Heartfelt Harvest

Curt Krause and his son Nathan planted the 180 acres of corn and beans which were harvested Oct. 9. Twenty friends and neighbors brought the equipment and spent the time needed to bring it off the field.

 

Having been diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, on Feb. 29, Curt succumbed to it a few days after celebrating his birthday on Sept. 21; he was 79 years old.

He and his wife, Karen, were married 54 years and raised three children, Heather Quiram, Nathan, and Meghan. Curt operated a family farm in the vicinity of Matawan on an acreage which Karen’s father had farmed before him.

 

“ALS is a horrible disease,” commented Karen. “It strips you of everything a little at a time.”

 

After Curt’s diagnosis near the end of February and being told by doctors he had no more than two years to live, he, Karen, and their adult children made a point of spending quality time together. Karen and Curt went to Branson, Missouri, a place they had visited previously and always enjoyed; not for the first time, they attended a concert featuring songs by the BeeGees, a favorite for both of them. “It isn’t the BeeGees, of course,” Karen said. “But when the lights go down and the music comes up, it sure sounds like them.”

 

Though they had to deal with progressive health difficulties over the next few months, Karen and Curt were joined by each of their children in turn for road trips that went as far as Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, and Breckenridge, Colorado.

 

“We just took our time,” describes Karen. “We never took the interstates. Instead we used the meandering back roads that let us see the countryside.”

 

When it came to Curt’s birthday, the family “decided to do it up big.” Karen says more than 100 people visited Curt at the family’s lake home near Faribault during the two hours of his party, although some had to speak with him after he grew tired and went to bed to rest.

 

On Sept. 22, Karen said, the family held a more intimate celebration. Part of it was a traditional “father/daughter dance” between him and Meghan, whose wedding had once been scheduled to take place on her father’s birthday, but was postponed because of his illness.

 

Curt was under the care of a hospice program during the last few weeks of his life. “He wanted to die at home,” Karen explains. When the hospice caretaker said Curt’s time was drawing near, their three children gathered and were with him and Karen as he died.

 

The shared project of harvesting Curt’s crop for his family seems to have arisen nearly spontaneously among neighboring farmers after a conversation between Matawan Grain’s manager Brad Stenzel and farmer Scott Routh.

 

The Matawan elevator was closed to others from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Oct. 9 while 17 area farmers brought various needed pieces of equipment and worked together to bring in Curt’s crop.

 

Members of All Saints church in New Richland, Curt and Karen’s home congregation, and of St. Joseph’s and Trinity Lutheran in Waldorf prepared meals.

 

“It’s called being a community,” said Matawan Grain’s Brad Stenzel. “We’re glad to help each other, and glad to do this for Curt and his family.”

 

Among those bringing equipment and helping in the fields were Matawan and New Richland area farmers Jim Chicos, Mike Chicos, Chad Groskreutz, Matt Groskreutz, Neil Grunzke, Rob Hansen, Denny Hanson, Nat Krause, Al Miller, Bronco Mortenson, Scott Routh, Colton Schlaak, Loren Schoenrock, Rick Schultz, Clay Stenzel, Darren Stenzel, and Jerome Stenzel.

 

Among those who supplied food were Julie Bohlens, Mary Bohlen, Brenda Gerdts, Jeanette Groskreutz, Teri Kormann, Kris Pfeffer, Jackie Schultz, Brad Stenzel, Gretchen Supalla, and Midwest Ag Advisors.

 

“We’re really grateful for this,” said Karen. “It’s a giant help to us, and it feels like one last, special event in memory of Curt.”