Grandma's Farm

The Homestead Act of 1862 opened the doorway for the common man and woman, married or not, to finally catch the American dream. This is how much of the west was conquered. Ancestors from both sides of my family, the Nicholson’s and the Crocker’s, were part of this mass exodus into the west filled with hopes of a better life and a new beginning. It was through their determined pioneering spirits that the towns of Maize and Colwich had their beginnings.

James Mason Nicholson, my great grandfather on my father’s side, was born and raised in Lancaster Kentucky, where it is rumored that his family owned slaves. After moving to Illinois he met and married Emily Ann Dotson Scott. They relocated numerous times in the pursuit of happiness and wealth. During one such relocation, James enlisted in the civil war; he fought for the Union side. His family however was still living out of a covered wagon. He left his unit going AWOL long enough to cut firewood and lay in food supplies for them. After the war, James joined the political group Grand Army of the Republic for four years. They moved to a farm plot east of Maize Kansas in 1876. James was a pivotal member of the community, and he belonged to the school board for many years. The family retired from farming in 1921 and moved into Maize.

Harry Nicholson and Jennie Louise Woodman, my grandparents, got married on December 25, 1903. They began their farm and family of nine children on land located along the western edge of the Big Arkansas River which is now called Ridge Road. Along with this original homestead, they also purchased land along the southern edge of the river, some of which is known today as Grandma's Farm. Some time after they were married, Jennie received a letter from her brother in reference to some land available for homesteading in Moriarty, New Mexico. Moriarty was a town that George had helped found and set up. In fact, the town was named in honor of his father in law. Jennie and Harry eagerly accepted the prospect. Harry soon set out with all the house supplies, the wagon, and the horses to start the homestead. Jennie and their two sons followed by train. Once arriving in Moriarty, Jennie and Harry set out to fence the quarter, or 160 acres of land, and then they started farming the land. Harry had already built the one room homestead out of wood where they resided. They paid $300 down for the land. They worked and farmed it for the next 18 months. With no means to store the grain, they harvested and were then forced to travel the great distance to Albuquerque where the closest major rail line was located. Eventually, the hardships of life in such an isolated place became too much for the family, leaving them virtually poor and starving they were forced to return to Kansas.

Although they returned to Kansas, they did not loose the land they had worked so hard for. They made sure to pay the land taxes on it, allowing them to eventually pass it on to family members who still today continue to own it.

At one time, Maize and Colwich Kansas was one township. Through an interview conducted with my Aunt Helen, she said that the reason Maize and Colwich became two different towns was because of the religious tensions between the Catholics and the Protestants. The Catholics went north, and the Protestants went south. My Aunt Helen also said that the twenties were a time when the urbanites and the rural population were divided. The Urbanites felt that the rural people were too attached to old fashioned. They felt that they practiced backward ideas and weren’t willing to keep up with the changing times. The rural population believed they were the backbone of society and that their values and ideals were the best guides for society. They feared the corrupting and worldly influences of the city life in society.

William Henry Crocker, my great grandfather on my mother’s side, was born in 1850 in La Salle Co., Illinois. He received much of his education and training while living with his family. At the age of 21, he, along with others in his community, decided to move to Kansas, for it had just been opened to new settlers. The land could be homesteaded. Having heard much of the wonderful richness of the soil of the Arkansas Valley, it’s level land and fine climate; he was determined to pursue his chosen trade of Agriculture in Kansas. On May 4, 1871 he took up, under the homestead claim, the southwest corner of section 14 of Union Township in Sedgwick Co. KS. Being the proud owner of nearly 160 acres, he was in the township one year before its organization and was one of the founders of Union Township. This township later became the Maize/Colwich area. After six years of work, through developing his farm by raising grain and livestock, his father, James Otis Crocker, my great great grandfather, joined him in Kansas.

When the first settlers began to build homes in this section of Kansas, there were no trees on these vast prairies. In order to secure lumber to build houses and barns, it was necessary to form wagon trains that would haul lumber from Emporia, Kansas. Emporia marked the end of the rail line.

Buffalo roamed the vast prairies of Kansas; but as the settlers moved in, the buffalo began to withdraw further west. Buffalo chips were often used for fuel. In order to secure wild meat, the farmers would form wagon trains and go to Western Kansas and hunt the buffalo. The farmers planted orchards of apples and peaches for food. They also planted Osage Orange, or Hedge trees, for windbreaks. In order to store the apples through the cold winters, they would dig holes in the ground; and between layers of straw, the apples would keep.

After William Henry Crocker was well established on his farm, he married Katherine Tapp in 1881. He was 11 years her senior.

William Henry Crocker was the director of the State Bank of Colwich in Colwich Kansas for many years. At one time, the directors were believed to be on an average age, the oldest in the United States. After he retired from farming, he handed the family farming business over to my grandfather Earl Mason Crocker.

The depression was raging wildly through the country, but my family’s heartache was mostly caused by the death of Earl’s wife Elizabeth Louisa Fettke in 1928. Earl Mason Crocker opened a small restaurant called the Maize Café. With the help of his nine children, the café was in operation for many years. Eventually, he closed the Café and worked for a short time for Sedgwick County. He also occasionally worked as a farm hand. In 1943, while he was operating a small grocery store/restaurant, he met and married Effie Mae Roney Johnstone. Effie had strong family ties in Chicago; so, the couple moved there. Earl worked for the company Bell & Howell as a security guard. He eventually retired from there and moved to Hollywood.

Clyde Everett Nicholson married Lucille Vivian Crocker in the early 40’s before WWII broke out. They were my parents. During this brief time of happiness and peace, they began developing the river bottomland into the family’s farm.

When WWII finally broke out, Clyde enlisted in the Navy as a CB. While he served in the war, Lucy followed the shifting archetype of society and joined the work force serving as a seamstress of aircraft upholstery at both Boeing and later Cessna. She used the money she earned from working to buy the family farm from Clyde’s parents. Clyde’s duties as a Naval CB included building bridges and clearing land for runways to be used for the troops coming into Guadal Canal.

While Clyde and another sailor were on top of scaffolding, sawing down a palm tree with a two man saw, a Lieutenant came up to the base of the scaffolding and told the men that were holding it in place to move it. As the scaffolding was being moved, Clyde and the other sailor fell into the ocean. While Clyde looked for his friend in the water he noticed, the red of blood. Unable to find his friend, Clyde finally made his way back to shore where he noticed that his arm had been severely cut by the saw he had been using. Clyde, although injured, continued looking for his friend but he was never found. Even before this incident Clyde said that he really hated the Lieutenants saying, they were 90-day wonders. They went through training in 90 days, and then were sent to lead the troops. Clyde said that they didn’t have any sense about them. They just knew what they had learned from a book. Because of the extent of his arm injury, he was sent to Auckland New Zealand and Norfolk Virginia, then to rehab in Maine. He continued his search for his friend in each of the rehab hospitals he visited to no avail.

Following Clyde’s return, he and Lucy continued to farm the property and to begin their family of three children. Lucy had gotten a taste of being an independent and self-sufficient woman and never stopped working outside of the farm.

Lucy continued to follow the ever-changing stream of society and the shifts of family structures when she divorced Clyde in 1963. She continued working in the aircraft industry for many years while raising me…Cindy Sue Nicholson. Later, she opened her own seamstress business in Wichita called the Fancy Thimble. After their divorce, Clyde continued to farm the land with the help of his two sons James Everett Nicholson and Jerald Ray Nicholson (better known to most as Jake or his stage name Just Jake), and later on with his grandson's Brian, Jeff and Danny Nicholson, growing cantaloupes and watermelons. The area that is now known as 53^rd Street North and Ridge Rd was somewhat famous for many years for the quality of the produce grown in the area. Even now, years after Clyde’s death, people still come out to the farm wanting to buy some of his famous cantaloupes and watermelons. Lucy retired from the seamstress business when she remarried in 1975.

I married Steve Edkin in September of 1977. We had a daughter named Jennifer Louise Edkin and were divorced a few years later. I later returned to college after my divorce. There, I studied business management and entrepreneurship. On my own land near Maize KS, I began a business called Herb Country. I continued to operate this business until I met and eventually married Gary Siebler in 1988. Together, we formed Manifestations, a lucrative jewelry business. Combining our creative talents of metal smithing, lapidary, and beadwork, we created one of a kind pieces. Manifestations became known internationally from Australia, England, Japan and all across the United States.

We operated Manifestations for over 17 years. During this time, we had our daughter Katie Ann Siebler. With my parents both dying within 6 months of each other, I inherited the family farm located at what is now 6901 N. Tyler Rd. Maize, Ks.

Previously, the rural experience was viewed as normal and part of life; but, now as we dawn into the 21-century, rural life is looked upon with an avid curiosity and a quaint nostalgic point of view. Currently, the United States Travel and Tourism Bureau is developing a fast growing industry known as Agritourism. The State of Kansas, the Wichita Chamber of Commerce, and the Travel and Tourism Bureau are working closely with farmers who are willing to open their farms to the public in a variety of ways, utilizing the untapped resources that are unique to the heartland of the country otherwise known as the old west. Through this collaborative effort, they are offering a glimpse of rural America to the world. Satisfying the growing trends seen with our foreign visitors who have seen what the coasts have to offer and are now curious to see how this great country was formed. Seeing the value of not only our heritage but that of the future, Grandma's Farm became a member of the Kansas Argitourism Commission in Oct. 2004. This is only one of the many organizations that Grandma's Farm is currently affiliated with. Holding true to our mission of keeping the knowledge of our past alive while developing a closer connection to one another and Earth, Grandma's Farm will continue to develop collaborative associations with various State and local organizations.

Through the pioneering spirit of my ancestors, the towns of Maize and Colwich were established. Today I am asking each of you to rekindle that pioneering spirit for yourselves, your children, and the planet. Consider this your invitation to become a member of Grandma’s Farm’s ever-growing family, together, we will create a heritage that will extend well into the future.