Rubels Homestead in 1904 ....

by Mona Taggart
One hundred years ago, people from many different lands came to the Americas in search of a new life. Edward Rubel (great grandfather of Richard Rubel) journeyed from Alsace,
Lorraine, an area between Germany and France that changed ownership between two countries several times, and settled in Springbrook, IA. Edward¹s father and mother, Johannes and
Margaret Schaeffer Rubel, bakers by profession, feared that their only son, Edward, would be drafted, as the threat of war loomed over their homeland.

In 1866, Edward traveled to the United States by ship. He was sixteen at the time of his journey to this land of promise. His parents felt that America held many more opportunities for him
than did their native land. Among his meagre possessions, Edward brought a compass to the new land. (The compass is still in Richard Rubel¹s possession.) His eldest sister, Eva, had
already settled in Galena, IL and had married and started a family. Edward headed for the same area.

It is uncertain where he settled in the beginning, however, according to the census of 1870, Edward lived in Bellevue, IA. That census also listed him as single, twenty years old and a
farmer from France/Germany. War did break out in Europe, just as the Rubels had feared. The Rubel family lived in a section of France that became a part of Germany from 1871 to 1917 and
again from 1940 to1944. Some of the family members say they are from France, while others claim to be from Germany. In 1875, Edward married Katherine Heim at St. Mary¹s Church in Galena, IL and continued to farm. Their first child, John was born in 1876 and another son, Edward II was born in 1878. It was sometime in 1881 that the family moved to Springbrook, IA.

This was where Charles (Richard¹s grandfather) was born in 1881. Abbie followed in 1884, Josephine in 1885, Emma in 1887 and William in 1890.

The Rubel Ranch of today came to be in 1904 when Edward drew the quarter of land in the SE 1/4 of 20-96-73 of Dickens Township in Gregory County during the land drawing held in
Mitchell. The family still has the original homestead patent papers that were signed by President Theodore Roosevelt. His son, Arnold, drew the SW quarter of 20-96-73 also in Dickens
Township. Charles was also entered in the drawing, but did not receive a quarter, so Charles helped his father and brother work their claims. The three started with a sod house, and the
ranch began to grow. It was a struggle to keep the ranch going on top of making occasional trips back to Springbrook, IA where Edward still had a farm. (The farm in Iowa is still being
operated by the Rubel family, Ed¹s great grandson).

The ranch had no fences, no trees and no roads. The family started with shorthorn cattle and horses. Edward was killed during a trip to Chicago, IL on November 27, 1907. He died at the age of 57 due to a gas heater that apparently was extinguished, causing him to die from asphyxiation. Edward was looked upon as the family patriarch during his homesteading period, and was often called settle disputes. Edward's wife, Katherine, never came to South Dakota. She stayed in Iowa to take care of the family's interests in that state.

Charles married Ida (Budde) on January 16, 1906 in Springbrook, IA. Charles and his wife, Ida, moved from his homestead, six miles west of Paxton in Tripp County to his father¹s farm and
began working the land and raising cattle. The couple worked hard to build up the ranch. They planted numerous trees and shelterbelts on the barren, open land that had become their home.
They also had one of the first wells in the area, which spurred Charles interest in witching for water and digging wells. The couple purchased a pasture of 80 acres across the road where
Edward began his homestead. This became the first fenced land in the area. Native Americans used the fenced in pasture to hold their ponies. They would put them in at any given time, but
would always ask permission before taking them back out. In the early days, the couple would hitch the horses to the wagon and head to church south of Burke for mass. Religion has always
been a very important part of the Rubel famly. Catholicism was carried on from Edward. The trip to mass was eighteen miles, which was the closest church to their homestead. Eventually, a
church was erected in Paxton, where three generations of Rubels have served mass, Vernon, Richard and Steven. Sister Miriam (Marcella Rubel) became a nun from the Paxton area and in
1943 took her final vows.

A monument has been erected at the Paxton Church in memory of Vernon and Marcella Rubel. Charles was enthusiastic about raising and breeding quality horses and took pride in traveling the area with his purebred stallion. Horses have played a big part in the Rubel Ranch. Charles traveled the area with a stud and did a lot of trading horses.

Charles did a lot of well digging with a horse-powered drilling machine. He witched for wells all of his life. Today, there are still a number of wells being used that he witched.

I had helped him with some of the witching and have become familiar with the process, stated Richard. In Charles' retirement years, he enjoyed going fishing with his long bamboo poles that he tied onto the side of his car. He would take me, Marlene and David along to go catch bullheads to take home and clean, reminisced Richard. Charles also tended bar in Gregory after retiring and enjoyed making homemade wine and beer. He was one of the few that came out ahead with social security, because he paid in for one period and drew out more with his first check than he paid in, stated Rich Charles and Ida moved to town and lived in a small house at 618 Church Street, but he was involved with the ranching operation until his death in 1974. Ida passed away on March 28, 1984.

In the early teens, a barn was erected on the homestead, with lean-tos being added throughout the years. The barn, hog barn and chicken house that were all built before the 1930's are
still standing on the Rubel Ranch.

In the early 20's, three children were born to Charles and Ida: Vernon (Richard's father), Marcella and Leo. As the family grew, so did the ranch. All three of their children attended a
country school, one and a half miles from the ranch. After their eldest son, Vernon, graduated from Gregory High School in 1940, he joined his father Charles in running the ranch, continuing to
increase the land and cattle. Vernon carried on the tradition of raising and selling horses. Over the years he castrated many stallions for people in the area.

In 1945, Vernon married Marcella Schulte. Now there were two Marcella's in the family. In the late 1940¹s and the early 1950¹s, three children were born to Vernon and Marcella, Richard,
Marlene and David. Leo Rubel farmed with Vernon and Marcella until 1950, when he married Darlene Mickels and settled in Springbrook, IA. Vernon and Marcella lived in the homesteadhouse until 1960, when a new house was finally built. The garage by the homestead house that was built in1949 has Richard's footprints implanted into the cement. On the hill where the present house sits, is where they used to thresh grain.

"In later years we would park the small square baler by the pile of straw and use a pitchfork to throw straw into the square baler," recalled Richard. "Our first electricity was a standby, a
thousand watt light plant. It ran off a gas motor and had an automatic start and stop. Whenever a sixty watt light bulb or greater use was turned on, it would start the light plant. It ran on five
gallons of gas a week to operate everything we had. It is still operational today," said Richard. Electricity was first available at the ranch in 1947.

In 1960 the first water pressure system was put in with the new house that was built. More water pipe was added in later years. The first line ran north of their garden and then west behind the shed into the pasture. The line started in the basement and ran alongside the sewer line, under the house. The metal waterer was used until 2000, when a Ritchey Poly waterer replaced it. Vernon was an avid flyer and Richard enjoyed going up in the air with his father. He took flying lessons in the early fifties.

One evening, in August 23, 1957, Vernon called Ed Meyer to let him know he would be coming over to look at his alfalfa to see if it was going to pod. Meyers thought he would be driving
over. But a few minutes later, Meyers was in the field when he saw Vernon make a few passes over, looking for a place to land his Aeronca plane. Vernon had flown to the end of the field
out of sight when Meyers heard a crash. Meyers rushed to the scene of the crash in a corn filed and attempted to help Vernon out of the plane. It was impossible for Meyers to get him out,
until a man and two boys in a Nash car stopped to help. The men brought their car to the field, laid the seats down and took Vernon to the Gregory Community Hospital. Following an
examination, he was transported to Sioux Falls by R.J. Kotrba. He suffered a broken ankle, small cuts and bruises. Vernon was dazed, but conscious, following the accident and his only
explanation was that he must have hit an air pocket when raising up at the end of the field that caused the crash.

Vernon was a member of the local civil air patrol. Marcella, Vernon¹s wife, always said that, he would rather fly than eat. Our first welder was an old airplane generator converted over to
a DC welder and mounted on the back of a jeep that was run by two belts off the belt pulley on the pto shaft on the back of a jeep. We still have the welder here today.

In the early 1960's we got a AC Lincoln welder, explained Richard. Vernon served on the Pleasant Valley School Board, the rural school that contained grades one through eight. Vernon
had attended the same school while growing up. His father, Charles, also served on the same board and helped build the school. Vernon continued to serve on the board until the school
closed in 1967. Marlene, David and I attended the same school as my father Vernon, from first through eighth grade. John Rotter and I attended all twelve grades together. We either rode
horse or walked the one and a half miles to school. Dad served on the school board when I was in grade school and on the Gregory School Board when I was in high school, recalled Richard.
I did a lot of horseback riding and broke some of them to sell. I took a number of falls, a couple which resulted in a broken arm and a broken big toe. My granddad, Charles, had a lot to do with
my education of horses. I still do some riding, said Richard.

In May of 1966, Richard graduated from one of largest classes to ever graduate in Gregory. There were ninety-seven students that graduated that year. Vernon also served on the
Gregory District School Board along with being a member of the Gregory Country School Board when they were working to close the small one-room schools in the country. He served on
the rural phone company board while taking care of the maintenance. At that time it was a party line with eight to twelve families on a line.

Vernon and Marcella Rubel were instrumental in starting a 4-H club in the area by the name of the Fairmont Hustlers and served as leaders for more than twenty five years. All three of
their children were members of the club for as long as they were eligible.

In September of 1966, Richard returned from the State Fair, bringing with him Ramon Vanegas, an IFYE student from Panama. Ramon lived with the Rubels and the family made his stay
educational, as well as enjoyable. Vanegas helped with the chores, cut silage, and did whatever the family was doing. The family took him to different places in the county and to the Corn
Palace show. Ramon was the first exchange student to ever live and learn with the Rubels. To this day the Rubel family continues to host foreign exchange students in their home.

The Rubels started with cattle and horses and continue to raise both. Herefords were brought into their operation in 1940. Hogs were raised from the early teens to the 90's, seventy
years, and crops of corn, oats and hay have always been a part of the operation. The first tractor I can remember was an International M with a narrow front end. We would take the farmhand
off some of the time for field work. Dad (Vernon) said that if it had not been for the farmhand, he wouldn¹t have kept farming. We had a Coop tractor, or Cockshut. It was very unstable
because of the narrow front end. We had an older Ford tractor, an 8N, about 1954 that we still have today, stated Richard. The Ford was used for pulling the dump rake and had a hay sweep
on the front end for a few years.

The first John Deere tractor we got was about 1960. This was a new 3010 4-cylinder diesel that we purchased from Sunray Implement in Gregory. Then later we got another 3010 and
traded it off for a used 3020 that we still have.

In 1971, we got a 4020 John Deere with a loader and a cab on it for $10,000.00. We used it until about 1983, when we traded it for our first 4-wheel drive tractor a 2950 JD. In 1981, we
got a 4440 JD, and it was the first tractor we owned that was over a hundred horse. In December of 1995, we traded the 2950 JD for a 7400 JD with loader, recalled Richard. They bought
their first chain hay sled in 1971 and are still using it today. Vernon, Ray Hoffman and Harry Voelzke got two of them from Hecla. I can just remember using the horse-drawn equipment and
them using the old threshing machine and hauling bundles in with the horses. In 1975, we got our first, large, round baler, a New Holland chain baler. We traded it for another New Holland in
1987. We then purchased a 535 JD belt baler in 2000, recalled Richard.

After several Owatonna windrowers, the family went to a Hesston 18 ft. self-propelled with an 18 foot head, then to a 116 New Holland Hydraswing in June of 1993. Their next purchase
was a JD rotary 15.9 foot Moco in 2001. Their first baler was a New Holland pull type with the motor on the baler and an overhead packer arm. A garden has always been planted and
everything that they produced has been canned. The family has also done most of their own butchering. Richard joined the ranch in 1970 after returning home from two years in the service,
one of which was spent serving in Vietnam. During his time in Vietnam, he worked with heavy equipment, crushing rock to be mixed with asphalt for roads and landing strips. Richard was
stationed at Bien Hoa Air Base which was the busiest airport in the world at the time. There was a plane either landing or taking off every thirty seconds.

In October of 1974, Richard married, Beverley Pfantz in Gregory. This union was blessed with one son, Steven, born in 1981. Steven is currently involved in the ranch operation. Living on
the ranch was a big adjustment for me. I came from a city of 30,000 with no rural background. One thing that was easy to handle was the butchering. I grew up working with my folks in their
butcher shop. I was well trained in boning and wrapping meat, said Bev. She added, All-in-all there have been many wonderful experiences and a realm of new knowledge obtained.

Vernon and Richard were one of the few father and son teams from Gregory to receive the FFA State Farmer Degree while in high school in Gregory. There was only one person after
Richard to receive this degree in Gregory. The FFA program was eventually dropped from the Gregory curriculum. The Rubel Ranch has increased by 1540 acres since it¹s original homestead.
The 1700 acre ranch continues to provide for the Rubel family. Today, the ranch is mainly a cow/calf operation with calves taken to a feedlot under retained ownership. They calve out about
200 head of cows and heifers each year. We have about 500 acres of hay and alfalfa that we put up each season.

Some of it is sold as cash crop and some is kept for our own feeding purposes. We plant corn, oats, barley and sunflowers on a rotation basis, using both conventional and no-till planting
methods. We¹ve seeded some of the land back to native grasses. Horses are still being used to move and round up cattle, explained Richard. One of the days, that clearly sticks on the Rubels
memories is September 11, 2001. When the attack hit in New York City, it was a very nice day here and we were putting up a guard rail fence south of the Ritchey waterer to the corner
where the two gates come together. Bob Wetzler was helping us and Steven was still in Colorado and Nebraska putting up cell phone towers,recalls Richard. A tornado ripped through the
countryside in 1975, destroying some of the smaller buildings on the Rubel Ranch along with crops. The following year in 1976, and also in 2002 the Rubel¹s saw drastic drought conditions,
as did their ancestors years before them.

In 1976, straw hay bales were hauled from east river. The bales were mixed with other hay> to feed the cow herd. Cow numbers were cut back more than usual. In the last thirty years,
in order to keep up with the times, different production practices and crop types have emerged. The Rubels plant the standard crops of corn, oats and wheat, and today, sunflowers and
soybeans have been added to the rotation. We¹ve gone from conventional tillage practices to minimum till and no-till. In drier years, the benefits of no-till can definitely be seen. Increases in
crop production made us take steps to increase our storage capabilities. Four larger grain bins have been erected on the place, with one even being a drying bin, stated Richard. He added,
We¹ve also seen more options available in weed control in crops and pastures. Hay acres have increased in order to market and sell excess hay raised. The process of preserving hay has
changed from being stacked to being put up in large round and square bales. And, of course, to keep up with all of the changes, larger and more efficient machinery has been purchased.
Cattle production has also changed with times. The Rubels went from a straight Hereford operation to crossbreeding with Red Angus and Black Angus. To be more efficient, they have sent steer calves to a feedlot in Nebraska for the past seven years for finishing. However, cattle are still usually driven from pasture to pasture. ³We continue to do this with horses plus the use of
4-wheelers. Trucks are no longer used to haul cattle, horse trailers are now used. Hogs were
raised all the time on the ranch until six years ago, explained Richard. As technology has progressed over the years, it became necessary to use a computer for record keeping. The
accounting and cow records are now computerized. Comfort has also changed for the better. Tractors with cabs to protect one from the elements, and of course, air conditioning in tractors to
keep cool during the hot summer days, as well as in vehicles and homes, stated Richard. The Rubel ranch has survived several generations of hardships and enjoyed many wonderful times
too. Family and working together have always been important and an integral part of the lifestyle. We look forward to seeing the ranch reach 100 years of operation and continue the legacy of
the previous generations, stated Richard.

On February 28, 1995, the Mitchell Daily Republic featured the Rubel Ranch in the edition, as the winner of the Best Looking Farm in a farm and ranch contest.When asked if the Rubels will
still be ranching/farming in the next twenty-five years, Richard responded, "Maybe."