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Matt's avatar

Hi Karen, I posted this on ND and thought I'd share it here too:

That looks like Chuck and Lois Waneka's farm. He built that house in 1946. The year before he died, Chuck and his son Bill harvested a record crop of wheat there. I knew Chuck and Lois for many years through our church. They were one of the first people to welcome me when I moved here and loaned me the History of Lafayette book that they helped put together in the late 80's when they were part of the Historical Society. It was personal stories and family histories from all the current residents of Lafayette. I couldn't put it down for 2 straight days! I was always in amazement that I now lived somewhere with places named after people I knew (Waneka Lake, Waneka Marketplace {Sprouts}, Waneka Parkway, and he donated the land for the Great Bark dog park)! Chuck was a tough old farmer and rancher, highly intelligent, hilarious, sentimental, shrewd and savvy. And I'm pretty sure Chuck would put a torch to any 3 story "luxury condos" that touched his farm. At his funeral, he didn't have a hearse. No, his casket was strapped to a flatbed trailer towed behind his tractor. He went out and did a loop around his farms, paused at his and Lois's home on Baseline, and then proceeded to the Lafayette Cemetery where he joined Lois.

Maybe you'd want to contact their son Bill (who now lives in Wyoming) to see what his intent is for their home and farm?

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Sally Symanski's avatar

Thanks, Karen. As a fellow Old Towner for many years, I would hate to see this development proceed.

Sally Symanski

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