The Wisconsin Farm They Built: Tales of Family & Fortitude

by Corey A. Geiger, Jerry Apps (Foreword)

Corey Geiger, international agricultural journalist and author of On a Wisconsin Family Farm , pairs his rural roots and lively storytelling talents to capture six generations of life in America's Dairyland. After his mother Anna was killed by a train, Elmer Pritzl was thrown into adulthood at the tender age of sixteen. A clever and crafty fellow, Elmer quickly found work at the local foundry. Promoted to foreman by age eighteen, he began supervising men double and even triple his age during the depths of the Great Depression. However, that professional career track ended abruptly five years later when Elmer fell in love with a farmer's daughter, Julia Burich. Six months after their wedding, Julia's father passed away, and with no living male relatives left in her life, Julia's mother, Anna Burich, asked, "Elmer, will you run my farm?" So, Elmer, born a city boy, transformed his life and began a love affair with a Wisconsin family farm.

240 pages, Paperback

Published May 15, 2023

About the author

Known to friends as the “Dancing Dairyman,” Corey Geiger danced his way onto the Family Feud television show, Texas Two-Stepped on the colored shavings during the Supreme Champion ceremonies in front of a crowd of 4,500 at the World Dairy Expo and competed at the Fred Astaire Cross Country Dance Competition national finals, where he and his wife, Krista Knigge, won top amateur couple honors in their division. In 1995, this University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate joined Hoard’s Dairyman. In 2013, Geiger was tapped as the publication’s fifth lead editor, and in 2019, he was elected the sixty-fifth president of Holstein USA. He was co-editor of World Dairy Expo’s 50th Anniversary Book, We Need a Show, and served as fundraising co-chair for the Farm Wisconsin Discovery Center. He remains true to his farming roots, managing the cropland and facility maintenance on his family’s farm, which dates back to 1867.

Reviews

[Tony · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this while freezing in a deer blind and was totally absorbed into the past. It led me to spend a good part of thanksgiving talking to Grandma about raising cows & goats, what age a child could start doing chicken chores, and how upset she is about the family farms like the one she grew up on getting divided and sold. The author's admiration for Jerry Apps who wrote the foreword led me to pick up one of his books at the library and so far I like it even more. Theres a sudden urge to buy more tractor attachments.

[Vickie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Wisconsin Farm They Built: Tales of Family & Fortitude by Corey A. Geiger is a wonderfully written and highly engaging narrative nonfiction book. Covering the 1930s through the 1980s, Geiger skillfully weaves stories about his grandparents Elmer and Julia Pritzl and their life as small-scale farmers together with fascinating histories about Wisconsin farming.

In 1932, Elmer is fifteen years old when his mother dies in a tragic accident and his life is forever changed. Elmer’s intelligence, problem-solving skills, and outstanding grades had impressed his mother, teachers, and employers, many of whom wanted him to attend college. However, the Great Depression grips the nation, Elmer’s mother is dead, and his father has a drinking problem. Furthermore, the social safety nets that could have helped do not yet exist, so Elmer skips college and works in a foundry to help support the family. In 1938, Elmer falls in love and marries Julia Burich. Soon after his wedding, Elmer’s widowed mother-in-law asks him to run her farm, a request Elmer both gratefully and kindly accepts. And so begins the story of Elmer Pritzl, who lives both an ordinary and extraordinary life at the same time. Because of Geiger’s remarkable storytelling, readers come to know Elmer and Julia and understand the determination, kindness, intelligence, and work ethic it takes to be successful farmers.

Interspersed with the “tales of family and fortitude,” Geiger also provides well-researched historical information about farmer’s fairs and co-ops, farming practices, tractors, fence laws, and hunting safety, among others. With the same attention to excellent research, Geiger also recounts the histories of businesses that were important to farmers as they went about their daily chores. For example, readers learn about companies like the world-famous Allis Chalmers Corporation, which produced large commercial engines and tractors; and A.H. Rusch & Son, a beekeeping supply company with international customers.

Growing up, Geiger, the grandson of Elmer and Julia, spent many hours on their farm. Sometimes he worked alongside his grandparents, and he also listened to their oft-told stories. Readers benefit from Geiger’s firsthand knowledge about his grandparents and their families, his own experience as a farmer, and his exceptional research. Geiger includes a comprehensive bibliography at the end of his book, a testimony to his thorough research and handy for anyone wishing to delve deeper into the historical events he covers. Readers will also enjoy the extensive and illustrative collection of photographs featured in the book.

If you hold Corey A. Geiger’s book, The Wisconsin Farm They Built, in your hands, it has a weight to it that impresses, and its pages are sturdy. It’s substantial, like an object of quality, which is fitting because Geiger treats his readers to a well-crafted, organized narrative with strong prose, in which Elmer and Julia Pritzl, their family, and the farmer’s world come to life.

[Roger A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a must read for anyone, young or old, interested in life on the farm in the early and mid 20th century. The author is a fantastic storyteller. The narrative is easy and people who both grew up on a farm and those that have never been on a farm will find it interesting. Having grown up one generation earlier than the author, I could relate personally and emotionally to many of the people in the book who were the author’s ancestors. The book illustrates “life on the farm” in a way no history book or movie can do because the author lived it. The book is written from the heart and with the goal to educate others in addition to preserving his own personal family history. Well worth the read!

[Al Kertz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Al Kertz, Missouri
Marvelous, marvelous, marvelous.
This book was much more than I envisioned. Short chapters and segments along with your enrapturing writing and personal connections made it very readable and relatable. Also, I could relate to many scenarios from my own experiences growing up.
Once I started this book, I read it in less than a week — fast for me now!
Your grandparents were grand people and made their mark on their family and community. Would we all be able to contribute that much.

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author captured an interesting account of a family's succession of a small dairy farm in northeast Wisconsin. The series of well written short stories captures Wisconsin history, life events many families have lived and an authentic tale of dairy farming in the post WW2 era. Anyone who lived in small towns in this state will appreciate and recognize the history and people the author brings to the pages. Having grown up just one county to the north of this farm, the book brought me home with memories of my youth and the people who made the community.

[Susan Apps-Bodilly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Corey Geiger has written an engaging, true narrative story of his family and their relation to the land they farm in Wisconsin. It describes the trials and celebrations of life. There are tales of the harvest, forming a milk cooperative, beekeeping, and President Roosevelt's surprise visit at the Allis Chalmers plant during World War II, among many others. There are many photographs and actual pieces of history from Corey's family. I recommend this book.

[Jeff Rosendahl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than Geiger's other book, perhaps because he's writing about more current generations, and has 1st or 2nd hand knowledge of the events he describes. More tales about the family and the members of the family than descriptions of farming or the farm or the area of the state and the changes it is going thru. Good stories, wish there was more about the evolution of dairy farming/agriculture in Wisconsin during the protagonists lifetime.

[Sunny Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really great look into a special Wisconsin family farm. You grow fond of the family, which leads to quite poignant feelings in the final quarter or so of the book. You can tell it was written with heart and a mission to bring the reader into the family’s fold.

[Nick Hansen · Rating 3 out of 5]

While a compelling story with excellent corroborative artifacts, the story loses something in the, if not purple, definitely stilted writing. I'm glad I read it. I would be careful about who I recommend it to however.

[Isabelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Corey did another wonderful job capturing life on a WI family farm but also the history of our state!

[Margaret Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of interesting bits of information. A slower read than what I am used to but also very limited time for reading. I would recommend but only to certain types of people.

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed reading, thank you!