More of Life On & Beyond Plain View Farm

Kids at Chamberlain, S.D., Lakota Indian Tribe, sent this picture, and we took the liberty of putting in these letters! Thanks go to St. Joseph's School, Chamberlain, S.D.

VELKOMMEN! Remember how the front door is for more formal events, but the back door is everyone can "come as you are"? No wonder the back door is the most used door! Well, that is the same here. You can be comfortable in any sort of clothes, and can even come straight from the barn if you like, with your shoes smelling of, let's say, hay. Be yourself, and step right in! The porch has just the right space for boots, or heavy winter coats and mittens. A cat may be sitting as close to the door as possible, so just step on over Puss and enter. What is that absolutely heavenly fragrance you smell? Why, Mama's fresh-baked bread! And there is the aroma of fresh-perked coffee, homemade pie and doughnuts too!

What more of a welcome and greeting could you want than all this traditional Norwegian farm ambiance in all its homely splendor?

You know its the back yard because of the windmill, which you can read about in one of Pearl's stories, by the way! Along with the Heritage Center Project, we plan to erect a windmill where it was on the Farm, and a fund is in process of providing for it! And don't miss checking out Pearl Stadem Ginther's ever-popular Plain View Farm horse stories!

PLAIN VIEW FARM, THE EARLY, UNPRETENTIOUS, SOME WHAT ODORIFOUS BACKYARD VIEW THAT WASN'T TRYING TO IMPRESS ANYONE!

Since this is a Norwegian household, expect a Scandinavian Smorgasbord and all you Swedes, Danes, Finns, and Icelanders out there won't be disappointed either! Even if you aren't Scandinavian, you are just as welcome! The coffee and doughtnuts were an appetizer, and here comes the real food!

Help yourself to any number of special things you won't find anywhere else. Here you will find tributes to Dakota Pioneers, tales of Plain View Farm for children, a photo album, the Plain View Farm picture calendar, genealogy, tributes to our special school the Academy, trips to Norway "The Old Country," our Scandinavian cartoons, and our holiday and Christmas celebration section contributed mainly by Estelle Rangen (who has gone on to glory, after a most courageous, even inspiring battle against cancer).

Newly gleaned from the PVF Archives:

Sever (Right) and Alfred, two brothers, sons of Marie and Peder Stadem

Bernice Schaefer pulling out two loaves from a cupboard of Plain View Farm, after baking 30 loaves no doubt for the Reunion.

In the 1950 Alfred and Bergit Stadem inaugurated evangelism meetings in tents they had brought in by truck, inviting the communities round about, including Bryant to join in. Many people came to hear the messages of various evangelists and sing and worship the Lord Jesus together.

Other items of special interest from the PVF Heritage Center Archives:
1. Apparently, there was question in the Social Security Administration concerning Bergit Stadem's maiden name of Holbeck. For this reason Alfred typed out an explanation on the reverse side of a a Norwegian language document relating Bergit Wilhelmine's (no last name, Holbeck, given) ancestry and parentage, dated August 30, 1889.
On the other side is typed information to the Social Security Administration, by Alfred Stadem for Bergit Stadem, from Bryant, SD, Sept. 20, 1957. The information of chief interest is that "Holbeck was a placename from Denmark, attached to distinguish the family from other Anderssen's, in that vicinity. The notary that signed the official paper on the other side is mentioned for Bergit by Alfred thus: "Possibly the notary at Upsaker was familiar with this, and omitted the name Holbeck that was commonly used, around Mandal. I have an older sister and brother, who is a pastor, the before mentioned, who live in this country, that can verify the above statements too." 2. A "Mortgage with Power of Sale" state form bearing names of Alfred J. P. Stadem and Martin S. Stadem, dated Dec. 11, 1911. It is notarized and refers to land Alfred and Bergit Stadem are acquiring from Martin Stadem for the price of $700, comprising 80 acres "more or less according to the U.S. Survey thereof," at 6% per annum.
3. Inspection Card (Immigrants and Steerage Passengers) on the Hellig Olaf, a ship departing March 27, 1903 from Christiansand, Norway, with Birgit Holbak, Berth Number 2110, K40. The card is stamped Apr 10, 1903. On the back of the card is printed: "Keep this Card to avoid detention at Quarantine and on Railroads in the United States." The same instruction is given in Norwegian and some other Scandinavian languages. There is a section verifying Bergit Holbak was vaccinated, with the stamped name "O. Davidsen" in green, with title "Ships Surgeon" beneath.

We have recently illustrated the Plain View Farm musical drama we hope to see portrayed someday on the Farm, using it as a natural stage!

There is much, much more, so come and sit at the table and enjoy! Don't eat and rush away. Come back for second, thirds, and fourths! Return guests will always find something new as well.

ANNOUNCING THE PLAIN VIEW FARM HERITAGE CENTER PROJECT! Yes, there will be a Heritage Center where Scandinavian culture, food, and customs can be shared and enjoyed. But this Center will primarily feature the unique legacy of godly pioneering parents, Alfred and Bergit Stadem, as they made founded Plain View Farm on God's word and the faithfulness of the Lord. Their nine children all were raised in this wonderful faith that their parents lovingly nurtured them with. It made a tremendous difference in all their lives, and it will still make a difference in yours! Check it out, and you will not regret the time spent! Far from it! You will want to tell others too what you have discovered here.
But please check out the Heritage Center. The complete details are on the Plain View Farm Home Page, on Geocities, with the link here:

PLAIN VIEW FARM HOME PAGE FOR THE HERITAGE CENTER PROJECT

THE BARN THAT PAPA ALFRED STADEM BUILT, REPLACING ONE A TORNADO COMPLETELY WRECKED, WILL BE REPLACED IN TURN BY THE HERITAGE CENTER. GOD IS PROVIDING THE MEANS WITH THIS COMING NEW STRUCTURE TO HAVE A MEETING PLACE THAT WILL ACCOMMODATE MUCH LARGER NUMBERS THAN THE SPISE HUT AND FARM HOUSE COULD HOLD. THIS IS A VERY EXCITING DEVELOPMENT, MUCH PRAYED FOR! PLEASE GO TO EITHER THE PLAIN VIEW FARM HOME PAGE ON GEOCITIES OR THE BUFFALO MOUND SITE FOR DETAILS ON THE PROJECT, AND THE UNIQUE PICTURE OF THE BARN THAT STEPHEN STADEM HAS CREATED TO HELP RAISE THE NEEDED FUNDS.

ARTHUR STADEM TRIBUTE

Arthur Stadem died youth, in his early twenties, in a tragic plane crash. Sixty One years have passed for us in the family since Arthur D. Stadem's departure from this earth to heaven (no one has the slightest doubt, who knew him, that he was heaven-bound, even in his early youth and early manhood) in the sudden plane crash January 9, 1947. To commemorate him better, his page has been worked on, so that it has pictures, and more will be added.
Please check out this page, for it tells about a most remarkable person. He, unlike many people, was a man of few words.
Calvin Coolidge was such a person. One woman wagered with another that she could get him to say more than two words. She told the President about this wager. "You lose," he remarked.

Papa and Mama's first son, Arthur Donald Stadem, was, indeed, quiet, but his life spoke volumes about the Lord and the great love he had for Him from his earliest boyhood.
As his school records, exams, and teachers' comments testify, he progressed upwards toward excellence in all he did. It was his faith in God that motivated him, we believe. With that same faith, he could not help but honor his beloved parents. He did everything to make their existence more happy and secure, and earned the pride they had in their fine, faithful son. He strove to do his best in order to be a pleasing savor, so to speak, to God his Creator and Savior. How few young people have that attitude? Know any? He definitely was such. With his money he saved from the service in the Navy during the Second World War, he bought land for his parents, to enlarge their means of livelihood.
Truly, he was like an angel among us--and his memory today is still deeply cherished by his surviving sisters and brother, not to mention his nephews and nieces.

"Winter's Child," A Tribute to Arthur D. Stadem, by Grateful Nephew Ronald Ginther

A SPECIAL TREAT FOR CHILDREN ARE OUR PLAIN VIEW FARM CHILDREN'S STORIES HERE ON THE STADEMS SAGA WEBSITE! Check out the Tales for a Lille Tupa and Tupin, which are all, except one, illustrated! You will like them, so try them out on your children, and they will love them! They are true stories, by the people who experienced them!

ALSO, PLEASE CHECK OUT THE THREE ACTS OF THE PLAIN VIEW FARM MUSICAL, WHICH HAVE BEEN ILLUSTRATED WITH PORTRAITS OF ALL NINE CHILDREN AND ALSO PAPA AND MAMA STADEM.

PLAIN VIEW FARM, THE MUSICAL DRAMA, By Ronald Ginther

Paul Rangen, a beloved cousin who went Home to Heaven in 2000, signed our guestbook more than once and expressed his appreciation of the Plain View Farm websites. But Paul is even more a blessing since then! I found that out unexpectedly re-reading a letter he had sent out to the whole relationship four months before his Homegoing. He was telling about how his hope, at the point of vanishing, was unexpectedly revived by a radio testimony from the very same station where he worked. He had collapsed on the way from church, been taken to Intensive Care at the hospital, and the letter describes what happened as he desperately needed a touch from God to revive his spirits--and how God came through for him. This letter did not minister to me in 2000 like it did just a few days ago, when I found myself in different circumstances (not in a hospital with lung disease) but a situation that seemed hopeless and with no way of it turning better. Maybe others can identify with this. If you can, or desperately need a touch from God, and are praying but seemingly not being heard, please link to Paul Rangen's letter. When friends and family fail you, when even God doesn't seem to be listening, here is an opportunity for "God to make a way where there seems to be no way."

Paul Rangen's Letter, April 8, 2000

"Why Augustana Academy Closed," a View by Ronald Ginther

And Please Look Into our New Master Directory for all Nine Sites:

WWW.OARINGINTHERIVER.COM Master Directory

Links to other Plain View Farm pages and other Plain View Farm sites on the Web

Please go to the new series, Plain View Farm Reunions, as they are now appearing on the Plain View Farm family of websites, to relive the golden memories of Christian fellowship, food, and fun that will never fade away. You will also find information on Stadem Grandson Stephen Stadem's beautiful new watercolor picture of the old Plain View Farm barn, which he created to raise funds for the building of the proposed new multipurpose meeting facility.

Pastor Joe and Estelle Rangen's Christmas Message, 1987, on the Buffalo Mound Website

The Stadem Plain View Farm Reunion Series

PLAIN VIEW FARM HOME PAGE

SPECIAL TRIBUTES TO STADEM VETERANS
"GIANT FOOTPRINTS"--TRIBUTES TO DAKOTAN PIONEERS OF RURAL BRYANT
TRIBUTES TO THREE LOVED ONES RECENTLY "GRADUATED TO HEAVEN, WITH SUMMA CUM LAUDE HONORS"
STADEM FARM CALENDAR, 1999
THE STADEM FAMILY PHOTO ALBUM
CENTRAL FOR ROAD MAPS FOR NAVIGATING OUR COMBINED PVF SITES
SCANDINAVIA: DUCK HEAVEN TOONS
HOLIDAY CELEBRATION CENTRAL
PLAIN VIEW FARM: THE MUSICAL DRAMA
AUGUSTANA ACADEMY CENTRAL
TRIBUTE TO STADEM FOREBEARS
RON'S WRITINGS DIRECTORY
TALES FOR A LILLE TUPIN AND TUTA: "TORNADO!"
TRIPS TO NORWAY BY SVANOE FAMILY AND AUGSBURG COLLEGE GOSPEL QUARTET
"STADEM ROOTS" BY BARBARA BENSON, AND HER STADEM GENEALOGY ARTICLE, ONE OF OUR MOST POPULAR FEATURES!

EVER WONDER WHAT HAS GONE WRONG WITH THE PUBLIC AND EVEN THE PRIVATE SCHOOLS IN AMERICA GENERALLY? WHY IS HARVARD, FOR EXAMPLE, FOUNDED AS A CHRISTIAN SCHOOL DEVOTED TO TRAINING UP YOUNG PEOPLE IN GODLINESS AND CHRISTIAN SERVICE TO CHURCH AND COUNTRY, COMPLETELY THE OPPOSITE TODAY? A REAL MUST TO READ--THIS VERY PROPHETIC AND FARSIGHTED SPEECH GIVEN TO AUGUSTANA ACADEMY STUDENTS AND FACULTY IN 1947 BY PEARL STADEM-GINTHER IS ABSOLUTELY RIGHT ON, PERFECT FOR TODAY'S SCHOOLS--IT ALL CAME TO PASS, AS ANYONE CAN SEE TODAY, BUT PROVIDES THE WAY TO MAKE A REAL, CONSTRUCTIVE CHANGE FOR THE BETTER. A REAL CHANGE MUST BEGIN WITH RETURNING TO CHURCH, A BIBLE-BASED CHURCH, AND PIETY--REAL, SINCERE FAITH IN GOD EXPRESSED IN LOVE FOR JESUS AND LOVE OF OTHERS...JUST LIKE OUR PILGRIM FOREBEARS, WHO FOUNDED OUR ONCE SPIRITUALLY GREAT NATION...

TRIBUTE TO CHRISTIAN EDUCATION BY PEARL GINTHER

PLEASE ALSO LINK TO OUR PRAIRIE FARM SITE ON ANGELFIRE FOR A NUMBER OF SOBERING AS WELL AS FUNNY REFLECTIONS OF THE FARM AND MAMA AND PAPA STADEM BY DAUGHTER ESTELLE AND OTHERS IN THE FAMILY:

Life on Prairie Farm

Please do not email us at the old address, which is discontinued, but at this new address:

ronald.ginther@oaringintheriver.com

Š 2010, Butterfly Productions, All Rights Reserved

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