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The SSND farm at Elm Grove

By Michele Levandoski, Archivist, School Sisters of Notre Dame North American Archives

Mother Caroline Friess, Commissary Generalate of the School Sisters of Notre Dame (SSND) in North America, bought property in Elm Grove, Wisconsin, to establish an orphanage, but she also intended to use the property as a farm that could supply food for the former Milwaukee Motherhouse. The venture started small in 1863, but by the 1920s, the farm was producing large quantities of vegetables, fruit, dairy products, honey and meat, which were used to feed the residents of both Elm Grove and the former Milwaukee Motherhouse.

This is a photo of the chicken barns located at Notre Dame of Elm Grove, Elm Grove, Wisconsin.

Initially, the farm raised mostly vegetables, because the sisters did not have money to pay workers for the necessary buildings and tools needed to raise grains. The sisters also had a small number of livestock and poultry, which were kept on a neighboring farm. In 1863, Mother Caroline bought a working farm that consisted of 90 acres, a frame house, barns and sheds. She purchased more land in 1864 and 1865, increasing the size of the property from the original 40 acres to approximately 200 acres.

The chronicles for Elm Grove provide a record of the life on the sisters’ farm by recording events, such as what was planted and the yield; the birth, purchase and slaughter of animals; the erection of buildings and new ventures, such as beekeeping. The chronicles also detail the small events that make up farm life, such as the blessing of a new cow barn and pigsty or when the sisters received an automobile used to deliver milk to the Motherhouse.

The chicken coup at Notre Dame of Elm Grove, Elm Grove, Wisconsin.

A particularly harrowing event occurred in 1892 when Sister Gamelberta Walesch was teaching orphan girls how to kill and clean a chicken. Sister assisted by holding the chicken’s head and was accidently struck with the cleaver. “The poor sisters ran at once into the sick room, the pain was so severe that she nearly fainted.” It took four weeks for her thumb to heal.

The sisters and hired men had to contend with problems, such as bad weather, plant eating critters and even thieves. In 1887, the men planted the first cornfield, but they ended up having to replant it, because “these horrid creatures [mice and gophers] devoured the corn plantlets with greedy haste.” That summer was dry and food in the meadow was scarce, so the “poor cattle found only scanty grass and was obliged to break in, wherever possible, into oat fields as well as cornfields.” Some of the cattle even broke into a neighbor’s field, causing eight dollars in damages.

The barn located at Notre Dame of Elm Grove, Elm Grove, Wisconsin, was demolished in 1970.

Thieves were another problem. In 1892, the sisters discovered that their, “largest, most beautiful and best cow,” had been stolen. The hired men went in search and found the cow on its way to the slaughterhouse in Cudahy, Wisconsin, roughly 16 miles away. In 1910, thieves stole a “pail full of milk” and three years later, some daring thieves raided the chicken coop, stealing 100 hens, nine geese and two ducks.

By 1927, the farm was producing a large quantity of items, including approximately 3,200 bushels of grains, vegetables and fruit, 644 quarts of berries, 5,325 pounds of beans and 4,300 heads of cabbage a year. In addition, the farm produced 24,532 dozen eggs, 169,241 pounds of milk, 5,125 pounds of honey, as well as butchered livestock and poultry.

Notre Dame of Elm Grove grape arbor. In 1955, the congregation began selling the farmland to raise the money needed to build a health care facility to care for aging sisters. In 1959, the cows were sold and in 1970, the iconic red barn was demolished. Today, the only remnant of the once fruitful farm is the grape arbor, which has been producing grapes since 1886.

 

 

A reflection on her time in Elm Grove

By Sister Barbara Pfarr

Growing up in a strong Catholic family, it wasn’t much of a stretch for a pious girl to join the convent. I loved and admired my SSND teachers for their kindness, creativity and care for us and for each other.

Throughout my religious life, I have loved going to Notre Dame of Elm Grove (NDEG) for meetings, visits with our sick and elderly sisters, even to help clean in the summer.

A favorite memory is our celebration of the 150th anniversary of the location in Elm Grove in 2009. Sisters from all over Wisconsin, as well as those serving in other parts of the U.S., Guam and our missions in Africa and Latin America, gathered to celebrate and honor this important milestone. After prayer in the chapel, we processed with colorful banners and joyful music to the cemetery and the gravesites of our beloved sisters.

When it became clear that NDEG was too big for our current needs, it broke our hearts, but knowing that the sale would mean more funds for our ministries, the decision was made to sell and move. Today, we celebrate the many sisters and ministries that went before us and prepare for our exciting future.

 

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320 East Ripa Avenue

St. Louis, MO 63125

Phone: 314-561-4100

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