Earlier this fall, the 410th barn quilt was added to the Shawano County barn quilt trail, the largest trail of 8-foot by 8-foot barn quilts in the U. S. The 410th barn quilt, called Mariners Compass, is on display on a “barndominium” owned by Dave and Laurie Heideman at N2999 Grass Lake Road in Shawano.
The Heidemans sponsored the quilt and also painted it. It was put on display by LeRoy Raddant of Raddant Electric in Shawano, with Dave Heideman’s assistance.
Fred and Gusta Heideman left Posen, Germany, and immigrated to the United States and, in 1879, purchased 80 acres of land in Waupaca County. The land was mostly timber, with only one acre having been cleared, so trees were harvested to make space for crops to be planted.
Oxen were used to pull the plows and perform other heavy labor on the homestead. After a log house and a small barn were built, Fred Heideman continued to clear the land. He was a successful farmer and retired in 1888.
Fred and Gusta Heideman had five children. Their only son, Emil, took charge of the farm after his dad retired. He was 8 when his parents came to America and had worked with his father over the years.
He married Augusta Hermann in 1889, and they had six children. While Emil Heideman was operating the farm, he increased his land ownership to 200 acres, 120 of which were cleared for crops. He also built a new 110-foot barn, a 10-room frame house and other farm buildings.
Emil Heideman did general farming and milked about 20 cows, the milk from which was taken by horse and wagon (or sled) to a nearby cheese factory. Emil and Augusta Heideman farmed until 1919 when their son, Ed, bought the farm.
He married Melda Klemm in 1919, and they had three children. Ed Heideman bought another 80 acres that bordered the farm and the Little Wolf River. They had one of the first tractors in the area and, after adding two more in the early 1930s, they retired their six horses. Later, they remodeled the barn so they could milk 50 cows and started shipping the milk to Bordens in New London.
Ed and Melda Heideman retired in 1949 after farming for 30 years.
Their son, Luther, married Allene Pomrening and began operating the farm. They had four children. Luther Heideman followed the guidelines of the SCS program as far as ditching, tiling and clearing more land. He put up one of the first Harvestore silos in the area and made many other improvements. Luther Heideman retired in 1984 and his son, Dave, bought the farm.
Dave Heideman graduated from UW-Madison with a major in dairy science. He had been buying Registered Holstein calves since he won his first registered calf through 4-H. He milked about 50 cows until selling them in 2001.
Dave Heideman is the fifth generation to operate Heideman’s Homestead. His dairy animals were registered under the prefix of Heide Ho Holsteins. Today, he raises cash crops on the farm.
Shawano County’s 410th barn quilt now on display
