also in her keeping. These are being
returned, and came through the long journey from Washington State just fine.
We hope they survive the last forty miles journey to the Farm in the
same shape!
Aunty Tena (Katrine Holbeck, also named Katrine or Tena (Mrs. Catherine Lundring)
wrote Pearl Ginther and sent her a birthcard with a number of
jems of poetry and wisdom from her pen:
Drawing fifty relatives and guests, the 2011 July 1-3 Reunion started Friday with a Fourth of July-type bang, going through Saturday, and
ending Sunday, and it was much enjoyed (pop, bang, whizz and all). Ren Svanoe wrote up all the
doings in detail for publishing in the Bryant Dakotan paper (another
Stadem Reunion tradition), but here is a
small summary. Cleanup for the grounds was accomplished primarily by
Steve and Tom Stadem. Steve did the mowing, arriving before anyone else.
He used his trusty tractor fitted with a mower. He had a mishap however
this time, cutting the tendon in his middle finger of one hand on the mowing blade,
and so had to continue with his finger in a splint and a baby stocking
pulled over it for more protection. He managed to
work evenso, even swim in the cattle tank he brought up from the neighbor's field
across from the Farm, and did not let this valiant Viking skip working and also enjoying the fun of PVF and its environs (fishing is his love). Tom
Stadem his younger brother followed with weed eating. The property has extensive
grounds, with lots of trees to get in the way, so none of this is easy, fast work, but the grounds were made
more than presentable by the time the first cars and vans and
other vehicles rolled in.
Games, frisbee golf outstanding among them, fellowship, running about,
campfire singing and meals roasted on the coals, the Reunion proceeded without
a lot of scheduling or planning, as this is an "odd-numbered year."
Three days passed quickly, and as the final traditional event the whole group went to Our Redeemer's Lutheran
Church and sang before the congregation, and Pastor Leroy Stadem, head of the Stadem
clan, shared some thoughts and humor too. Ren Svanoe noted the 8th month
anniversary of Grace his wife's recent passing in Mexico, their home for some
years while they worked in their ministry, Canyon Scholars, which gives
Mexican and Indian youth a wonderful chance to remain in school and complete their educations so that they can have a better future than subsistence farming can
ever offer. Renewing
friendships was the order of the whole reunion (and these were mostly teens
this time, so you can imagine the excitement and energy of the
friendships!), and it was a joyous time,
with much fun had in the cattle tank pool, and in frisbee games, and
badminton, and campfire gatherings at night, not to mention some fireworks
too. Work was also done, as Mary Stadem-Coatts laid out a new flower bed
round a centerpiece of the old cream separator from bygone days. She planted it with shrubs she had purchased, and also a flower basket set in the
tub of the separator on top.
There were hundreds of hugs and smiles and some tears perhaps at the close,
as carloads of loved ones began departing, very slowly, with
a number of stops so that others could run up for a last hug and
some loving words and humor too. Soon Plain View Farm was nearly
empty of people and the two dogs brought there, but for the work party
that stayed behind--Bernie Iserman and his son Michael, and
Steve Stadem, and Ron Ginther.
Building and erecting the last two doors on the south side of the
new Machinery Shed was Bernie's first task, with Michael assisting
with the covering of the south side with tin sheeting cut he measured and cut from
salvaged turkey barn tin sheets. Ron Ginther, who lately moved to Watertown
purposely to be near the project, assisted Michael and Bernie, learning
everything he could manage to understand at his age from Bernie and his able young teacher Michael, from caulk gun, to tin snips, and
how to measure with the tape measure. Caulking the top of the Machinery Shed
was challenging, as it is a high roof, though fortunately not so steep
as the house's roofs.
The big, heavy doors were erected, and sheeted with tin. This work completed,
the work shifted to the Heritage Center.
A lot of salvaged boards still remained after the Machinery Shed was
built. These had to be cleaned of nails. Some of the nail cleaning was done
during the Reunion by Tom and others, but there remained many boards left
to clean. Ron Ginther and Michael were given this task by the boss, Bernie. Bernie
assessed the work on the Heritage Center, what was needed, and where, and
when to do it. As you see in the photos, the work consisted of framing
the whole first floor over the basement. More lumber was needed than
the turkey barn lumber provided, so Bernie took his van and trailer, and
Ron Ginther his truck, and went to Watertown, 40 miles from Bryant, and
brought back plywood and lumber, also nails for the nail guns.
Work went forward, with first one wall after another, then adding rafters
above, which were then covered with plywood for the floor above.
About two weeks went into this effort, until the whole first floor area
above the basement was completely framed, except for the
stairwell, which was not worked on, due to lack of time.
Not that it was all work: there long stints of fishing by Steve in local lakes,
dunking in the cattle tank, frisbee games, and good food and fellowship
that hardly quit, even to late hours each night. Sharing of scriptures
took place everywhere too, at all different times. The PVF master chef Steve Stadem
outdid himself with his walleye dinners and wild asparagus in cream
sauce.
Tom Stadem and his family came, without wife Judy this time,
to help out. They soon entered into the work and Nate and Michael enjoyed each other's
youthful company too, so the work went easier for them.
Rachel Stadem, eldest of the Tom Stadem children, worked
at various points of the construction, taught by Bernie. Her two
younger sisters assisted in the mealtimes, and also prepared the delicious
spaghetti feed we all enjoyed as our last meal together.
On Saturday, it was time to close up shop, and final
facing of the south side with plywood sheets was done, and then
the tools were all put away, in Bernie's van principally, and
in the shop at the Farm. Cars were loaded up, and
then the final departures made, with Steve remaining behind us
to button everything up tight. Plans were already made for
a return of a work party headed by Bernie in about three weeks,
the first or second week of August, when the third level is to be
framed.
Would you consider coming to help out? You will have a great time,
even if there is hard work to do. It will be unforgettable,
the fellowship, the camaraderie of Christians working and playing together
and sharing the word of the Bible with each other. Your help is needed,
as this is a group responsibility involving the whole relationship, not just
a few. This Heritage Center is for all of you, not a few. It is YOUR
Heritage Center. Make it really yours by investing some time and
elbow grease and even some funds and materials if you have them to
offer. God bless you if you can do that. You will be be richly blessed in return, there can be no doubt!
Dear ALL Loved Ones and ALL Friends of Saint Pearl A. Ginther, rejoice!
Mother Pearl (oldest member and matriarch of the Alfred Stadem clan too!) is in Glory with Jesus,
Our precious, Jesus-centered, scripture quoting Mother, Grandmother,
Great-Grandmother and friend who loved everybody but everybody and never quit on on any one of us left us at a little after 2 a.m., Saturday, April 23, (aged 101 and about 6 months and ten days!)
from her own bedroom in her own home (Mother had just been sent
back home, from the hospital, as an answer to
much prayer for several weeks during her hospital and nursing home stays!).
God bless you all. Thank you for all your prayers for her
and us. We still need prayers to make the
changes now that are needed. Joyce Ginther, second oldest
daughter of Pearl Ginther's three daughters, will be taking the house
in the mobile home court in Puyallup as her
own home.
You can contact Eloise Hefty with Memorials earmarked for Pearl Ginther and the Stadem Heritage Center or
the Tacoma Seamen's Center which she strenuously supported
in the Auxiliary. She contributed much (and her youngest son Jerry too)
to the Stadems' Plain View Farm Heritage Center project at the Farmstead
property as well. Memorials
for the Heritage Center barn can be sent to PVF Secretary, Eloise Hefty, 2820 S. St. Charles Lane, Sioux Falls, SD 57103.
Contact Eloise Hefty easily at: rheftyeed@msn.com
This project of the Heritage Center (presently being built) was given a grant of $1,000 when Pearl and her son Ronald (writing for her)
first wrote and then was called by Joseph Sebring, CEO of Morrells Companies in their corporate head's home in Cincinatti, Ohio.
People from overseas, Britain, have also contributed substantially, as this is
a worthy project calling for the support of all Christian friends and relatives of
Pearl Ginther (age 101, and approx. 6 months and 10 days) who wanted to see her godly pioneer, Scandinavian
heritage and legacy preserved and shared with everyone, family, friends, community,
and beyond! God bless you richly for contributing sacrificially! Mom would
be overjoyed at your response to this, as I know her heart and
spirit and what she loved to support to promote God's work in our
midst.
God bless you all, and
Cheers and Love in Jesus, Ron Ginther
and Roberta Ginther. Note: Roberta was a faithful caregiver
for Mother in the nursing home and at the hospital too.
At home she shared the responsibility and high privilege
of care-giving with Ron for several years. If you can spare
a minute, write or call and express your thanks and encouragement
to her. It is hard to lose the one you cared for, besides
losing your mother when you never knew your father, as was
the case with Roberta.
The PVF HERITAGE PROJECT THAT INCLUDES THE HERITAGE "BARN" NEEDS YOUR
SUPPORT AND PARTICIPATION TO BE WHAT WE NEED IT TO BE:
Why don't you support that with the thousands you spend on a trip to
Norway that lasts only a week or two at the most, so that
our golden legacy of faith and traditional values in a Scandinavian setting
can be preserved, restored, enhanced, and shared with
the younger generation and the whole community round about? You are missing
out on a tremendous blessing if you do not join in now--that is a fact.
You are also aiding the secularist-humanist, anti-Christian society and culture
of America and the West to push our forefathers' wonderful faith and values
into the dustbin, while the materialistic, godless, pleasure-seeking, selfish,
relativistic culture grabs the younger generation and turns them into
strangers where God and all the things of God are concerned. Forget about
our Scandinavian heritage--that is reduced to a few Scandinavian pastries
and a Norwegian flag or two stuck on a birthday cake! We've lost
everything really that made us Stadems and Holbeks, authentic people of faith in
God and sacrifice for the strengthening and spreading of the kingdom of God
in our families and in our country. We really cease to be true spiritual descendants of Oline and Sjur/Sjvert Olson Stadem and Bergit, Katrine, and Andrew Holbek and become children of the lost world instead. Is the latter end what you
really want? Then, if not, support your priceless godly heritage
and spiritual legacy on PVF all you can, every way you can. Teach your
grandchildren and great-grandkids about your mother and father,
your grandparents, and what they stood for. Show them pictures,
take take them to reunions instead of DisneyWorld or Sea World,
get them involved in rebuilding what our forefathers and foremothers
bequeathed to us. The time is now, not later. Later,
who knows? You may not be here any longer to make a difference in your
children's lives and in the lives of the younger generation.
"When he came to his senses, he said, '...I will set out and go back to my father'..."--Luke 15:17-18 (NIV)
The prodigal son, a young man who thought he knew better how to live his life, finds himself at the bottom, lower than the pigs he serves. In this hour of defeat comes hope. He remembers the father who loved him. He remembers a man who treated even his servants with dignity.
He determines to humbly return to his homeland and ask his father's forgiveness. In the distance, down that narrowing road toward the farm, stands his father. He has been waiting and watching a long time for the lost son. He stands excitedly waving and shouting, "Welcome home my son!"--Jennifer Bocke
(Note: If you look very carefully to the right, up the winding road, you will see the
waving figure of his father!)
"Why can't a bicycle stand upright alone? Answer: It's two tired!"
"Where do you find an ocean without water? Answer: On a map."
Stadem Descendant Moves to Watertown, SD, to
Ready Artifacts Brought Along for Heritage Center:
I, Ron, would like to put forth now the idea of erecting a cross on Pearl Island,
which will be in memory of our mother Pearl Ginther and
my brother Jerry, and a cousin and uncle and nephew to
the rest of you. You might want to contribute to this worthy project.
Lighting at night would make it a most beautiful and memorable and
even inspiring
sight, when seen from the big picture windows of the Heritage Center.
During the day it would also be plainly visible, against a backdrop
of the island's trees,if set upon a sufficient high cement base.
The cross in this following picture was made by my gracious Watertown host (who with
his wife have opened their home for me to stay in until
my apt. opens up). He makes crosses of the traditional kind, being
a carpenter with a wonderful set of tools, saws, etc.,
but also crosses of this type which especially portray the whole meaning
of the cross. Jesus did not come to suffer and die for the sake of
experiencing pain. The Bible gives the reason why Jesus went
and endured the agony, humiliation, and death of the Roman cross:
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whosoever
believes on Him shall not perish but have everlasting life."--John 3: 16.
I John 3:16 says the same thing: "Hereby we see the love of God...that he laid down his life for us." So it was LOVE, God's LOVE that
was the reason for Christ's going to the cross on Calvary (Golgotha, the
Hill of the Skull outside Jerusalem's walls). I think this truth is
foremost, when viewing the cross, and considering its meaning for us
Christians. The heart in the center of the cross pictured here
portrays that love God has for us, which motivated Jesus to
suffer and die for us on the Cross. How fitting a memorial, a cross
set up on Pearl Island on Plain View Farm, in tribute and memory of
both Pearl Ginther and her son Jerry, as they, mother and son, lived to lift up Jesus,
and His cross, to draw others unto the Lord and Savior.
Jerry loved to climb, even as a young boy. Here he is
seated on the rail of a trestle overhanging a deep ravine high in
the hills and foothills of the Cascade Mountains:
In closing, here is probably my favorite picture of Jerry, as
a youth embarking on an adult journey with remarkably friendly, clear eyes taken about the time he was going out to attend, or attending, Augustana Academy:
The Ginther brothers, oldest (Darrell on right), and youngest, (Jerry
on left), with Ron (5th, center in picture and in the family line-up too),
sharing a last reunion together on beloved old Plain View Farm
"The Crossroads Man," a Tribute to Jerry Ginther, by his brother Ronald Ginther, July 2011, Watertown, SD
Pictures of the 2011 Reunion and Heritage Center construction, with comments on each photo,
will continue to be posted here.
For poetic tributes to loved ones who have gone on to heaven, go to:
Tributes Central
FROM THE ARCHIVES OF THE PLAIN VIEW HERITAGE CENTER:
Noteworthy is her quoting from Hans Nielsen Hauge, in a statement which she
gives in a slightly amended version of Hauge's words: "The young one may die, but the old ones must die." See if you can find it in her comments in the following
card's remarks. The great Norwegian evangelist Hans Nielsen Hauge was
giving an "edification," as his piritual talks to people were entitled,
calling the old people to salvation before their time ran out, when he made that remark. Aunty Tena's quoting of Hauge shows she must have read
his books. Her brother-in-law Alfred Stadem certainly did, we know, for he and his wife gave their grandson Darrell Ginther a copy of a biography of Hans Nielsen Hauge for Christmas in 1948.
Aunty Tena's Card and Letter to
her niece Pearl Ginther
Grass grows madly on the well-watered PVF property, waist high, so
Steve Stadem has to use this powerful tractor-mower rig to keep it under control, and he has a lot
of ground to cover too, mowing everything several times during the whole time we are on the
property. This affords us a graceful, beautiful parklike setting for all the fun things we like to do.
Pfui! is the clear response of the Stadem doggie to
the critter dragged out of its hole after receiving a shot from
Steve's 22 rifle a few days ago. This is one furry character we do not need, as he digs
everywhere around and under buildings, throwing up dirt in the foundation-less outbuildings, then chews down the flowers in the
beds just to be mean.
The start of the second phase is this winterized, tarp-covered
and insulation faced basement. In a matter of days though it will be
transformed with an entirely new look!
Tom Stadem named the island in the big pond on the property, most touchingly, after Pearl Stadem Ginther, his aunt.
Arrivals! Ren and his guests, Mariano and Rosario,
a Mexican couple associated with Canyon Scholars which Ren and
his late wife Grace founded, and the trusty Mexican dog.
After the Reunion, the work party of four stayed on
to finish the Machinery Shed, and then resume work on the Heritage Center
Michael the Red Shirted, with Viking Hammer!
Please return for more photos soon of the reunion and the work party's progress on the Machinery Shed and the Heritage Center.
Please give yourself a great treat and get and read this Sep. 2011 issue! Eloise Hefty outdid her former noble efforts in producing
this blockbuster, 11 page Samtaleren about the latest projects and
also memorials:
Update on the past 2011 Reunion:
A memorial by her son Ronald Ginther to Stadem and Ginther Matriarch Pearl Andrina Ginther was given in the way of a table laid with her lovely jewelry and other
items of hers, for donation only to the Heritage Center. These items were
brought out by him and cousin Naomi Iserman in a trailer. A storage unit
in Watertown has the main items at present, and will be be brought to the
Heritage Center and the 2012 Reunion.
For contributions of any kind, please contact
Eloise Hefty, (cell) (605)-359-1524, or email her:
rheftyseed@msn.com. Steve Stadem, Project Mgr. of the Heritage Center,
can be reached at: stadement@wwdb.org or call him: (605)-371-4497. You may
call them for any info. you need, or, if it is a first time there, directions how
to locate the Farmstead.
Update on Pearl Stadem Ginther's Graduation-to-Heaven:
Tacoma Seafarers Center Says Farewell to Pearl Ginther
God's Precious Pearl, Beloved Grandmother, Great-Grandmother and Mother Pearl A. Ginther is now in Glory with Jesus!
The Memorial Service at her church, Mt. View Lutheran, Edgewood,
Washington, was packed out, and the parking lots filled, but the impact
is much greater, felt by the whole community round about.
A vision that thousands and thousands would be led by her up into
heaven (as a queen leads a magnificent procession through Westminster
Abbey's glorious halls) was shared with us by a woman of God from
Minnesota, who happens to be a beloved cousin, wise in the Lord's ways
and wisdom.
Here are the other sections of the Plain View Heritage Home Page that continue
on from this page:
Plain View Heritage Home Page, Part 2
Plain View Heritage Home Page, Part 3
Plain View Heritage Home Page, Part 4
Pearl's Lifelong Love, PVF of Rural Bryant, SD!
YOUR HOSTESS, NONE OTHER THAN "RIXA"! The entrance to our Plain View Heritage Farm Family Story is
by Hostess Estelle Stadem Rangen! We lost the links to the pictures and also other items when the change was made to a private domain, but we are now at work restoring these pages. Please return as they come on-line restored.
Estelle Stadem Rangen and portrait of her Grandfather Peder Stadem
and Grandmother Marie Stadem
God's First Little Acre, by Daughter Estelle "Rixa" Stadem Rangen
While the vetting for the site here is going on, you might run over to
Plain View Farm on Angelfire. The pages are right now more what they should be there
than on this in progress site.
Plain View Farm on Angelfire's Directory for God's Little Acres
PLAINVIEWHERITAGE FARM'S GOD'S SECOND LITTLE ACRE
"LIFE ON THE
FARM"
PLAINVIEWHERITAGE FARM'S GOD'S THIRD LITTLE ACRE
"A LITTLE ABOUT
PAPA"
PLAINVIEWHERITAGE FARM'S GOD'S FOURTH LITTLE ACRE
"A LITTLE ABOUT
MAMA"
PLAINVIEWHERITAGE FARM'S GOD'S FIFTH LITTLE ACRE
"MORE ABOUT FARM
LIFE"
PLAINVIEWHERITAGE FARM'S GOD'S SIXTH LITTLE ACRE
"BUYING, BARTERING, BUTCHERING,
AND BANDS"
PLAINVIEWHERITAGE FARM'S GOD'S SEVENTH LITTLE ACRE
"THE SPIRITUAL
SIDE"
...And Where the Corn is Always Sweet and Ripe to Pick!
...And Where the Coffee is Always Ready to Pour Hot and Fresh
in Your Cup!
Plain View Farm Intro and Mission
Statement
As their family and friends and everyone else was aware who knew and loved them, Grandpa and Grandma Stadem were awfully keen to have evangelistic
services on PVF, and had many during their tenure on Plain View Farm.
Why don't we continue this grand tradition and mission of theirs?
Why have we neglected so important a commission given us by the Lord
Jesus? For my thoughts on the importance of evangelism being
offered on Plain View Farm:
"We Need Evangelism
on Plain View Farm," by Ronald Ginther, Grandson of Bergit and Alfred Stadem
LOVED ONES, WHY DO YOU TAKE TRIPS TO NORWAY? JUST TO SEE THE SPECTACULAR SCENERY?
As my Grandma Bergit (othertimes I spell it "Birgit," but it looks nicer with an "e", don't you think?) made it plain in word and in writing, she was only to happy to leave Norway when she and her sister finally got the chance!
My own mother never has had any desire to go there too. Except for a couple
relatives, a Taylor and several Svanoes, we have had no ministry trips to
Norway in all these years since the Stadems left in the 18605 and the Holbeks
departed in the first years of the 1900s. Yet of late flocks of relatives
and family have flown to Norway for very expensive jaunts up and down
the land, visiting third or fourth cousins, then returning back to
their lives here, without any giving to the Heritage Project on the Farm
or PVF itself. Why? You would think that exposure to Norway's culture would
stimulate them to give, and give all the more--but that is not how it works out.
Norway was in declining spiritual condition, turning cold toward God,
a hundred years ago, and it hasn't improved since, but has grown only worse and worse. Norway has a cold and formal state church system, just like the other
Scandinavian countries, and a strong secularist-humanist culture and society.
Only a fraction of the people attend church, though they are all listed as members.
God, as the Living God of the Bible, is not a part of Norwegian life to any significant extent, by the choice
of contemporary Norwegians! So it has gone with Britain, Canada, Australia,
most of Europe, and America now too. It is then high time not to follow their example, but to turn back to God, our living Almighty God of the Bible, and follow the true way to happiness and fulfilment that the Bible prescribes and which our forefathers followed.
IMPORTANT: THIS IS PLAIN VIEW HERITAGE FARM, PART 1
Ladies Tea with Pearl Ginther, Plain View Farm House parlor, June 22-29, 2010
HOW DO YOU GET TO KNOW A STADEM THAT PASSED AWAY MANY YEARS AGO,
BACK IN THE 1950s, AND YOU NEVER MET HIM? WELL, I AM GOING THROUGH HIS
POSTCARD COLLECTION SCRAPBOOK FROM THE EARLY 1900s. IT GIVES ME A
FEW CLUES ABOUT ADOLPH STADEM, WHO WAS A YOUNG BOY OF NINE OR SO AT THE TIME. HIS BROTHER IS MALVIN STADEM. HIS HALF-BROTHERS ARE SEVER AND ALFRED, BORN OF PEDER AND MARIE. ADOLPH AND MALVIN ARE THE ONLY DIRECT OFFSPRING OF PEDER AND GURINA STADEM OF CANTON, SD. THEY BOTH DIED
RELATIVELY YOUNG FOR STADEMS AND ARE BURIED NEXT TO EACH OTHER (AS THEY LIVED, BACHELORS,
TOGETHER TOO) IN OUR REDEEMER'S LUTHERAN CEMETERY, BRYANT, SD. YOU WILL ENJOY THE POSTCARDS AND VALENTINES TOO, WHICH ARE JUST A FEW AS A SAMPLER.
Postcards and Valentines for Adolph Stadem,Esq.
PLEASE PROCEED TO PART 2 OF THE PLAIN VIEW HERITAGE HOME PAGE FOR THE REST OF THIS HOME PAGE! THE LINK IS GIVEN AT THE TOP OF THIS PAGE. OR USE THE
LINK BELOW:
Plain View Heritage Home Page, Part 2
Our
New Master Directory of
Ten Sites:
WWW.OARINGINTHERIVER.COM Master Directory
From January of the 2011 calendar of the Union Gospel Mission,
Sioux Falls, SD (Art and thoughts by Jennifer Bocke, a wonderful
artist):
"The Prodigal Son"
We at the Plain View Farm Website thank Almighty God, our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ and His faithfulness and grace, and for giving us yet another year in the bud to serve Him and His glorious kingdom, a year which we pray He will
cause to be very fruitful! May the Holy Spirit guide and direct us in every thing we say and do! Amen
Want to enjoy some more Stadem Valentines, this time from
the collections of Arthur and Ruth Stadem:
Stadem Valentines
Stadems have always cherished good, clean humor; and Pearl Stadem Ginther was no exception, by far! Her grandchildren and great-gran kids
loved her jokes. She always had a bag of them to share. Many of her jokes
went into her cards and letters that she wrote continuously
throughout her long life to friends, family, and acquaintances. Here are
just two:
A great delight always for the Ginther kids was to
visit Grandpa John Ginther on his little farm, where he had
beautiful ponies to ride, trick horses Grandpa had trained,
and all kinds of special buggies and circus rigs, including a merry-go-round
that Grandpa Ginther had ingeniously made from gears and wheels he found
in the dump. These, ponies, horses, buggies, and wagons, he
decorated up for special events such as parades. Here Grandpa Ginther
is shown, with his stovepipe hat on, driving a merry-go-round down the main street of Hayti, SD, in a parade.
Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem and Israel and
People, both Jewish and Arab who are Israeli!
LAST BUT NOT LEAST, WHY THIS WEBSITE WAS EVEN STARTED:
"Why This Plain View Farm
Website Started," by Ronald Ginther
(c) 2011, Butterfly Productions, All Rights Reserved
For the BRYANT DAKOTAN July 7, 2010 reprint of South Dakota's "Great Faces"
series article on Laura Ingalls Wilder, go to:
South Dakota's Great Faces: Laura Ingalls Wilder
We hope you feel LOVED before you sign off this page, or any other pages of this Plain View Heritage Site, because you are loved! You, yes, you, are the reason why this website was created and kept going over fourteen years now!
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