Bill and Margaret Grabofsky…“I’ll never live it down.”
By Eva Hallam Solberg
Published in the PCN on August 28, 1980
“Our first crop in 1942 yielded 46 bushels to the acre, and we were paid three dollars a bushel for it. We were able to repay all of our debts.”
As the years progressed, Bill and Margaret Grabofsky added to land given them as a wedding present by Bill’s father 39 years ago. Margaret taught Sunny Slope School for three years before they married in October of 1941. A month earlier, Bill’s aunt’s homestead house was moved to what was known as “Wagner Crossing” and they have lived there ever since. “We’ve added to the original house little by little. I always wanted a new house to live in, but I’ve gotten over that by now,” Margaret said.
The Grabofskys now have 2,000 acres in cultivation. (“We’ve worn out three rock pickers”) and about 2,000 more of grassland. They keep 75 cows. Margaret drives truck for the harvest, helps with calving, tagging, and most areas of cattle raising. She also raises a big garden.
“The problem with this spot is the distance to school and church,” Margaret said. They live 58 miles from Malta, 23 miles from Turner, 16 miles from Loring, and 11 miles from the Canadian border. The gravel road next to their house is the main road to Turner. “We have the best neighbors in the world,” she declared.