The late Chuck Krekow’s farm was recognized as a Century Farm on August 18th at this year’s Iowa State Fair in Des Moines and was celebrated by his daughter, Kay Krekow, her husband, Dr. Harry N. Dunstan, and their son, Nick, who travelled from Washington, DC to join the celebration. To honor the occasion, Dr. Dunstan, Kay, and Nick were delighted to host for dinner our long-time Iowa governor and former Ambassador to China, Terry Branstad, his wife Chris, and Ambassador Branstad’s chief-of-staff and business partner, Steven W. Churchill (also a former Iowa state legislator). Ambassador Branstad is also a proud Century Farm owner and the evening’s meal consisted of lively discussions of farming and baseball, with the vibration of Field of Dreams always in the air. Kay (MMC Hall of Fame 2018) and Dr. Dunstan permanently relocated to the family farm in March of 2021 and their son, Nick, a real estate agent who divides his time between his offices in Washington, DC and Miami Beach, FL (DunstanRealEstateGroup.com), is a frequent visitor to the farm.
The Krekow farm was purchased in April of 1922 by Chuck’s father, Albert, who purchased it from Elon Kamradt. Chuck was born in 1924 and moved to the farm in 1946 to begin his own farming legacy. Lois (née Kroeger) joined him in 1950 and daughters Debbie and Kay completed the family. (Lois’ homeplace in Plymouth County, also now in the Krekow family, was recognized as a Century Farm in 2000.) Like many farm families, diversity was a way of life and sheep, cattle, hogs, chickens, horses, corn, soybeans, oats, alfalfa, and even a donkey and a goat all graced the farm with their presence. In addition to farming, Chuck was renowned for his mechanical skills, and he stayed busy helping repair, maintain, and create machinery and gadgets of all kinds. The Krekows loved gardening and animals and were well-known for their opulent flower beds and the lush variety of trees surrounding the property. Chuck and Lois were also recognized for their long-time conservation efforts for birds and wetlands and for their great and abiding patronage of the Marcus Public Library.
Dr. Dunstan and Kay love living in Marcus, Iowa! Last fall, with memorial funds from the late Lois Krekow’s estate, the pair was delighted to sponsor the Iowa State Poet Laureate, Debra Marquart, as well as the “autochthonous voice of the Midwest”, poet Tom Montag, in public readings and workshops in Marcus and LeMars. Debra Marquart returns to Orange City for poetry events later this month. As part of their great energies to bring the Cultural Arts—in all its wonderful manifestations—to underserved Northwest Iowa, Dr. Dunstan and Kay have been busy establishing public poetry readings (Readings at the Ranch), concerts, and lectures. Beginning this fall, they will be a part of ongoing presentations at the Sanford Museum in Cherokee. In recognition of these energies, Debra Marquart successfully nominated them to be on the Board of Directors for Humanities Iowa (HumantiesIowa.org), where they look forward to advocating for stronger Arts support in our schools and communities, both locally and state-wide.
They have also created The Fiddle Creek Arts Group (see them on Facebook) and brought with them their internationally recognized cross-cultural collective, The American Center for Puccini Studies, a fully licensed non-profit in Iowa (PucciniAmerica.org). Additionally, in response to the constant appeal for quality professional music instruction in our area, the pair has opened Zebra Music, LLC (ZebraMusicLLC.com) to serve the communities of Northwest Iowa with professional voice and piano lessons. Their students have attended the most prestigious colleges in the United States and Europe and have gone on to sing at every major opera house and theatre in the world. They are especially committed to helping people discover Beauty and Joy, both around them and within them.
Dr. Dunstan and Kay are grateful to the wonderful heritage passed down to them through the legacy of their Century Farm and look forward to serving not only their local community of Marcus, but to helping build and support a vibrant Arts culture throughout the state of Iowa and the nation!