Vehe Farm Foundation - Deer Park, Illinois

Vehe Farm Foundation Welcome to Barrington Area Development Council's 2008 Annual Dinner Guests

(Comments made by Teri Bridge, May 12, 2008)

Welcome to Vehe Farm, Deer Park's Municipal Center and Community Park. Your presence here this evening is truly an honor for Deer Park, its Village Government, the Vehe Farm Foundation and, most importantly, the spirit of what Vehe Farm is all about...that being families, community, and service.

I'm a 14 year resident of Deer Park, a member of the Vehe Farm Foundation, and have been very involved with the farm's preservation efforts from the beginning, that being 1999.

I've been asked to share how this all came to be... the Village owning the property ...the restoration of the prairie and wetland...this stunning community center with its magnificent architectural spaces...and the many, many partnerships represented at Vehe Farm.

Sometimes I step back and, with wonder, ask myself the same question...how did this all come to be. I'm not quite sure all of the forces that came together to create Vehe Farm can be described in observable terms, but those that I have seen I will do my best to relate.

So, let's start from the beginning...the American farmer.

The American Farmer
The storyboards downstairs speak to how the American farmer settled this nation, expanding agriculture and commerce for a growing nation. Farming was a way for immigrants to establish new lives for their families and future generations and, while doing so, be a quintessential part of this nation's development and prosperity.

Vehe's Represent the American Farmer
Johnn L. Vehe and his wife, Anna, emigrated from Germany. In 1866 they purchased approximately 140 acres on what would become Cuba Road from Caleb and William Davidson. This included 80 acres at this site and two other smaller parcels.

John L. and Anna had five sons...Dedrick, John L., Charles, Fredrick and John G. They built the farmhouse in the L-shaped style typical of the time. They also built the barn, which is made up of three sections. This oldest section was constructed with a field stone foundation, pegged mortise and tenon joints, and post beam construction. It was built in the old German banked-barn tradition, which means that the barn was built into an earthen bank on one side (in this case the west side). All of this section's construction was done by hand, including the hand-hewn beams. The pre-function space was built a little after this older section, but pre-1900. Its beams were machine-cut and nailed together. Today's bathroom areas were part of the granary, and also constructed with hand-hewn beams, which are still there but covered by today's ceilings.

After the passing of Johnn L. and Anna, their son, Fredrick, became the owner of the three farm parcels. He married Alvina Hannaly and together they had one son, Edwin. Fredrick continued to farm the land until he passed away in 1930

At this time, Ed took over the running of the farm. In 1939 he married Mae Brandt of the Brandt Dairy family (Barrington). Ed continued to grow crops, including barley, corn, oats and perhaps wheat, and he added a substantial number of dairy cows to supplement the farm's income. Mae had a thriving egg business that she ran out of the chicken coop.

Honoring his family's history on the farm, Ed applied to the State of Illinois for designation of the farm as a Centennial Farm. In 1972, that designation was awarded and the plaque can be seen today at the entrance to the farm. After Ed passed away in 1988, Mae continued to live on the farm, not wanting to leave it until her death. She passed away in 1999, at which time the Vehe estate decided to sell the property. By that time the farm had reduced in size to today's 14 acres.

The Village and Vehe Farm
It was at this point that the Village considered the idea of purchasing the property for municipal center and community park purposes. Many forces were coming together to make the idea possible.

One force was the strong public support for preserving the site.

Residents were expressing their support to the Village.
Community leaders were making public statements in support of the farm's preservation.
And I, in my own small way, added to that support...writing letters to Deer Park residents and speaking to community groups that were interested in hearing about the preservation idea. One of those organizations, and to which I will always be thankful, was the North Barrington Area Association, which as you all know folded into BADC. My thanks to Barbara Bensen for giving Vehe Farm the exposure it needed at that very critical time.

A second force was Deer Park's historical valuing of open space. Purchasing the property was the opportunity to save 14 acres of open space, while at the same time preserving a critical part of the Village's heritage.
A third force was the new financial resources Deer Park Town Center would bring to the Village.
And finally, the Village Board had the ability to visualize the long-term vision for Vehe Farm and they had the character to make the hard financial decisions it would require.

The financial chain of events for the purchase of Vehe Farm was:

First, the Village obtained a bridge loan from Corelands. This gave the Village time to apply for grants and arrange appropriate funding.
Second, the Village obtained an OSLAD acquisition grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
Third, State Senator Bill Peterson and State Representative Sid Mathias assisted the Village in obtaining state funding for the project.
And, finally, a favorable short-term loan, paid off last year, was obtained from Harris Bank.

With the farm purchased, development took place in four phases.

The first phase was the adaptation of the farmhouse for Village Office use.
The second was the creation of the soccer field, required by the OSLAD grant. In this second phase the restoration of the prairie and the wetland began.
The barn's exterior reconstruction was the third phase.
And the fourth phase was the barn's interior construction.

Vehe Farm Foundation
To assist it in developing and managing the overall master plan for Vehe Farm, in 2000 the Village created the Vehe Farm Foundation, a 501(c)3 volunteer organization. The Vehe Farm Foundation's primary role was and is today to provide stewardship to the farm and volunteer support of the Village's goals for the farm.

Its original members were: Village trustees Henry Werch and Greg Dowell; school representatives John Roselli and Mike Paskewicz, Barbara Benson, Barbara Evans, Betty McLaughlin, Jim Peterson, John Wagner, and me.

The input from these individuals led to the vision statement for Vehe Farm, which is: to provide visitors an interactive experience featuring the essence of the original prairie, environmental education, the history of local farming, family recreation and a barn and outbuildings serving as a unique community center and cultural venue. This vision statement has and continues to serve as the guide for all development and activities at Vehe Farm.

People Have Made It All Possible
This is the point in the Vehe Farm story where the wonder of the human spirit speaks out. It's the spirit of people working selflessly together toward a common goal for the good of the community.

What would have happened if the Village trustees had not joined together over these past years in support of Vehe Farm?

Would this magnificent structure have been possible without Jim Peterson's civic commitment and volunteered service as lead architect?

Where would the prairie and wetland restoration efforts be without John Wagner's leadership and Citizens for Conservation partnership that has resulted in the donation of seed, summer intern labor and restoration material over these past eight years?

Without The Little Garden Club of Barrington generous donations... the Betty McLaughlin Memorial Butterfly Garden would not exist.

If area Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and Eagle Scouts had not performed community service projects at Vehe Farm our prairie nursery would have taken longer to plant; our stone pillars would not be here; the bluebird trail would not be here, and our Leave No Child Inside prairie activity would not be underway.

Without Chicago Wilderness' partnership, and community foundation and private donor financial support, the Foundation's June 22 Leave No Child Inside community event would not be possible.

So many organizations and people have supported the efforts at Vehe Farm, and I apologize if I have forgotten to mention them all.

There is one more group that has demonstrated this human spirit by the thousands of volunteer hours it has contributed each year and that is the Vehe Farm Foundation, especially Pat Winkelman, Tom Benjamin and Eway McLaughlin.

In Closing
In closing and before we go to a short series of pictures that will showcase the farm's development, I'd like to share a few poignant comments people have made as part of the Vehe Farm story...

On a 20 degree winter day last December 4, Levi Hirschberger, an Amish gentleman from Arthur, Illinois and his two sons came here to install the windmill. It was very cold and little John, age 13, came into the barn to warm up. When he looked around and quickly compared this barn to his at home, he said with a twinkle in his eye and a boyish smile on his face..."Our barn doesn't have an elevator!"
Betty McLaughlin early on said, "Just wait until the barn is finished. You will see how well old wood dresses up!"
Jim Peterson said... "Because everyone else kept going, so did I!"
And lastly, Waid Vanderpoel wrote to me: "When you preserve land, it is a permanent victory. Long after you and I are gone Vehe Farm will serve as unique community open space and, undoubtedly, will become ever more highly valued by the people of your area."

And, now for the pictures.....

View the photo slideshow