Drive past Gasvoda and Sons Farm you'll notice that Joan Gasvoda has some beautiful flowers attached to the sign at the entrance of their farm. She told me she drives out to water them every day. The sign was given to Robert (Bob) and Joan as a Christmas present several years ago.
Elizabeth (Delp) Gasvoda wrote in the Gathering of Memories, "The spring of 1912 my parents, Robert and Maude Delp, came from Elk Creek, Virginia by immigrant train to Portage, Montana to homestead at Eagleton, Montana, 25 miles southeast of Big Sandy. They brought with them their personal belongings, household goods, machinery, a team of horses, a cow, a pig, and some chickens."
"Water was a major problem. The homesteader with a good well had a prize possession and shared his blessing with relatives and neighbors for miles around. Many had to haul water long distances and also built cisterns to catch the rain. There were nights when they would lie awake and listen to the howling of the coyotes until the wee hours of the morning."
"The farm work was done with horses. They had pig, chickens, and raised hay, oats, and wheat, trying a little of everything to make ends meet."
"In 1928, my father had the best crop he had ever raised; they had just finished putting a new roof on the kitchen, dark clouds began to gather, the rain came down in sheets, and then hail fell. The new roof leaked like a sieve, and the crop was ruined. We had no crop insurance. Dad was discouraged and sold the farm to Joe and Martin Gasvoda. Arnold's dairy was for sale in Big Sandy, and he bought the dairy and delivered milk with a team of horses."
"I graduated from Big Sandy High School in 1932 and worked for McNamara's. January 10, 1935, Matt Gasvoda and I were married. In 1951, Matt's brother Joe retired, so we bought the Joe Gasvoda farm.
Matt died in 1983 and Elizabeth in 1991. Robert died in 2014 leaving Joan, their two sons, Bruce and Peter, and Peter's daughters Faith and Hope, to farm the Gasvoda and Sons Farm.
