Bio: Frinack Family – Century Farm (2022)

Transcriber: Stan

Surnames: Frinack, Hilgret, McKeckren

----Source: Thorp Courier (Thorp, Clark Co., Wis.) 19 Oct 2022

On Tuesday August 9, 2022 during the Wisconsin State Fair, Hillshire Farms and Compeer Financial recognized 84 Century Farm Families.

Pat and Ginny Frinack family, of Thorp were recently one of those families honored.

The Century Farm Awards Program began in 1948 as part of the Wisconsin's Centenial Celebration. The program honors families who have had continuous ownership of their Wisconsin farm or home for 100 years or more.

For the past 48 years, Hillshire Farm of New London has sponsored the Awards program. Compeer Financial also sponsored the Awards Program and has honored more than 9,800 Century Farms.
Below is an item written by their son Jason.

Hello, my name is Jason Frinack, and I would like to share the story of our family's farm. It is easier for me to tell the story from my point of view so I will refer to everyone as they relate to me. I am part of the fourth generation so some of the finer details have been lost to time.

After serving in World War I my great grandfather Charles P. Frinack and his wife Maude bought a small farm in Worden Township near Thorp in 1922. Soon after buying the farm Mother Nature threw them a curve ball in the form of a cyclone in 1924. A new house was built that October and a new barn was completed in March of 1925. (The house is now gone but the barn is still standing, although it is only being used to store a few things today). Life settled into the normal routine of planting with horses, milking cows, and taking care of chickens and hogs, and having a large garden.

Charles and Maude raised four children on their farm. My grandfather, Charles A. Frinack, and his sisters Ethel, Charlotte, and Delores. As a boy, my grandfather knew he wanted to farm but also did many things away from the farm to earn money. One of my favorite stories is how he delivered firewood in exchange for his first 22 rifle. He also picked berries, cut lumber, and picked up canned milk. He spoke fondly of working on the threshing crew, but I think it was mostly because he enjoyed the big meals and all the desserts served at the end of the day. My grandfather was drafted into World War II but received deferment because he was the only boy on the farm. He didn't feel it was right that he stayed home from the war so without his parents' knowledge he wrote a letter to the Army saying he could enlist. I remember him saying he didn't think his parents would ever talk to him again. By the time my grandfather finished basic training the war was nearing the end and he was never in combat.

After his two years with the Army my grandfather returned home to farm and in 1952 took over the farm. In 1953 he married my grandmother Helen and they raised two boys and four girls on the original homestead. My dad, Patrick, was the oldest, followed by his four sisters: Kathy, JoAnn, Janice, and Diane; his brother Jeff was the youngest. In 1957 there was another tornado where many of the neighbors' farms were destroyed, but none of the buildings on our farm were damaged. A few years later on my dad's first day of school the fire department was pulling into the yard to fight a fire in the haymow as he got on the school bus (I remember my grandparents had a newspaper clipping of it from the Thorp Courier). In the early 1950's the first tractor, a Farmall B, was on the farm, but a lot of work was still done by horses. As time went by more land was added. The McKeckren farm was added to the south and Vern’s was added to the east. Cows were always pastured in the woods and one of my dad's biggest jobs was to go find the cows and bring them in for milking. He would always take his dog and a 22 to do some squirrel hunting along the way, and more than once was late with the cows because he had a good day hunting. In 1972 part of Vern’s farm was logged and an addition was built onto the barn. The inside of the barn was redone as well.

After graduating high school my dad married my mother, Ginny, in 1973. Shortly after they bought the Hilgret Farm and milked their small heard of cows while both working full-time jobs and helping my grandparents. In 1979 they bought the Bauer farm and sold the Hilgret farm to my grandparents. The Bauer farm is where my mom and dad raised their family: Jason (me), Mike, and Craig. The 1980's were a tough time for all farmers, but my mom and dad and my grandparents worked hard and were able to hold on to everything they worked for. Over the years, the farms worked more and more as one and so at the age of 70 my grandfather decided to call it quits milking and sold the original home farm to my parents in 1995. My parents kept cattle in the barn and used the pastureland up until only recently. In 2015 my parents bought the Hilgret farm (again). In 2016 they quit milking cows but continued to raise cattle on the Bauer farm up until the fall of 2019. Today the farm consists of alfalfa, corn, and soybeans; and the fifth generation, which includes my two boys, are eager to help on the farm anytime they can. Much of the original pastureland is now wood land that we all enjoy hunting on anytime we can get back to Thorp.

The hundredth year on the farm started off like most with my dad eager to get planting and my mom working on her endless list of projects. Planting was running a little late due to the spring weather but on May 17th my dad finished the few acres of corn left to plant and spent the rest of the day doing many of the things he loved to do on the farm. Early in the morning on May 18th he suffered a stroke. On the evening of May 24th, I called my mom from the top of the hill on the original homestead and told her to let Dad know the soybeans were all planted and getting sprayed. He passed away shortly after knowing the crop was planted in the farms 100th year.

The farm is currently owned by the third generation, my mother. Eventually the fourth generation, my two brothers and I will own it. Then, someday in the future, it will be owned by the fifth generation, our children.

Thank you for the honor of being named a Century Farm.