Anton Kraetz and his wife Rose established their homestead in 1902. The farm was run as a dairy until the family diversified to beef cattle and crops in 1975. The Kraetz' had seven children, six of whom were girls who married farmers in the immediate area. Their son John inherited the farm and was the father of Loren. Loren Kraetz runs the farm that now consists of 50 acres, producing peas, corn, wheat, hay and beef cattle. Owner: A. Loren Kraetz Above: Kraetz family at haying ca. 1900 Right: Loren Kraetz & cattle, July 2002 History of the Kraetz Farm By Loren Kraetz, August 2000 Anton Kraetz, a native of Bavaria Germany, came to the Stillaguamish Valley in 1888 at age twenty-one. At this time he began farming 1 1/2 miles east of Silvana (the present Wayne Ottem farm). In 1898 Anton married Miss Rose Spoerhase, a native of New Ulm, Minn. Rose came to the Stillaguamish Valley in 1891 at age ten with her parents William and Rosmund Spoerhase who took a 160 acre claim on the river at Swede Heaven, near Mt. White Horse. Anton and Rose farmed at Silvana until 1902, when due to the seasonal flooding of the river they sold and moved to higher ground at the present Kraetz farm 1 1/2 miles west of Arlington. To them were born six daughters and one son, they being: Meta (Mrs. Andrew Strotz), Antonia (Mrs. Hans Sander), Bertha (Mrs. Peter Strotz), Rose (Mrs. Henry Brodersen), Margaret (Mrs. Harold Carlson), Helen (Mrs. Leonard Ottem), and John Kraetz who stayed and farmed the home farm west of Arlington with his wife Olive. It should be noted the six daughters of Anton and Rose all married farmers and farmed within five miles of the farm in which they grew up. In 1902, after buying the fifty acre farm at Arlington, Anton became a member of the Arlington , OCR Text: Anton Kraetz and his wife Rose established their homestead in 1902. The farm was run as a dairy until the family diversified to beef cattle and crops in 1975. The Kraetz' had seven children, six of whom were girls who married farmers in the immediate area. Their son John inherited the farm and was the father of Loren. Loren Kraetz runs the farm that now consists of 50 acres, producing peas, corn, wheat, hay and beef cattle. Owner: A. Loren Kraetz Above: Kraetz family at haying ca. 1900 Right: Loren Kraetz & cattle, July 2002 History of the Kraetz Farm By Loren Kraetz, August 2000 Anton Kraetz, a native of Bavaria Germany, came to the Stillaguamish Valley in 1888 at age twenty-one. At this time he began farming 1 1/2 miles east of Silvana (the present Wayne Ottem farm). In 1898 Anton married Miss Rose Spoerhase, a native of New Ulm, Minn. Rose came to the Stillaguamish Valley in 1891 at age ten with her parents William and Rosmund Spoerhase who took a 160 acre claim on the river at Swede Heaven, near Mt. White Horse. Anton and Rose farmed at Silvana until 1902, when due to the seasonal flooding of the river they sold and moved to higher ground at the present Kraetz farm 1 1/2 miles west of Arlington. To them were born six daughters and one son, they being: Meta (Mrs. Andrew Strotz), Antonia (Mrs. Hans Sander), Bertha (Mrs. Peter Strotz), Rose (Mrs. Henry Brodersen), Margaret (Mrs. Harold Carlson), Helen (Mrs. Leonard Ottem), and John Kraetz who stayed and farmed the home farm west of Arlington with his wife Olive. It should be noted the six daughters of Anton and Rose all married farmers and farmed within five miles of the farm in which they grew up. In 1902, after buying the fifty acre farm at Arlington, Anton became a member of the Arlington , Granite Falls Historical Society,Documents (articles, clippings, letters, papers),Mapping Articles,K-O,Kraetz.pdf,Kraetz.pdf Page 1, Kraetz.pdf Page 1