A century of tradition lives on at the Lauffenburger farm.
This Sunday, it will host a milestone family reunion. Back in July 1912, Victor Lauffenburger said, his grandfather first bought the farm on Cobham Park Road.
Ever since, it has been in the family's hands. Lauffenburger's parents eventually took over before he and his wife bought it in 1986.
To do so, Lauffenburger said he bought out his brother and sister. Over the years, changes besides ownership have included relying on tractors instead of horses.
"I still play around with horses," Lauffenburger said, "but it's not so much for farm work."
However, Lauffenburger said during plowing days he and his horse group used the animals to help. It was a way of getting back to original methods.
When his grandfather had the farm, Lauffenburger said it was a big dairy. They sold raw, unpasteurized butter in town, he said, and his grandmother made butter for years.
Today, Lauffenburger said he's out of the dairy business. Instead, he raises some cattle for beef as well as pigs.
There were over 200 acres to start, Lauffenburger said, but now there are 97 acres. Some of the land has been settled off, he said, with nine different Lauffenburger families living on it at one time and seven of them doing so today.
Some transitions were forced by economic conditions, Lauffenburger said, as he worked at National Forge for over 36 years. Though his father still ran the dairy business at first, he said he had to give it up since it was too much work while also operating school buses.
"I hope when I'm gone one of the kids or grandkids will carry on the name," Lauffenburger said. "My son moved back from Texas and has shown an interest in helping."
Before becoming a farm, Lauffenburger said it was part of the Cobham Estate. It has a nice view of town, he said, and overlooks the valley.
It's also convenient, Lauffenburger said, since it is located a short distance from the city and the mall. For those reasons, he said the family has wanted to keep it going.
Neighbors over the hill don't farm anymore, Lauffenburger said, but they do have land still which has been in their family for 71 years. Other neighbors have had their farm for three generations as well.
"Most can't make it today," Lauffenburger said. "They cut the farm into lots and sell it off."
There are 134 living blood Lauffenburger relatives, he said, and he expects more to show up this year to mark the centennial than ever before. The reunions have become traditions themselves, he said, with he and his cousins reviving it eight or 10 years ago.
In the past, Lauffenburger said, it's been held at Red Oak Campground and Chapman State Park. For this one, he said, they'll have it at the old family farm.