Kautzky Homestead a Century Farm

Home	Famous Kautzkys	Family Email/Links	Reunions
Kautzky/Book Lineage	Archives	Kautzky Cousins
	Sign Guestbook View Guestbook
Mary (Kautzky) Book's Life Story			Joseph Kautzky's LifeStory
Paul Kautzky's Life Story

Kautzky Glimpses into the Past and Present

Contact: Dennis Loghry

Updated: June 05, 2004

Joe Kautzky's Reflections

Edward and Anna Kautzy, taken in Bohemia	Edward Kautzky, my father, was born September 6, 1874 in Austria. He was the youngest of six children. His parents died when he was very young. At age 7 he and his 16-year-old sister Anna set sail for this country. They were on the ship for eleven days. He said he was sick nearly every day. They had cousins in this country around central Iowa.
Jacob and Mary Forret ,Paulina (Kubischek) Forret and Edward Kautzky	Jacob and Mary Forret took Dad to raise. They never adopted him but he was known as Ed Forret. Some of the Forrets called him "Fritz." He lived and worked on the Kubitchek farm, which is now owned by Joe and Nancy Rohner. He learned to play the fiddle and played for many dances.	Edward Kautzky, fiddlin' around
older view of farn stead Thrashing oats with horse power	In 1899 he purchased what is now the "homeplace," eighty acres located 6 miles south of Perry from a man by the name of Taylor. The cost of the farm was $2,250. He then changed his name back to Kautzky. On September 4, 1900 he married Jennie Slaninger and they moved onto the farm the same year. The farm was very wet with several large ponds – good for duck hunting and spearing muskrats. So the next thing was to drain the land. He spent lots of time laying tile and digging ditches. The tile had to be at least 3 feet deep in the low ground, and on high spots he would be throwing out dirt over his head. ( on each side you will see pictures of Edwards farm, just click the image to get an enlarged view )	Thrashing oats with Horses and tractor Young Joe and friends in front of the barn
Ed Jennie and their grown children	They were parents of Mary, Edward, Paul and Joe. In the first few years he bought two more 40-acre pieces. One was across the road and west � mile and the other forty a 1/2 mile east on the other side of the highway now. In about 1920 he bought 40 acres known as "the timber."	The children in their youth
	He purchased his first car in 1912 – a Mitchel. In about 1910 he built the barn, which is still in good shape. In 1922 the modern house was built for a cost of $6,500. Today, my son Greg and wife Lori and family have made it a very nice home.
Edward's 1st tractor a 15 30 McCormick	In the early years all the farming was done with horses. In 1925 the first tractor was bought, a 15-30 McCormick. In 1925, Dad bought the Kubitchek farm from the Forrets (which is where Ed’s family would live) and in 1926 bought the 120 acres across the road from the home 80 for a cost of $24,000. In 1931 he bought the 80 where Paul lived and raised his family. Ed, Paul and Joe worked the farms after they finished school until they married and started their own families.
Rosann and Joe Kautzky	The century farm is well kept. Rosann and I built a modern house next to the main house, and raised our family there. It is well kept and now rented out. A large machine shed, six grain bins, 2 large garages, a silo, and a combination hog farrowing/nursery facility have been added to the large barn on the farm. The land is now well drained and fertile, and ready for the next 100 years.	Kautzky Farmhouse, taken July 2000, isn't it a beauty! Greg and Lori, you guys are doing a great job taking care of the farm.
Joe's graduation photo	Since I was the youngest and best looking, I inherited the home eighty, which is now the century farm. My father died in 1958 and my mother died in 1969. Joe

Hosted by www.Geocities.ws