Elburn Herald
August 29, 2002
by Carol Klusman
Anyone who has ever spent long periods in this area of the country is, most likely, spoiled. Many people regularly drive past large expanses of rich soil filled with lush grass, abundant crops and beautiful foliage, and many of them dismiss the gorgeous scenery as a typical landscape.
Marvel Davis, however, was born and raised in the farm country of Big Rock. She truly appreciates the value of both the precious nature and the lessons of history that the community provides its visitors and residents each day.
Living on a 200-acre farm, with an additional 70-acre parcel located just across the street, Marvel generously allows her property to be used for celebrations. One of her large barns dates back to Civil War times, but the care it has received over the years keeps it sound and enchanting.
Restoring her two largest barns eight years ago for Big Rock's Centennial Barn Dance Celebration, Marvel took four months to strengthen the structures while continuing to showcase their historic charm. After undergoing the enhancement and inviting guests for the Centennial party, she discovered a desire many people have--to bask in the history and unusual architecture provided by her barns. And ever since, the farm has been consistently busy with parties and celebrations.
It has been less than 10 years since Marvel spent a summer supervising the repairing and remodeling of the two barns; yet, the changes only enhanced the strong, original elements that create character throughout the buildings. They now are ornamented with benches, lights and a combination of decorating ideas that grow from the barn's history.
One outstanding decoration includes the original stove, in perfect condition, that was used in the farmhouse kitchen before 1950. The tone of the barn now helps enhance its distinctiveness.
"It's like a gothic cathedral," said Marvel, strolling through one of the barns.
The farmstead has been in the Davis family since 1836. At that time, the Big Rock community was made up primarily of Welsh settlers and their homestead had to have "three essential ingredients," explained Marvel.
These properties had to contain open land for crops (or work land), a creek for the animals and a wooded area offering trees for building purposes. The Davis property, as well as all neighboring farmsteads, are no exception to this rule.
"This farm absolutely illustrates what happened over and over again for our pioneers," said Marvel. Up until 1890, the granddaughters of the founding pioneer broke up the lands by dividing them in half--as each could still sustain a farm with all three elements.
The builders of one of the barns used beams made of tree trunks, which are still in place today. Marvel explained pioneers headed into the woods to search for the tallest and straightest trees they could find to construct their buildings. She added there was an abundant supply of trees at that time and because of the concentrated areas they thrived in, the trees grew straight up toward the sun, making the scouting job easier for the pioneers.
The second large barn dates back to 1936, and boasts Ganbrol-type architecture, which is a design that doesn't need center support. The barn was built completely by hand, including the concrete.
Years ago, Marvel met a man who had worked on the barn. He informed Marvel that he had been paid 40-cents per hour for that job. The crew manager had earned 60-cents an hour for his part of the barn construction.
Flooring for the second story of the younger barn is made up of siding taken from another barn from a different farm.
Wandering through Marvel's property, the quiet atmosphere is the perfect backdrop to enjoy the sounds of an original farm. Some cows moo in their expansive pasture, as others splash through the creek, searching for a drink of water. Even sounds from the birds and bugs can be detected on the quiet hillside.
Animals have always been a part of the landscape at the Davis farm. Some that have resided on the farm in the past include horses used for farming, hogs, goats, chickens and ducks. Today, only cattle still graze the lush grasses, but in the past milk cows were plentiful enough only to provide the family with milk, explained Marvel.
"Most families had a little bit of everything," she said, describing the variety of animals that have dwelled on their land. But it was the hogs that paid for the farm. "They call them the great mortgage lifters," she said.
Despite its mortgage lifters, the stock market crash of 1929 nearly took a toll on the Davis farm. The grandfather of Marvel's husband, Harley, was heavily invested in the stock market and consequently lost a fortune when it crashed. Since the farm was in jeopardy, Harley's father paid the going price for the land and thus saved the farm. "Harley's grandfather lived very frugally after that," she said.
Raised on her own family's farm in the northern part of Big Rock Township, Marvel had an easy adjustment when she married into the Davis family in 1950, becoming the fifth generation to live on the farm. She saw Harley's family as an extension of her own family, she explained.
Describing Big Rock as a stable community, Marvel said she graduated high school with 90 percent of the same students as she had seen in grade school. She estimates that Big Rock High School had a total of 60 students, and that 15 of those students were in her graduating class.
"I love this community of Big Rock, I really love it. It was so supportive of me when I was growing up," she said. "It helped nourish me as a person."
During grade school, Marvel took the bus to school. Big Rock has the distinction of being the first community in the state of Illinois to provide bus transportation to school, she said. It was also one of the first places to close rural schools and transfer all the students to a central location. "They were very forward thinkers."
To create a bus, a GM truck was used and box seats were built along the length of the body. An exhaust pipe ran directly down the middle of the bus, between the two lines of students that faced each other.
"It was hotter than the devil," she said with a laugh. It was typical for students to trip or burn themselves on that exhaust pipe, she explained. Children would place their shoes on the pipe in an attempt to warm their feet during cold weather, so the smell of burning rubber was common during the trips to and from school.
The teachers taught the basics throughout school, with not a lot of frills, she said. Although they did have sports, which fostered a strong but friendly rivalry between Sugar Grove and Big Rock, subjects like music and art were not focused on.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Marvel was in the beginning of her freshman year, so the rest of her high school years were spent in wartime. All the boys would go home to help out immediately after school, while everyone's gas was rationed, she explained.
After graduating from college with a master's degree from Northwestern University, Marvel began her 23-year teaching career in Pierce County.
Although she never attended a rural school herself, Marvel started her teaching career in a one-room country schoolhouse. "I was always interested in how children learned to read," she said. Three years of her teaching career was spent in Kaneville classrooms.
Marvel's husband passed away in 1980, and ever since, she has tended to the property and each building, ensuring that everything is cared for properly. Other buildings on the Davis farm include: two silos, a corn crib, a silo house, a storage area that used to serve as an old chicken house and another building that used to be the horse and buggy shed of a Baptist church before it was moved to the property.
Marvel explained that her farm, as well as many of her neighbors' farms, are currently being threatened due to the plans for the Prairie Parkway. Her 70-acre parcel, which currently has soybeans standing on it, will be cut in half, leaving it land-locked and unsuitable for farming.
Her property is very unique in that it borders forest preserve property and another large parcel owned by the Girl Scouts.
Marvel's dream for the farm is to remain open space--she does not want housing or roads to destroy its character and capacity for farming.
"I am dedicated to open space," she said. "But I do realize you can't keep something forever."
Two public entities have shown an interest in her property. Marvel said she understands why people sometimes turn to developers. When left with a piece of land that has been rendered nearly useless, the temptation is to take money from a developer and free yourself of the land, she explained.
Between living her entire life on a farm and researching the importance of open space, Marvel has learned quite a bit. She explains the soil in Illinois is more fertile than soil in other farming states. She can also explain the details and importance of replenishing the ground's aquifers, which will be compromised when the area is inundated with asphalt and concrete.
Fighting and rallying along with her neighbors against the Prairie Parkway, Marvel doesn't want to see anyone's centennial farm endangered or forced to be sold to developers. "People united can make a difference," she said.
So she continues to persevere. In March of this year, Marvel was distinguished by the Illinois Landmark Preservation Council as owning one of the 10 most threatened farms. A second farm named on the endangered list is that of a neighbor, who owns what was initially part of the original farmstead.
In addition, Marvel noted that the mountains, desert and tundra don't provide crops to the world. Only 6 percent of the world contains cultivatable soil, she explained.
"We have a distorted picture because
of where we live. The rest of the world doesn't look like this area,"
she said. "This (quiet, farming community) way of life should be
encouraged."