Staff writer
The farm owned by Helmut and Carol Wituk of Pilsen and Carol’s sister, Marian and her husband, Randy Guapo of Wichita, has been designated a Century Farm by Kansas Farm Bureau. The homestead is located a half-mile north of Pilsen and 1.25 miles west on 280th Road.
The designation signifies that the farm has been in the same family for 100 years or more, with at least 80 acres of originally deeded land.
The couples received the award Aug. 21 at the annual meeting of the Marion County Farm Bureau Association in Marion. They have erected a special sign at the homestead, declaring it to be a Century Farm.
The farm originated in 1883 when Carol and Marian’s great-great-grandfather, Mike Franta, bought 160 acres from the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad. It was passed down to succeeding generations.
Helmut and Carol have lived on the 160-acre farm for 38 years in a brick house built in 1927.
The two sisters, Carol and Marian, daughters of Mike and Elizabeth Vinduska, each inherited 80 acres in 2004.
Carol Wituk said she learned a lot of interesting family history while researching the farm’s history and compiling the necessary documentation to apply for the award. Among other things, she studied court records and located information in the archives of the Marion County Record.
Jacob Vinduska and Mike Franta and their wives came to the area in February 1874. Vinduska’s two sons, Antonin, 22, and Joseph, 19, and Franta’s daughter, Mary, 11, came with them. They were immigrants from Bohemia, a province of Czechoslovakia.
They arrived in Florence by train from Chicago and were taken by horse and wagon across the prairie to their new home in what became known as the Pilsen community.
“These pioneers came to a country which was still a wild prairie,” Carol Wituk said. “The soil was fertile but also was hard to work. Houses, barns, and fences had to be built. Horses, wagons, and implements were needed. The railroads had much business and the pioneers had much work.”
Mike Franta purchased 160 acres from the railroad in 1883 for $1,000. Joseph Vinduska, a blacksmith, and Mary Franta were married in June 1886 in the “Rock School,” the first school building of Cross District No. 52.
In January 1917, their son, Frank Vinduska, the third in a family of seven children, purchased the original 160 acres from his grandfather Franta for $1,800. It was passed down in 1979 to Frank’s son, Mike Vinduska.
When Mike’s daughters, Carol and Marian, each inherited 80 acres in 2004, the land was deeded to them in joint tenancy with their husbands. Carol and Marian’s brother, John Vinduska of rural Marion, farms the land.
Marian was happy to see the farm designated as a Farm Bureau Century Farm. She said her sister deserves all the credit.
“Kudos to Carol for digging up all this history,” she said.
Carol created the yard sign using a door from an old granary. Besides the metal sign from Farm Bureau, it holds a horse yoke and a seat from an antique cultivator. A wooden windmill bought at a craft show and stones from the foundation of an original barn complete the scene.
In addition to brother John, the two sisters have another brother, Don Vinduska, of rural Lincolnville. They also have two sisters, Elaine Ledford of Centennial, Colo., and Nancy Kraft of Wichita.