Most farms have one good well of water. The farm pictured above, the Otto T. Miller farm, located about eight miles north of Hazen, has four wells and a spring that flows the year round in the pasture.

Mr. Miller’s farm, homesteaded by his father, Gottlieb Miller, in 1897, and the birth place of Otto, consists of 400 acres.

Besides the 400 acres he owns, Mr. Miller rents 100 acres of pasture on his brother Paul’s land, 80 acres of plow land from Paul and 40 acres of plow land from Mrs. Ed Schramm, making a total of 620 acres.

The 400 acres Mr. Miller owns is made up of 220 acres of crop land, 50 acres of prairie hay and about 130 acres of pasture.

“The crop last year was fair, except for the flax,” Mr. Miller said. His crop consisted of 37 acres of corn, 15 acres of which were cut for silage and the remainder of which was pastured, 40 acres of oats, 45 acres of flax, 160 acres of wheat and 20 acres of Sudan grass. He had 40 acres of summerfallow.

Mr. Miller puts up about 30-40 tons of prairie hay and about 30 tons of Sudan grass yearly.

Included in Mr. Miller’s farming equipment, which he and his brother Paul own together, are one 3-4 bottom row-crop tractor, one 3-4 bottom standard tread tractor and a combine. Most of the seeding on the Miller farm is done on spring plowing with the drill behind the plow. They combine most of the grain, binding the oats and some wheat for straw for cattle bedding.

Mr. Miller’s herd of cattle, consisting of 35 head, is a mixed herd. He has 10 to 12 milk cows. The beef cattle are sold as long yearlings. He usually raises some more hogs than for their own use.

The eight-room house on the Miller farm was originally a mud house, wood walls being put in in 1913. It is a partly modern house, having hot and cold water. Since the REA came in in May, 1949, the kitchen has been modernized with an electric range and refrigerator.

Located south of the eight-room house on the farm is a small house, formerly the summer kitchen, but now used for storage.

The barn on the farm is 26x26 with 12-foot leans on the east and west side and a 14x50 lean on the north. Originally the barn was built in 1913 without any lean-to.

Other buildings on the farm include a 20x40 machine shed, workshop and garage built in 1920 to the right of the house. It has been moved west of the barn and is now partly used as a horse barn and workshop and garage. There is a 16x30 granary in front of the barn. To the left of the granary is a 14x30 chicken house. There is a one thousand bushel steel granary just west of the chicken house.

Mr. Miller is making good use of electricity outside, having electrical appliances including an electrical welder.

Mr. Miller’s wife is the former Hattie Weisz, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Nathaniel Weisz. There were married in St. John’s Lutheran Church at Krem in 1933. They have three children, Jerome age 14, who is a freshman at the Hazen High School, Joan age 9, who attends the Dakota Star mine school, and Judy age 3.

Until 1943 when his father moved to Hazen, Otto, though farming for himself, was farming together with his father. His father, Gottlieb Miller, came to the United States in 1886 with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Miller. They lived in Hebron for one year before moving to the Krem area. Both of Otto’s parents are deceased.

Mr. Miller’s brothers and sisters are Fred Miller, John E. Miller, Paul Miller, Mrs. Gust (Emma) Malke, Mrs. Emil (Alma) Malke, Mrs. Albert (Ruth) Koehler and Mrs. Adolf (Ella) Geist, all of Hazen; Herbert H. Miller, Kent, Wash.; Mrs. Gust (Ida) Krein, Tacoma, Wash.; Mrs. Maurice (Helen) Jorgensen, Puyallup, Wash.; and Mrs. Gideon (Erna) Flemming, Seattle, Wash.

Mrs. Miller’s brothers and sisters are Mrs. Emanuel (Anna) Stuhlmiller, Dodge; Mrs. Sam (Adina) Neumann, Jacksonville, Fla.; Mrs. Rudolph (Olga) Granmann, Zap; Mrs. Otto (Eva) Unterseher, and Herb and Eldor Weisz, all of Hazen.

Mr. Miller is another farmer who uses a three year rotation of crops and summerfallow. He is another farmer, too, who is attempting to improve his farm. In the spring, in cooperation with the East Mercer Soil Conservation district, he plans to plant a 1500 tree windbreak on two acres which he has broken up north and west of the buildings.

~Source: Unknown publication dated January 17, 1952
~Submitted for transcribing by family descendant, Leann Miller
~Typed for posting on this website by Mrs. Richard (Linda) Ziemann, Mercer Co. website coordinator

Otto Miller & Hertha Weisz

Otto and Hertha Miller are longtime farmers in the Hazen-Krem area and are now retired.

Otto is the son of Gottlieb and Mathilda (Priebe) Miller and was born in Krem in 1910. He married Hertha Weisz, also born in Krem, in 1913. She is the daughter of Nathaniel and Margaretha (Goetz) Weisz. They had one son and two daughters: Jerome, JoAnn and Judy.

Otto has seven sisters and three brothers: Emma, deceased; Ella; Alma; Ida; Helen; Erna; and Ruth; Fred, deceased; Johnny; and Herbert.

Hertha has three sisters and two brothers: Anna and Adina, both deceased; Olga; Herbert, deceased; and Eldor.

~Source: Hazen 1913-1988, Diamond Jubilee book, page 273

Children of Otto & Hertha Miller:

Jerome Miller
JoAnn Miller
Judy Miller

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