Person:Arthur Falvey (1)

Arthur F. Falvey was born to Patrick and Elizabeth Falvey January 31 during the big blizzard of 1897 in the shanty north of Eckelson Lake. It was fortunate that his mother's sister was with them at the time of his birth as no doctor could come out in the storm. He went to school in Anderson Township and stayed home to help his father with the farming until 1928. He did take a short course at the Twin City Tractor School in Minneapolis during this time. As soon as he was old enough he would run the threshing machine for his Dad or the neighbors. His father had also rented land about ten miles south of Eckelson which the boys broke up with a steam engine and breaking plow. As they came to the end of the field, the plow had to be lifted by hand in sections. They also had many horses on the home farm and "Art" was very proud to drive these teams. In particular, was a four horse team of Black Percherons. He had the harnesses all decorated with red and white rings, red tassles, silver buttons on the hame covering and also silver tips on the hames. He remarked many times about the pulling power of these horses as they hauled grain and feed from the south place to their farm in Anderson Township. He was married December 20, 1933 to Emma Svenson, daughter of Sven and Bertha Svenson of Sanborn, North Dakota. After they were married he and his brother, Daniel, worked as truckers for Horn Bros. farms of Moorhead, Minnesota, hauling potatoes and vegetables to different parts of Minnesota, North and South Dakota. In 1935 they decided to be partners and raised some potatoes of their own on their Dad's farm. This was their first venture in the potato business for themselves. During the winter after disposing of their own crop, they bought and sold other potatoes, hauling them to different parts of North and South Dakota. In 1936 they thought there was a demand for this kind of work in the state of Washington but this failed to materialize, so back to North Dakota again. The first farm they rented was one-half section from the Svoboda family about 10 miles south of Valley City. In the winter they bought and sold potatoes as before. The first tractor they bought was an Allis Chalmers with lugs. They purchased it at cost for $800. About the following year they rented land which was 3 miles south of Valley City. They gradually increased their rent ads in this vicinity until they were farming 3 sections. Grain and potatoes were the main crops. Arthur was in charge of the farming and Daniel and hired help hauled potatoes. At the peak of the potato business they had 360 acres near Valley City and Ayr, North Dakota. The potato seed was cut by hand and, of course, picked by hand. This required much labor. Schools would let the children out during World War II to assist with the picking on account of labor shortage. In 1945 they purchased the East ½ - 31 140N-58W for $50 per acre. In 1948 the brothers dissolved partnership and Arthur took over the farming. He continued to farm until his death in November, 1966. Many people stated he was a very good farmer. He took pride in keeping the land trim and neat, with much time and labor spent to improve the land, whether it was rented or owned. He was always in favor of crop rotation and summer fallowing and stubble mulching and had crops when many others dried out from lack of moisture. His wife farmed for one year after his death and still owns the land. She resides at 355 3rd Avenue Northeast, Valley City, North Dakota, in the home they purchased in 1941. Source: Barnes County History 1976 Page 66

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