Bernard Peters' Li'l Holland

- Embroidered on a pillow in Bernard Peters' farmhouse

Bernard Peters is about as appreciative of cow manure as he is of taxes.

Manure and taxes seem to be a big part of farming, and they both stink, he'll tell you.

But ask the immigrant farmer from Holland what he thinks about life in the United States and the opportunity it's afforded his family, and he could dance all day long.

Peters, 80, doesn't look a day past 65 and is as smooth on the dance floor as somebody half his age.

At a moment's notice, Peters demonstrates his varied abilities involving the waltz and the polka and other dance forms.

"All my exes live in Texas," Peters sings the classic country song as he effortlessly cuts the rug on his living room floor.

"To stay alive, you've got to dance," Peters said.

Bernard Peters and the family farm - his own little American Dream - are very much alive and well.

Leaving The Old Country

Peters smiles and squints through his wire-rimmed glasses as he recounts with a heavy Dutch accent the journey that led him from Didam, Holland, to rural Indiana. His pipe, stuffed with crimp-cut Prince Albert tobacco, serves more as a pointer, and rarely if ever does he take a puff during a two-hour talk.

Peters and his new bride, Johanna, came to America in 1949 from a war-torn Holland, and within six years, started what is now one of the few remaining dairy operations in west central Kosciusko County.

He was one of seven kids who grew up on the family's small farm in Holland, but the German invasion during World War II devastated the landside. He remembers many of the trees were leveled. "They just bombed the heck out of Holland," he said.

The Nazi invasion also ruined the economy and left many people hungry and over-taxed.

He was 31 and Johanna was 25 when they decided a better life could be found elsewhere. They considered New Zealand and Australia, but chose the United States after they learned of a man from Holland who moved in the 1920s and was affiliated with St. Mary's College in South Bend.

At the American consulate, he told a U.S. worker of his connection to St. Mary's College and soon learned about Notre Dame's biggest tradition.

"Oh, it's beautiful," the worker told him. "You'll have to go to the football game."

After a two-week boat ride, they arrived in the United States, and for the next six years he and Johanna lived on the campus of St. Mary's and worked on a nearby farm. Expenses were few and they were able to save several thousand dollars.

"When I knew I was going to the United States, I only had one thing on my mind - I wanted to own my own farm," he said.

Along with their savings, they borrowed $8,000 from the bank and bought a 130-acre farm with one barn near the western edge of Crystal Lake Road. They also had to borrow to buy their first cow.

Taking Root

For a few years, the farm was small enough that Johanna milked the cows by hand and had names for many of the animals.

Peters remembers a time in the 1950s when a tornado blew through the area. Although his home was not damaged, many of the trees were uprooted.

"I saw all those trees and, oh, my God - I cried like a baby," Peters recalled.

After friends learned of the damage, they rallied to help the family. Nearly a dozen people drove tractors over to help clear the mess and others brought food for the day as the men worked.

"They are that kind of people. When you are in trouble, they help you," he said.

In 1963, Peters designed and built a new four-bedroom house to accommodate their seven children - Tony, Mary, Eileen, Gary, Diane, Darryl and Ronald.

Johanna said they always wanted a big family, and were pleased the children always were in good health, did well in school and developed a good work ethic.

Their family now includes 15 grandchildren and a great-grandchild.

"I did it all for them," Peters said.

For a few years, Peters worked other jobs in addition to the farm. He drove trucks and for a while was manager of a local co-op.

Peters used profits to reinvest in the farm, be it new buildings, new machinery, more animals or more acreage. The additional farmland was needed to raise food for the growing dairy herd. After a while, Bernard had to quit his side jobs to pay more attention to the farm.

"The extra money from the jobs and the cows paid for the second farm, the third farm, and the fourth farm," he said.

He and his sons continued to talk about changes and improvements. "We got to get better, bigger to survive," he said.

Little Holland

The farm is now home to more than 200 cows, which are milked mechanically. The entire operation encompasses 400 acres and includes several farms near Harrison Center Church along CR 800S.

At the family farm, well-worn paths curve around a milking parlor, a maze of barns, tool sheds and several silos - all built by Peters and his sons over the years.

There is also a woods and a creek that attracts ducks. An old Indian cemetery falls within the property's borders, and Peters said they once found a few teeth that belonged to a historic mastodon.

The interior of the farmhouse is immaculate and decorated with memories of Holland, including a clock his parents gave him and artwork depicting a farm with windmills and lots of tulips.

A miniature brick windmill constructed by Peters is one of several scattered around the property, and in the spring, the landscape is dotted with tulips, the flower made famous in Holland.

Peters has returned to Holland a few times and enjoys the stays. But he doesn't miss the Old Country.

"This is my li'l Holland," he said.

"This is everything I ever dreamed of."

While he wasn't born in the United States, he shares the same dislikes as any other farmer in America. Too much regulation and too many taxes.

"But all together, America - it is the best country in the world," he said ardently.

The Future

Two of his sons - Darryl and Ronald - run the farm operations these days, but Peters remains involved while Johanna continues to look over finances.

Bernard and Johanna have chosen cemetery plots on the south end of Harrison Center Cemetery, just an arm's reach from the land he's farmed over the years.

Near their plot is a small pine tree which Peters has been known over the years to sit underneath during noon-time break.

In May, they will celebrate their 50th anniversary. And next year, they will celebrate 50 years in America.

He still talks about expanding the farm and solidifying the future for his children. But other plans are more immediate.

"The future is here already - I'm 80. I look forward to tomorrow night and go dancing.

"I dance all night and we go home and my feet aren't even tired."