Koberstein honored with Centennial Farm designation

    Holyoke’s Bob Koberstein knows what it means to be connected to the land — the Koberstein family has been farming and living on the same plot for three generations and more than 100 years.
    On Aug. 24, Koberstein Farm was recognized by the State as a Centennial Farm and Ranch, along with 30 other farms that have seen more than a century of operation by a single family.
    “I think it’s a pretty great award,” Koberstein said. “There ain’t a lot of people who live 100 years in the same spot.”
    Koberstein Farm was established in 1918 by Bob’s grandparents, Frank and Clara. Frank emigrated from Germany as a young child. After being processed at Ellis Island, his family lived in Iowa and Hastings, Nebraska, before Frank moved into his own place and married Clara in 1909.
    They purchased 160 acres northwest of Holyoke in 1918. Frank arrived first with the family dog and set up their new home before being joined by Clara and their four children.
    In 1920, they moved their two-room homestead house to its present location, 4 miles north and 4 miles west of Holyoke, using horses and rollers. They later expanded it, though it continued to lack electricity and indoor plumbing.
    The family used an outhouse, which had large, medium and small holes for different members of the family. The barn, which still stands today, was prefabricated in Oregon and shipped by rail to Julesburg, then hauled by horse and wagon to the farm.
    The Kobersteins also built a chicken coop and a windmill, which filled the farm’s cistern and cattle tanks.

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