Paul Cantleberry, Little Falls, is a third-generation owner of the Cantleberry Farm in Scandia Valley. The farm was originally owned by his grandfather, Charles Henry, who purchased it in 1898. Prior to Paul’s purchasing the farm in 1990, the farm was owned by his two aunts, Helen and Myrtle Cantleberry. Paul is pictured by a windmill, purchased in 1920; a silo, erected in the mid-1950s; and an old oak tree which has offered shade to family members for decades. The old barn (pictured in the lower, submitted photo) was removed in 2009 and replaced by a new storage shed built in 2010. Also pictured is the oak tree in earlier days. (Staples World photo of Paul Cantleberry by Dawn Timbs) Most of the original buildings are no longer a part of the Cantleberry Century Farm in Scandia Valley; but the land, rich in soil and memories, has not changed a whole lot over the past 100 years.

“This oak tree has been here since I was a kid,” said Paul Cantleberry, a 1958 graduate of Pillager High School, and the farm’s current owner. “Of course, it’s a lot larger than it was years ago,” he added.

Paul is a third-generation owner of the Cantleberry Farm. His grandfather, Charles Henry (C.H.) purchased it June 13, 1898, from the Northern Pacific Railway Company. He paid $320 for 80 acres and it took him 14 years to pay for it in full, Paul reported.

Recently, Paul was presented with a Century Farm Plaque at the Motley Fair. Minnesota Farm Bureau representatives Bob Holmgren and DelRay Johnson were on hand to bestow the honors.

It means a lot to him and his family, Paul said. “Both of my daughters came up for the occasion. Catherine (Knapp) came from Aberdeen, South Dakota; and Sara (Cantleberry) came from the Twin Cities.”

Paul’s grandchildren, Catherine’s kids, were there as well. “Maybe they’ll take over the farm someday,” he said at the Motley Fair, giving a quick hug to Noah, 10; and Rachel, six.

Paul Cantleberry was recently awarded a “Century Farm” award at the Motley Fair. The original owner of the Cantleberry Farm, located in Scandia Valley, was Paul’s grandfather, Charles Henry Cantleberry. Pictured above, from left, are DelRay Johnson, Staples, Program Director for the West Central Area District MN Farm Bureau; Paul Cantleberry, Little Falls; and Bob Holmgren, Randall, President of the MN Farm Bureau. (Staples World photo by Dawn Timbs) Although Paul now lives in Little Falls with his wife, Rita, he visits his homeplace on a regular basis and continues to rent out the land to local farmers.

With its rolling hills, lakes and dense woodlands, Scandia Valley is a postcard pretty area to work out of. It’s no wonder that Paul’s grandparents chose to leave Minneapolis and settle in this part of Minnesota.

In a recent interview at the farm, Paul shared some of his own memories, as well as a brief history of the Cantleberry farm.

Charles and his wife, Ellen, started out with a log home and small barn. They built a new barn in 1920, which stood until 2009.

Along the way, the Cantleberrys raised nine children (eight girls and one boy) - five of whom were born at the Scandia Valley farm, including Paul’s father, Henry Levi (H.L.), born in 1901.

When he became an adult, Henry bought a house just east of the home place, but he continued to help farm his dad’s land over the years.

Paul and his siblings also grew up working on their grandparents’ farm, tending to the cattle and hogs and doing other chores along the way.

He has memories of his dad, H.L., cooling off in the shade of the old oak tree during haying season, Paul said. “He’d be there waiting when my brother, Henry, Jr.. and I drove the tractor back with another load of hay. We always had loose hay in those days.”

He can still see his dad’s

farmer’s tan, Paul laughed. “His face and arms were

brown; but when he took off his hat, his forehead was white,” he added.

Paul’s Aunt Charlotte, the eighth of nine children, wrote the following about the farm before her death in 1995:

“The Cantleberry Farm was a dairy farm with a large barn to house the large herd of cows. The cows were milked twice daily by Charles, Ellen and a couple of the older children. A tall windmill provided power to pump water from the deep well to a large vat. Five and eight gallon milk cans filled with fresh milk were placed in the vat. The cold running water kept the milk cold and sweet until it could be delivered to Land O’Lakes creamery.”

In addition to milk cows, the Cantleberrys cleared 60 acres of the original 80 in order to raise crops. The remaining 20 acres became the building site and pasture for the dairy cows and hogs that were raised there throughout the years.

H.L. kept dairy cows there and farmed the land until he retired. The dairy operation ended in the early 1970s; but Paul and his two brothers continued to farm the crop land.

According to Paul’s records, a new house was built in 1934, and stood until 1989, when it was destroyed by fire following a lightning strike. No one was living there at the time.

Paul’s grandparents both died on their farm; Charles in 1943 and Ellen in 1951. Two of their daughters, Helen and Myrtle, had stayed at the farm and cared for them until that point. When their parents died, Helen and Myrtle became the next owners.

Catherine and Sara both have memories of visiting their great-aunts at the farm. “They’d always have lemonade and cookies for us,” Sara said.

Paul purchased the farm from his surviving aunt, Aunt Myrtle, in 1990.

It doesn’t look the same as it did when he was a kid, Paul says.

The only two remaining fixtures of the original farm are a windmill purchased from Musky Implement Company of Little Falls in 1920; and a Wadena Silo that was erected in the mid-1950s.

The old barn was removed in 2009 and replaced by a new storage shed built in 2010; the same year the old well was restored to working order.

Although the buildings that Charles built are long gone, the spirit of the Cantleberry Farm remains; and its land is as lovely as it ever was.

“I hope this old oak tree is around for many more years,” Paul said, looking up at the branches that have provided shade for at least three generations of Cantleberrys.