October 26, 2005
Down on the farm
Samels Family Heritage Society hosts second annual event at Centennial Farm
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
With the aura of the past permeating every building and displayed in every room, visitors to the Samels Farm Sunday afternoon experienced a little of the rugged farming life lived by the three Samels brothers and their parents before them.
More than 50 people came to the 84-acre Williamsburg farm for a Harvest Festival that featured wagon rides, cider pressing, a blacksmith demonstration, roasted chestnuts and apple dipping.
The Samels Family Heritage Society sponsored the second annual event at the Centennial Farm, hoping to share with new generations a taste of life in the past.
"The real uniqueness about the Samels farm is that they didn't modernize for years," said Glory Wiltjer, publicist for the Samels Family Heritage Society. "They plowed their fields with draft horses and later they had oxen. They had a forge and they made all their own tools and they had pigs, chickens, cows and a bull when no one else had a bull."
Attendees toured the family's house and barns, which showcase typical, self-contained farm life before modern amenities. The homestead, which was purchased in 1889 by Frank Samels, a native of Whitewater Township, was farmed until the 1990s by his sons: Dennis, who died in 1978, Ben who died in 1998 and Rob, who died in 2003.
Traditional general farmers who raised and sold a variety of livestock and crops, the bachelor brothers did not have a tractor until 1958. They heated with a wood, cutting and cording it themselves until 1993; the kitchen still sports a wood cooking stove. The brothers finally reinstalled a telephone in 1973, more than 40 years after their father removed it because he hated a monthly bill.
Anything they wanted done, the Samels did themselves: from harvesting to caring for their stock to making tools to growing and preserving most of their food.
"I grew up on a dairy farm in upstate New York and this brings back memories," said Reg Bird, who attended the festival with his wife, Ann, and grandson, Spencer, 4.
Dan Nickels demonstrated blacksmithing in the family's forge, a small barn that also featured a cupboard of shoe repair equipment and tools of every shape, size and use.
"I came out here when Frank was alive and he taught me to make fish spears," said Nickels, owner of Black Rock Forge in East Bay Township, of the renowned Samels muskie and white fish spears. "No one else knows his template."
The Samels Family Heritage Society formed in 2002 and has approximately 90 members. The society is a fund at the Grand Traverse Regional Community Foundation, which initially provided tax exempt status for the group and now provides money management.
Situated on Skegemog Point with frontage -- land very attractive to developers - the Samels farm had been placed in a trust by Ben and Rob in the 1990s. The beneficiary upon their death would be the Archeological Conservancy, a non-profit organization based in New Mexico. The family previously found and invited archeologists to explore an extensive trove of artifacts that document prehistoric habitation.
After Ben died, Rob donated his half to the conservancy to avoid a large estate tax bill that would have forced sale of the property. A hefty property tax bill from the township led to the creation of the Heritage Society, which leases the land for a nominal fee from the Conservancy. The land now has tax-free status.
As part of their educational mission, the society has hosted the public Harvest Festivals for the past two falls. In addition, they linked up last with students in Elk Rapids Public Schools and hope to connect with other schools.
"Rob, rather than waiting to die, went ahead and passed his while still living," said Bret Bell, treasurer of Samels Family Heritage Society. "It was a charitable donation so no taxes, roughly a $4-5 million gift and worth at least that now."