The Oetzmann McVey farm is not only Iowa, but it’s literally heaven.
A 51-acre farm on Lincoln Road in Eldridge (off a gravel road), there are cornfields as far as the eye can see, beautifully manicured grounds with flowers, a 1912 farmhouse that’s been extensively renovated and expanded, a wide-open, serene vibe, and a number of outbuildings, with a comfortable home next door.
The farm – owned by Mary Jo Oetzmann McVey and her husband Rex -- started as 160 acres in 1854, first recognized by the state as a Century Farm in 1974, and this year as a Heritage Farm.
An 80-acre property was originally bought from the government by Ebeneezer and Clarissa Cook (for whom the Clarissa C. Cook Hospice House in Bettendorf is named) in 1851. Ebeneezer became a wealthy lawyer and financier, and his wife carried out his wishes after his death in 1871, that the couple’s wealth should be shared with those in need.
Paul Petersen started the farm. His daughter married an Oetzmann.
“It’s fun. We had a lot of fun at the fair,” Mary Jo said of going to Iowa State Fair for the recognition ceremony. “A lot of people came up to us and shook our hands. We ran into a guy who lives in Florida now but grew up in Eldridge, so that was kind of cool.”
There were 16 members of their family who attended, and some friends from Bettendorf.
When McVey’s parents passed away, the farm was 153 acres, and Mary Jo and her two sisters divided it three ways in 2017. One sister is Marcia Donaubauer and the other is Sheryl Saddoris (she later sold her portion).
Of the original buildings, the McVeys only have the milk house and tractor shed remaining. Her son Jacob McVey and his family (wife Kendra and three kids, ages 5, 3, and 1) live next door.
In 1984, Mary Jo’s father Roland Oetzmann decided to have the barn taken down and use the wood to build a house that Jacob now lives in. It was remodeled in 2018, with a second floor added, when Jacob and his family moved in.
“It was a ranch house and I made it into a two-story house,” he said, noting new siding was put on. “It was a pretty big undertaking. It was important for me to stay on the farm here, so we wanted to raise our family here. I was a North Scott graduate and my wife went to North Scott.”
Jacob works for Bowman & Associates, selling HVAC equipment. Kendra McVey also is from Eldridge, where she teaches third grade at Ed White Elementary.
He and his wife (a couple years younger) didn’t know each other in high school.
“It’s just a good area to live. It’s peaceful out here,” Jacob said. “We’re close enough to town.”
The only animal on the farm now is the younger family’s cat, Hazel. Mary Jo said her dad used to have 50 cats.
“When they were building the house here, there was a path from the cats walking back and forth all the time,” Mary Jo said. There also used to be a one-room schoolhouse (built in 1872) on the farm property. Her great grandmother Minnea Oetzmann attended the school.
They once had hundreds of cattle on the farm, and when Mary Jo was growing up, they had cattle and pigs. Her husband Rex has a shop where the corn crib had been (taken down in 1985, when they moved to the farm from Davenport).
Rex and Mary Jo went to one grade at the one-room schoolhouse. Her parents attended the 1974 state designation as a Century Farm.
“We raised our three kids here,” Rex said. Mary Jo loved playing outside and helping her dad with the pigs.
“I never drove a tractor; my older sister did,” she said. “We played baseball here a lot. My dad always loved baseball.”
“We had a lot of aunts, uncles, and cousins who would stop in often. Mom always had the coffee pot on and pie or cookies to share,” Mary Jo recalled. “Mom and Dad ran the farm by themselves. Mom drove a tractor out in the field as much as what my dad did. One of my memories is when the John Deere dealership delivered two new 3020 tractors. One with a cab and one without, of course, Mom got the cab! And when I was in 2nd grade, the corn picker caught on fire. That was exciting to have the fire trucks come from Eldridge.”
They rent out the farm to a family that’s been operating it since the late ‘70s, corn and soybean production.
“We plan on keeping it this way, no factories,” Rex said. “As you know, they’re moving closer to us. I don’t know.”
“Hopefully one day, my three kids inherit everything,” Mary Jo said. She has daughters Jennilee and Abbie, and a total of eight grandchildren (four girls and four boys).
Jacob and his father restored his great-grandfather’s car (from 1956), and another car from 1971. The large storage building also includes Mary Jo’s dad’s 1946 Case tractor.
Mary Jo is retired from working for the state of Iowa (social services), and then Genesis, and Rex worked as a mechanic for city of Davenport buses, then 40 years for Twin Bridges Truck City. When her parents built the ranch house next door, they asked Mary Jo and Rex if they wanted to buy the farm house.
“It was not a good time to move; that was just when Caterpillar was leaving,” she said of the ‘80s farm crisis. Now is clearly a much better time to be on the farm.