Monday, February 3, 1941
- Jill Johnson Tewsley
- Feb 4, 2021
- 2 min read
A MAN CAME CALLING
Beautiful day.
Washed and clothes dried
beautifully. Did most
of my ironing to-night.
Had a caller (Ralph
Meyers) of G.R. this PM who
is looking for a farm.
Wanted to see the house
(all over) and barn. He
is coming back again
and bring his wife.
Seems to be a prospective
buyer. Wanted to know
our price. We told him
$15,000. Started buzzing
wood this P.M.
Ralph Meyers of Grand Rapids came calling. He was interested in buying a farm. I think Edna may have been a bit irritated by just how much of the house Mr. Meyers wanted to see.
After looking at the farm and hearing the price, Meyers is interested enough to come back with his wife. According to an online inflation calculator, $15,000 in 1941 would equate to $277,000 today. That seems like a pretty good price for purchasing a farm.
I was curious if the farm was officially on the market so I inquired with my dad.
"I doubt very much that the farm was ever considered being put up for sale. Never until after Hank died. Then it was sold with a provision that Maxine could live there as long as she was able."
Mr. Meyers may have been interested in the farm at Bowne Center but that's where it ended.
The Johnson family retained ownership of Locust View Farm until after Hank's death in 2007.
By the time I was born in 1966, Hank (Henry and Edna's youngest child) and his wife Maxine were running the farm. Maxine currently resides in an assisted living facility but she remained on the farm until 2014 or 2015.
I was curious about Mr. Meyers. Did he buy another farm? If so, was it near Bowne Center?
After a little sleuthing, I found a Ralph Meyers. While I can't be certain it is the same Ralph Meyers that came calling on February 3, 194, it does seem rather likely.
Ralph was born near Holland, Michigan in 1916 to George and Bertha. He married Hermina Dejonge in 1939. According to his WWII draft card, Ralph was employed by his father and himself. He would have been fairly newly married and just 24 years old when he visited the Johnson family farm in 1941.
Hermina's 2005 obituary indicates that she and her husband established Ralph Meyers Trucking in 1940. It's a business that is still in operation today.
According to the Ralph Meyers Trucking website, Ralph purchased his first truck in 1940.
So perhaps it was that in 1941 Ralph was considering establishing his business near Bowne Center. Instead, Allendale, Michigan became (and remains) the home of Ralph Meyers Trucking.
Edna and Henry and Hank and Ralph and Hermina are gone but Maxine (DeLaat) Johnson remains. Maxine resided on the farm longer than any other of the Johnson women. She, even more than Edna, is the heart and soul of the farm at Bowne Center.
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