The Old House on the Deutschendorf Farm: A Legacy of Faith and Perseverance

In the rolling plains of western Oklahoma, seven miles east of Cordell on Highway 152, stood a humble farmhouse that would help shape the values of generations to come. This is the story of the Deutschendorf family and this house they called home, where faith, hard work, and family bonds overcame great hardship and poverty.

A photograph from around 1980 captures the Old House as it once stood just east of the Highway 54 intersection to Gotebo, on the south side of Highway 152. The Washita River meandered through the property, providing both sustenance and occasional challenges to my family.

A Humble Beginning

Before acquiring this land, my grandparents, John Henry and Anna Deutschendorf had been leasing Indian land near Corn, Oklahoma. Despite their diligent farming efforts, they struggled to make ends meet for their growing family.

In 1941, everything changed. John Henry and his older sons worked as cotton pickers and farmhands on neighboring farms. These Deutschendorf men pooled their hard-earned wages to make a down payment on a 160-acre homestead featuring an abandoned, unfinished house. The structure was so rudimentary that one of John Henry's sons later recalled being able to see stars through the roof while lying in his bed on the second floor.

Tragedy and Resilience

Tragedy struck just two years later when John Henry died from a burst appendix, leaving Anna to raise their twelve children alone. In what seemed like divine providence, John Henry had been required by the bank to take out a life insurance policy on the loan, ensuring the farm and home would be paid off upon his death.

The timing was particularly difficult, as the older Deutschendorf boys were away fighting in World War II. Like many families in rural Oklahoma during this period, the Deutschendorfs were "poor as dirt," yet rich in determination. They worked the farm, fished the river, and through what they believed was God's grace, they survived. It wasn't until 1951, nearly a decade after John Henry's passing, that the house finally received electricity.

A Family's Journey

As the years passed, the Deutschendorf children grew up and ventured out into the world. Anna eventually relocated to Corn, Oklahoma, where she became a devoted member of the Mennonite Brethren church, her faith having sustained her through decades of hardship.

The family would produce many remarkable individuals. Henry John Deutschendorf Sr., the oldest son, became an Air Force pilot who set world records flying the B-58 Hustler. His son, Henry John Deutschendorf Jr., would achieve global fame as folk singer John Denver, touching millions with his music.

My father, Abe Deutschendorf, often shared stories of his youth at the farm. He remembered the house finally getting wired for electricity during his junior year of high school in the early 1950s. Despite having no car, he pursued education through a basketball scholarship to Cameron College in Lawton, hitchhiking between campus and the farmhouse countless times. His career would include serving as principal of Eisenhower Junior High School in Lawton and twelve years in the Oklahoma legislature. Yet of all his accomplishments, he valued his role as a church deacon above all others.

My Family's Legacy

What strikes me most about my father was his unfailing happiness. I cannot recall him ever complaining, despite the hardships he had endured. When I find myself focusing too long on temporary difficulties or perceived shortcomings, I remember his example and choose happiness.

This philosophy echoed the biblical guidance that shaped our family: "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). Or as my dad would simply say, with his characteristic grin, "Don't sweat the small stuff." Then he'd add, "It's all small stuff!"

Though the Old House no longer stands, its legacy endures through the many descendants of the Deutschendorf family. We carry forward the valuable life lessons learned within those imperfect walls: endurance through hardship, the dignity of hard work, maintaining a positive attitude amid uncertainty, the strength found in family bonds, and above all, faith in God's love and protection.

As the Psalmist wrote, in words that capture the experiences of my grandmother, father and his siblings: "I have been young and now I am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his descendants begging for bread." (Psalms 37:25)

author: Jerry Dan Deutschendorf