HALE – As families grow and land changes hands, things tend to get moved—or left behind. One Iosco County windmill, though, has found its way back home to Daryl and Carla Johnson.
Originally used to grind grain and pump water, windmills helped expand farming and ranching across rural America. Though modern technology has replaced their practical use, windmills remain a symbol of American heritage, and can still be found on old farms and ranches across the nation.
Carla’s dad, James Irwin of Hale, once owned a 485 acre farm in Whittemore; raising corn, hay, cattle, hogs and of course, horses. He also farmed another 1,000 acres that was part of the adjacent family land.
That was the farm where Carla and her four siblings grew up.
It a strange family twist, the property where Carla and her family grew up was purchased by Carla’s grandfather from Daryl’s great grandfather.
“Daryl’s mother was born in the house that us kids grew up in,” Carla said.
James farmed that land for 40 years, raising five kids as a single dad. Three daughters and both his sons worked various jobs on the farm in-between school days and summers off.
Carla remembers riding horses with her sister and friends all around the farm but always out to the windmill where a rain barrel sat holding water for the cows to drink.
“When it was really hot, we jumped in to cool off!,” she said.
Everyone shared work on the farm. And food was whatever dad put on the table.
“Nine-year old would bale hay and no one thought anything of it,” Carla said.
Carla and Daryl bought their nearby 40 acre farm on Curtis Road, just south of Hale, in 1975. Hay and beef cattle have been their specialty.
Their six kids worked the farm: putting up hay in the barn, setting bales in the field, and working the cattle. Like farming traditions of old, everyone pitched in.
The windmill came the Daryl and Carla through a fortunate series of events.
After Irwin sold the original 485-acre parcel, he purchased a smaller 40 acre parcel from a family member in 1978, where he placed the 30-foot windmill. It was purchased at the old Whittemore Elevator Company.
When Irwin sold that 40-acre property, the last of the Irwin homestead, the new owners said he could keep any farm items that were left behind. Then one evening, Irwin called Carla about 9 p.m.
“The guy told my dad that if we wanted the windmill, it had to be removed by midnight. I couldn’t even think how we could do that in just a few hours,” Carla said.
The question was how to get it—and fast.
“I called Daryl and he said, ‘Let’s get it.’” Carla said.
Daryl, who worked for Webb Well Drilling at the time, asked for some help. In a monumental effort involving friends and family, Webb allowed Daryl to take a well rig over to tear down the windmill.
“Him and a couple of buddies raced out and using the lights from a well rig, took the sawmill down in pieces,” Carla said.
At 11:55 p.m. the loaded the pieces of the windmill on a couple of hay wagons and transported it over to the Johnson’s Curtis Road farm.
Today, the windmill stands proudly near a small pond on the back of the property. Cleaned up and repainted red, white and blue, it’s claimed its rightful place in Johnson-Irwin family lore.
Today, thirteen grandkids, and one Great-grandchild, ride out to “Dad’s windmill,” carrying on the family legacy of community and farming.
“I’m happy that we were able to do it and bring it home,” Carla said. “Getting my dad’s windmill means a lot to us.”
