Town chairman says the blaze that destroyed his barn, feed, and equipment
Maybe the sad end to the days of cattle on his rural Grafton land. Lester Bartel sounded almost philosophical Monday as he pondered the burned-out ruins of a barn in his Town of Grafton farm.
“Maybe it’s God’s way of telling me it’s time for a change,” Bartel said.
Bartel, who has farmed on his property at 1833 E. River Rd.
for decades, said that at age 67, he won’t be rebuilding the pole barn or replacing the machinery inside.
“It’s a sad day in our lives,” he said. “This might be the end of cows at Lester’s farm. It might be time for another major change in our lives.”
Bartel, who is also chairman of the Town of Grafton, was at home with his wife Bonnie Sunday when they heard a knock at the door a little after 7 p.m.
There was no saving the barn due to the extent of the fire,” he said. “Our main concern at that point was that it not spread to the main barn.”
It was fortunate that the passersby saw the fire and called for the department immediately, Rice said.
“If it wasn’t noticed when it was, it could have spread to the main barn,” he said.
Since the farm is in the township, departments had to bring water to the scene, Rice noted.
Someone who was driving by stopped to tell him they saw a fire in the pole barn, he said.
“In our house, we can’t see that barn,” he said, noting it isn’t the
main barn where his cows are kept. “I told Bonnie to call 911 and they said we already did.” Bartel said he grabbed his jacket and “made a beeline” to the barn.
“I got back there and I’m thinking maybe I’ll be able to get a tractor out,” he said.
“When I opened the door, the roof was already coming down. It was too hot to even try to go in.”
Bartel said he still farms 36 acres of his land, noting he sold his herd of milk cows in February 1996.
“I’ve been out of dairy longer now than I was in it,” he said. ” But we always had some livestock here. I liked having the cows around.”
Bartel said his cows were in the pasture next to the barn, so he rounded them up and ushered them to the main barn so they wouldn’t be harmed.
Grafton Fire Chief Bill Rice said the department was called.
