Anecdotal Nicolaus Dairy and Family History

Compiled by

Patricia Sipula,

For Regional San-Project AWE

Research compiled through family interviews, public and family records, and local historians

Nicolaus Dairy Family Tree

Part One: German Roots

.

Several of the Nikolaus sons made their way to California during the Gold Rush,

settling in Fiddletown and Amador County. Once the promise of striking it rich in

the gold fields died out, they sought jobs as blacksmiths, carpenters, and

butchers. Eventually the family owned land and operated their own butcher

shops in Amador County.

Part 1:

German Roots

Jaocb

1837-1867

Ludwig (Louis)

1829-1903

Married:

Susanna Kehrt

Michael

1835-?

George Wilhelm (William)

1836-1893

John 1837-1920Henry

1839-1867

Georg Wilhelm Nikolaus

1808-1884

Germany

Margaretha Jahraus

1800-?

Part Two: Moving to Sacramento

Already owning a ranch in Elverta, CA that would later be known as Gibson Ranch, brothers John Henry

and George Wilhelm (Wally) wanted additional land to start a dairy in the southern part of Sacramento

county.

Their mother’s brother owned the perfect land nestled between the towns of Franklin and Sacramento,

west of Elk Grove. He sold the land to his nephews.

Wally continued to live on the Elverta Ranch, while John Henry would live on the

new land and establish the dairy. As an added bonus, Lena Harms, who grew up

on the ranch next door to the Elverta ranch, would join John Henry at the dairy as

his wife.

The Nicolaus Dairy was established in 1890 and continuously operated by the

Nicolaus family until the 1980’s. Today the land belongs to the Sacramento

Regional County Sanitation District and has been renovated to provide educational

opportunities for the community.

Part 2:

Moving to Sacramento

George Wilhelm

1864-1926

Lillian (Lillie)

1865-1939

John Henry

1866-1937

Mary Elizabeth

1868-1922

George Wilhelm

(William) Nicolaus

1836-1893

Anna Maria Kerth

William, 1858

Lena at the World's Fair, San Francisco, 1915

Henry and Lester

Part Three: The Dairy

John Henry and his wife Lena were the first operators of the Nicolaus Dairy. They raised eight of

their nine children on site.

Not pictured: Charles and Albert

Part 3:

The Dairy

Earl Louis

1893 (or 1897)-1982

* Nevermarried

George William

1895 (or 1899) -1981

* Nevermarried

Charles Edwin

1897-1995

Married Faye

Reinmuth

Helena

1899-1987

Married Walter Pascoe

Lester Jacob

1903-1978

*Nevermarried

John Henry Jr

(Henry)

1905-1954

Married Gertrude

Huss

Elva Sophia

1908-1976

Albert

8/21/1894-10/22/1894

Lawrence Arthur (Larry)

1910-1965

John Henry

1866-1937

Lena Harms

Lena

Elva Helena

Larry, 1940

George, Earl, and Lester

Part 4: Family Tradition

After John Henry’s death, his youngest son Larry moved back home with his wife

(the former Mary McCurdy) to oversee dairy operations. Larry’s three older,

bachelor brothers (Earl, George, and Lester) continued to live on site, managing

different aspects of the farm and doing the actual milking.

Part 4: A Family Tradition

Diane (Watkins)

1938-Present

Joan (Faulkner,Brooks)

1935-2017

Larry

1910-1965

Mary McCurdy 1911-1967?

Mary

Larry

The Bachelor Brothers

Earl was the eldest Nicolaus sibling. He served in WWI.

Returning to the farm after the war, he helped with the

milking and became the family’s resident beekeeper. His

hives produced delicious honey. Earl also maintained and

repaired the electric fences surrounding the farm, and the farmhouse clocks. He

spent the later years of his life in a Veteran’s Home in Yountville, where he died

in 1982.

Lester was the family’s gardener who also assisted with milking.

Sanitizing the milking equipment in a washhouse next to the

original barn was a daily chore of his. Lester’s green thumb

produced a plethora of vegetables, flowers, herbs, roses, and

orchard trees. He was well-known for his beautiful dahlias and

produced enough food for his family’s sustenance. Each

summer he treated his family to chilled watermelon, something

his nieces looked forward to all year. In the fall, pecans and walnuts were plentiful. Even in his

later years, Lester made it a point to look after his disabled brother, George. Remaining on the

farm until his final day, Lester died of cancer in 1978.

George suffered an accident while a young boy. The incident left George

mentally and physically disabled. Though he did not help much with the

cows, George cleaned out the stalls and milk parlor every day. He also raised

the family’s meat rabbits, and became quite fond of them. So much so, in

fact, that he could not bear to let the family eat them. His distress

prevented the family from slaughtering the rabbits, except on the rarest of

occasions. When it did happen, George refused to eat the meal. After

Lester’s death, George moved to a specialized care facility. He lived there

until his death in 1981.

Before the new barn was built, Lester and Earl would milk one cow at a time. George would

clean the equipment in a washhouse next to the barn.

Lester tending his garden Lester

Earl (right) with father John Henry (left)

Lester and George tending to the dairy cows

Earl and Lester

George

Mary McCurdy Nicolaus was from a local girl from a prominent, Sacramento family.

Though she loved farm life, Mary longed for a more sophisticated

and quiet place, a retreat away from her three brothers-in-law with

whom she shared her home. She directed the enclosing of the front

porch (seen to the right) in the early 1950s in order to create a

room for “ladies only.” There, she, her daughters, and female

friends, could enjoy tea, flowers, needlework, art, and other finer,

feminine things.

Mary’s sister Irma married Marv Dillard, a well-known Elk Grove farmer whose family settled the Dillard community and is the namesake for C.W. Dillard Elementary School and Dillard Road in Wilton. Marv was a professional baseball player in the San Francisco Bay Area, and away from home each ball season. Irma’s sons, Robert and Mike, were sent to their aunt and uncle’s dairy farm for a stable summer home. They remember Mary and Larry as a second set of parents, and Mary’s daughters as their “sisters.” (See Life on the Farm for more on these remarkable brothers.). Mary’s daughter Diane and Irma’s sons have been instrumental in providing direction and narratives for our renovations.

Mary was known as a kind-hearted woman. Often hobos riding the

rails would hop off the train just yards from her property. Rumor had

it that she would feed them, so they made their way to her scullery

kitchen window. There she supplied them with bread, meat, and

other leftovers before sending them on their way with information

about where to find work.

Mary also enjoyed the finer things in life, including golf. She and her

husband were founding members of the Valley Hi Country Club. A

trained hairdresser, Mary converted her formal dining room into a

beauty parlor for neighboring farm wives. Neighbor, and close

friend, Myrtle Sims would frequently stop by to get her hair done.

Mary with sister, Irma Dillard, by the south side of Nicolaus farmhouse, circa 1960s

Mary in front of the Nicolaus Farmhouse, circa 1950s

From left: Mike Dillard, Diane Nicolaus Watkins, and Robert Dillard

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Left-George Foulks, Right-Larry Nicolaus (1953) Larry Nicolaus (on car) with Bud Jones (1953)

Joe Sims and Larry Nicolaus (in hat (1934)

Connected to the Community: Other Prominent Elk Grove Families

Larry Nicolaus (right) with brother-

in-law, Marv Dillard (left) in 1945.

Larry Nicolaus, left, with brother-in-law Bud McCurdy, right,and Larry's daughter, Joan (1940)

Sergeant James D. Pascoe, nephew of Larry and Mary (Walter and Helena’s son), was a local war hero. He recovered from post-traumatic stress on their farm.

Larry Nicolaus enjoyed the company of many close friends from other prominent Elk Grove families.

Larry Nicolaus, forefront, with neighbor

John Backer, and George Foulks. (1954)

Larry’s neighbor and friend Dwight Stephenson (The namesake of Dwight Road in Elk Grove) on the left with Larry's brother-in-law Walter Pascoe (husband of Larry’s sister Helena).

9

Larry’s closest childhood friend was neighbor, Joe Sims. The boys had grown up

on adjacent farms. They were so close, in fact, that Joe served as the chauffer for

Larry’s and Mary’s honeymoon to Yosemite. Legend has it that Joe loved to show

off his spiffy convertible.

Joe Sims and Larry Nicolaus Larry and Mary Yosemite, 1934 Yosemite Honeymoon, 1934

Joe, the Chauffer (1934)

Larry and Mary inside a Giant Sequoia. Joe was the photographer. (1934)

The happy couple visited the coast one year later.

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If pictures tell a thousand words, then Mary

and Larry’s story was a happy one. They

enjoyed the fruits of a successful farm, farm life,

and two beautiful daughters.

Eldest daughter, Joan, graduated from Elk Grove High school in 1953, and attended CSU Sacramento. After graduating, she taught Kindergarten at Sunshine Day School and married Gilbert Faukner. She and Gil would take over dairy operations upon Larry and Mary’s deaths. They had two daughters, Jeni and Teri, the last Nicolaus family members to grow up on the dairy. Once her marriage to Gil Faukner ended, Joan married Bill Brooks. She passed away peacefully on October 22, 2017.

Joan’s younger sister, Diane, attended Franklin Elementary

school. She later graduated from Elk Grove High School in 1955.

After high school, she earned certification as a Montessori

Teacher. Diane married Cloyd Campbell on August 3, 1959 and

moved to Edmonds, Washington. After Cloyd’s death in 1975,

Diane returned to her hometown to establish the Sunshine

Montessori School for Infants thru Kindergarten with her sister, in

the nearby town of Freeport. Diane lives on the

former school site today. Diane has been the

voice of the Nicolaus family throughout the

restorations and redevelopment of the dairy. She

has provided us with most of the family

photographs, artifacts, mementos, and anecdotal

information used to compile this narrative and

seen on display in the farmhouse.

Joan's calf, Lena, 1949 Joan with her father’s hunting dog, Pat

Joan's cat, Roy, 1946

1934

1949

Happy Times

Joan with her father (left) and Uncle Bud (1940)

Diane ridign Dandy in the 1940s

Diane and her pup Riddles

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Part 5: The Final Chapter

One year after Larry’s death, Mary married Kenneth Hansen. Kenneth was no

stranger to the dairy industry. Years earlier, in 1931, his father had purchased the

failing Crystal Dairy. Kenneth and his two brothers helped their father transform

the small butter and cream operation into one of the largest milk processors in

California, offering Sacramento’s first bottled milk. As the Nicolaus dairy had

been a Crystal Creamery supplier for decades, Kenneth had plenty of occasions to

get to know Mary and the Nicolaus Dairy. Following his marriage to Mary,

Kenneth oversaw dairy operations, helping to increase the herd size. In the early

1960s, Mary’s son-in-law, Gilbert Faukner, and her daughter Joan took over the

management of dairy operations. While they raised the last Nicolaus generation

to grow up on the farm, Joan’s three bachelor uncles stayed on to help. After the

dissolution of Joan and Gil’s marriage, the Faukners sold the dairy allowing it to

become part of the Bufferlands surrounding the Sacramento Regional

Wastewater Treatment Plant. Gilbert has provided us with the Nicolaus family

piano and many other family heirlooms. Joan’s daughter Jeni has also provided us

with furniture from the farm.

Part 5: The Final Chapter

Taryn (Monroe)

-Present

Jenifer (Joy) (Hipp)

1959-Present

Joan

1935-2017

Gilbert Faukner

1933- Present

Joan as an adult. Photo courtesy of Sacramento Bee.

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Life on the Farm:

(Recollections of Diane Nicolaus Watkins and Mike Dillard)

Mealtime: The entire family usually took meals together at the large kitchen table. The formal dining room was reserved for special occasions. During the busy harvest season, my mother (Mary) would cook

a huge main meal for all of the family and the extra workers, then sit and eat in the cool living room. (The

living room faced east and would be the coolest room in the afternoon as the sun moved westward.)

The three bachelor uncles would often sit outside in the shade of a huge pecan tree. Later in the

afternoon after resting, Lester would cut up and serve a chilled watermelon from the garden. The family

learned to never drink the last drops in a glass of water as sediment could always be found on the

bottom.

Hunting: An avid hunter, as seen in the hunting trip photos on

page 10, Larry would climb his water tower every winter to check

out the size and location of flocks of ducks and waterfowl. His

friends and neighbors would join him in hunting on his property.

Larry and brother-in-law Marv Dillard, frequently entered

shooting contests in the nearby town of Franklin. Larry always

took first place, while Marv always earned second.

Mischievous Youth: Diane and Joan Nicolaus, and their cousins Mike and Bob Dillard, were

close in age. Though the boys moved to the Bay Area and around the state as their father’s job

demanded, they spent their summers with the girls on the farm. While the eldest Dillard boy, Cal

(Butch), earned money working on the farm, the four younger kids found

ways to stir up trouble.

One of the Dillard boys (neither admits to being at fault, even

today!) and Diane once set fire to the eucalyptus tree on the

driveway. Luckily, an uncle extinguished the flames before real

damage was done.

The family’s phone “number” on the party line was five rings.

Often, the kids would pick up the phone and listen in on the

neighbors’ conversations.

Bare feet in the milk barn were in danger of electric shock. The

kids entered barefoot anyway!

The kids liked to be up high. They built a tree fort neat the

loafing sheds and climbed out Diane’s second floor bedroom

window to sit on, or jump off, the front porch roof.Uncle Larry and the Dillard Boys, 1951

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Everything they were told not to do, the boys did! They experimented with the electric

fences, played with the washing hoses, climbed onto the haylofts (in which Mike lost his

boot-never to be found again), pestered the hogs, got underfoot during milking, piled

together with their cousins atop the two family horses (this resulted in Robert falling

off) and ate their fill of tomatoes while playing among the crops, ruining their shirts.

To keep them out of trouble, Larry carried a notebook of odd jobs to be completed by

his nephews, making a point to add chores to the list for each infraction. However, the

boys remember he never really followed through and they were off to play again.

Marbles and baseball were favorite pass times of the Dillard boys, as was listening to

radio shows. Red Ryder was a favorite. They also enjoyed frequent camping and fishing

trips with their father and uncle and going to Sacramento Solons (minor league

baseball) games.

The girls were not allowed to help with outdoor or farm chores and were expected to

not get dirty. Their mother also felt it was more efficient to get the indoor chores done

without their “help”, so the girls were free to play for most of the day. They loved to

read, though Diane also loved to pal around with the boys.

Diane had an electric train set in her room that provided hours of enjoyment for all four

kids during the boys’ visits.

Sometimes the mischief occurred with Larry’s blessing. He would employ young Bob to

steer his truck on farm roads while he shot Canadian geese through the open window.

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The Farmhouse

The first house built for John Henry and Lena resembled a typical

farmhouse of the time. In 1914, a second house replaced the

original one as the family had grown to include eight children. The

family gathered to celebrate its completion.

The 1914 house remains on the

property today.

Three of the Nicolaus children:

Earl, George, and Lester, lived in

the house for their entire lives

until needing specialized care in

their twilight years. They lived there as bachelors

through three generations.

Early Farmhouse

In the 1960s, Mary’s daughter Joan became the Lady of

the House. With her bachelor uncles continuing to

reside in the house, she ordered the construction off a

smaller wing attached to the rear. Known

affectionately as the Bachelor Quarters, George, Lester,

and Earl had a bathroom, kitchen, and bedrooms all to

themselves. Joan and her family gained privacy.

Mary Nicolaus had the front porch enclosed in the 1940s (Shown

in the photo to the left, taken in 2017.) to provide herself, her

daughters, and her female friends a place to escape the mud and

men of farming. This included escaping her three bachelor

brothers-in-law. She filled the porch with feminine things such as

fine china, flowers, music, and tea sets. The porch was off-limits to

the men.

Farmhouse rear showing Bachelors Quarters

The 1914 farmhouse

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Inside the Farmhouse

(Recollections of Diane Nicolaus Watkins and Mike Dillard)

Kitchen: The kitchen had a large, oak, oval table. The leaves remained in and seven straight-

back chairs sat around it. There was a standing cabinet radio on the east wall with a chiming clock on the top. On the west wall there was a shelf with a Grandfather clock. A coffee grinder sat on the shelf as well. I do not recollect curtains. A wood stove sat on the wall shared with the dining room. A “spanking” chair occupied the corner. But, I was never spanked! (Diane)

We may have been! (Mike)

Scullery: Built into the cabinetry were two large pullout bins for flour and sugar for baking

bread and pies. A stove was located in this room. The countertops were tile. A fridge was

located on the right side, along with a pressure-cooker. My sister and I played in the stair closet

while my mother prepared three meals a day for everyone on the farm- my family, my uncles,

and any hired hands or company. My sister and I didn’t help much in the kitchen as my mother

thought we would be in the way. (Diane)

Playroom under stairs: A phonograph, dolls, and other toys were in there. When we were

older, we would play music and dance in there. (Diane)

Office: There was a roll top desk, the piano and a single bed. No shelving or drapes were in this room.

Larry often slept in his office.

Living room Cabinetry: Facing the fireplace, on the left were glass-door cabinets. Joan’s and my

Story Book Dolls were kept in there. The other side of the fireplace was a bench that opened for storage.

There were white curtains. On hot summer days, they were kept closed.

An area rug adorned the room and a couch faced the fireplace. There was an additional large sitting

armchair, my father’s recliner, and a radio. (Diane)

We didn’t have TV, so we listened to shows on the radio. (Robert)

Mudroom: The family referred to this room as the “back porch”.

There were hooks by the kitchen entrance door for the coats. A sink for washing up was next to an

enclosed room with the pull toilet. On laundry day, my mother (Mary) would pull the washer over to the

sink, do the laundry and hang it outside to dry. On rainy days she would have to dry it all inside. We

ironed inside in the kitchen. There wasn’t a table, nor shelves. There were shelves in the canning room

only.” (Diane)

Stairwell: A crank-style phone hung on the wall. Toys were stored in the bench. We spent a lot of time

listening in on other people’s party lines! (Mike)

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Dining Room: In the corner adjacent to the kitchen, sat a small table and a buffet. The china cabinet

contained the “good” dishes. The walls were plain. Grandma Lena’s portrait hung above the small table.

An area rug was under the dining table. An oil-burning stove provided warmth. (Diane)

The family didn’t really eat in this room. Aunt Mary set up a beauty parlor chair in there. Also, one of

the aunts died in her hospital bed in there, so we didn’t like to go in. (Robert)

Front bedrooms: My sister’s and my bedrooms were the two in the front of the house. My

parents slept in the bedroom on the south side, and my uncles shared the largest bedroom

facing north. Their walls were simply painted and did not have wallpaper. No carpeting and no

furnace were in our bedrooms. My room was the on the right (side of the house looking in from

the front yard). Joan slept in the adjoining room. (Diane)

A toy train on a track was in Diane’s bedroom. We played with it for hours. (Robert)

We also climbed out her window and sat on the roof of the porch in the summer to eat

watermelon. When we were older, we snuck out of the house by climbing out that same

window. (Mike)

Upstairs porch room: During the hot summers, we opened all of the windows and slept in this

room. (Diane)

Bathroom: A heater on a stand sat in the room. There was a claw foot tub, but no shower.

The sink was a freestanding basin. A dresser held linens. (Diane)

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The Grounds

(Recollections of Diane Watkins, Mike Dillard, Robert Dillard, Becca Pascoe,

Christy Pascoe, Nick Pascoe, and Gilbert Faukner. )

The entrance:

• A hedgerow bordered the front of the house.

• Vines

• A lightning rod sat on a pole.

• Flowering cherry tree, snowball tree, and a jubilee tree

• The garage held 3-4 cars and had a gas tank underneath

To the south of the farmhouse:

A large pecan tree with a swing shaded the septic tank

A bench was under the tree

Grapes and a hedgerow bordered the eucalyptus trees

An irrigation ditch ran across the lawn from eucalyptus row to house

Pool, prior to pool constuction the area was flat

The vegetable and herb garden provided enough for family’s self-sufficiency

The telephone pole was surrounded by berries

The children used the large evergreen as a fort and playhouse

A treehouse sat in a large tree near the milk barn

Beehives were kept south of the eucalyptus

Dahlia gardens

Hedge-lined service road

Willow tree

Horseshoe pit

Outbuildings:

• Canning shed: Sat on the back of the property, where the original house once was. They used part of the old house for the shed. The women canned the garden produce.

• Smokehouse: located by henhouse

• Pig shed

• Henhouse building: old cars and a farm truck sat in center room

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• Hot water shed: Yellow, sat by the treehouse, this was where the milking equipment was sterilized after use. A heater was inside.

• Old red wooden barn (logs): had a calf pen attached to it, and a nearby bull pen

• Calf barn-located by the fig tree

• Walnut shed: three 55 gallon drums of walnuts

• Outhouse: Near the pig shed and pomegranate tree

**The metal rod pens to the south of the milk barn did not exist in the 1940’s. They were

added by the next generation when the herd size increased.

Water tank: a round tank. Approximately 30 feet high.

Silo: Sat on the round, cement foundation to the south of milk barn. It had doors on the front.

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Though Larry ran the dairy, he did not participate in the milking operation. Lester and

Earl did the milking. George cleaned the equipment and milking parlor.

A truck arrived twice per day to pick up the milk cans.

Cows were corralled into the cement area south of barn.

Row sprinklers washed the underside of the cows while they waited.

The water was recycled from that used to cool the milk tank.

Cows proceeded into the milk barn where they freely grazed on the west side.

When they approached the stanchion, they stepped up onto the platform.

Pushing down on the chain enabled feed to fall into bin for self-feeding.

o Worker stood between stanchions in the cut-out (low) area, milking two cows

simultaneously.

o The equipment hose was placed on an elevated clip to prevent its touching the

ground (contamination).

o Udders were washed before and after milking (originally with a rag, in later years

paper towel holders hung on the center poles).

o When finished, the feed gate opened and cows moved forward out of the

stanchion, down the alley, and through a Disneyland-style of metal bars leading

them back to the loafing sheds/pasture.

The milk traveled via tubes straight into the milk tank.

o Prior to the modernization- workers carried buckets/cans of milk to the small

elevated tank that sat on the bar located above the step on the north side of the

milk barn interior.

Gravity pulled downward through a filter, sediment fell out.

Milk was collected from this tank to be transported to processing plant.

o The milk truck arrived twice per day.

Milk was tested for temperature and bacteria.

An unfavorable test result meant the entire tank was rejected.

o The milk tank had a double wall for insulation.

Water flowed between the two walls to cool the milk and then was

recycle to wash down the cows.

The milk was agitated to ensure uniform temperature

Milking Operations

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Elk Grove Citizen, 2018

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©2018 Patti Sipula, for Project AWE

The Nicolaus Dairy Story

In 1890, John Henry Nicolaus, a

German immigrant, purchased

500 acres of land in the fertile

Sacramento Valley. His next-

door neighbor was the Joseph

Sims Ranch. John Henry and his

wife Lena established a dairy

on their property. The young

couple raised eight children

there (their ninth child died while an infant). The children attended the

nearby East Union School, which later was renamed the Prairie School.

Like most farm families of the time, the family grew enough food for themselves and their

livestock and were self-sufficient. Milking was done by hand, one cow at a time. On Sundays, the

family traveled by wagon to the closest town, Franklin, to attend church and do errands. When

the kids reached their teens, they moved with their grandmother to a house in downtown

Sacramento in order to attend high school. The local one-room schoolhouse only accommodated

students through the 8th grade.

By 1914, the expanding family needed a larger house. This

spurred the construction of the large farmhouse seen on the

property today. The children delighted in using the staircase

closet as a playroom and storing toys in the built-in chests. The

large kitchen, smaller scullery for food prep, and formal dining

room provided ample room for preparing and eating meals.

Soon after, additional outbuildings were added. A large

henhouse and workshop building were added in the 1920s, along

with a tank house to store the water pumped from the well by a

windmill. Foot-pump surge milking machines were used to milk one

or two cows at a time. With orchards, gardens, farm plots, chickens,

fresh eggs, dairy cows, and other livestock, food was plentiful.

Following John Henry’s death, three of

his bachelor sons remained on the property to work the dairy: Earl,

George, and Lester. His youngest son, Lawrence (Larry), moved home

with his wife, Mary, to manage the dairy. Larry and Mary raised two

daughters at the dairy, Diane and Joan. The second generation

continued to make improvements to the property and business, and

would later navigate the dairy through the tumultuous era of WW II.

Henhouse and workshop building

1914 house

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II. As was common, the family learned to repurpose, reuse, repair, and recycle tools,

equipment, household items, and even clothes. Nothing was

wasted or casually disposed of.

Like the other dairies in south Sacramento County at the time,

the Nicolaus family continued to operate a Grade B dairy

producing milk used by Crystal Creamery to produce milk

products such as cheese, butter, and ice cream. With around 200

cows at the time, the business of milking was an all-day event.

During WWII, the demand for milk declined, and most of the able-bodied

male workforce served overseas. In fact, sister Helena’s son, 21-year-old

James D. Pascoe, was drafted into the U.S. Army Air Corps. Following the

shooting down of his plane over France, James became a German prisoner of

war. Upon his eventual release, James recovered from his physical and

emotional ordeal in the serene surroundings of the dairy farm.

During the war, many local farms and dairies found it difficult to remain

operational. The Nicolaus family expanded their henhouse and sold eggs to

supplement their income. However, the baby boom following the war proved to

be good for business. An increase in the baby population meant an increase in

liquid milk demand. This inspired Larry to make a risky change to the dairy. In

1949, he completely renovated his milk barn turning it into an innovative, stainless steel facility

with a sophisticated automated walk-through milking

system. Increasing efficiency and greatly reducing the

chance of milk contamination, the Nicolaus Dairy earned

the upgrade to a Grade “A” dairy. Grade “A” milk becomes

drinking milk, commanding more money per gallon than

milk used in dairy products.

This state-of-the-art milking

system is on display in the milk

barn today and is responsible for the property’s eligibility as a state

and federally recognized historic site.

Milking Stanchions inside milk barn

Cattle feed silo and milk barn exterior

Sergeant James D. Pascoe, grandson of John Henry and Lena Nicolaus

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In the early 1950s, with more profitable operations, the family

enjoyed an increase of cash flow and recreational time. Mary,

long suffering while trying to raise her daughters with four

hardworking dairymen in the house, requested the

construction of an enclosed porch on the front of the house.

She filled the porch with plants, art, music, and other finer

things, declaring the space to be for “Ladies only,” a retreat for

the women of the family. During renovations, the porch

returned to its original open design.

Following Larry’s death, Mary remarried Kenneth Hansen, an

instrumental force in rebuilding Crystal Dairy. He oversaw dairy

operations for the next several years, increasing productivity and

herd size even more.

Finally, Mary’s daughter Joan along with Joan’s husband, Gil

Faulkner, became the final generation to run the dairy and to raise

a family in the farmhouse. Their two daughters, Taroyn and

Jenifer, would be the last Nicolaus family members to grow up on

the property. During this time, the dairy expanded operations from about 1,000 gallons of milk

produced each week to over 3,000 gallons. As the bachelor uncles continued to live in the

house and work on the dairy, in 1967 the new generation decided to build a separate bachelors

quarters wing at the rear of the house, allowing more privacy and space for all. The addition

remains on the farmhouse today.

Joan and Gil also were responsible for another interesting property addition. For many

generations, the Nicolaus children trekked to the far western edge of their property to swim in

the slough. Once Interstate 5 opened, access to the slough was cutoff leaving the kids without

a wet way to spend long, hot summers. To appease the children, the family installed a concrete

swimming pool to the south of the house. Filled with cousins and friends, the pool was a

welcome addition to family gatherings at the farm. Though the pool no longer remains, the

indentation is visible today. Plans to use the areas for a rain garden or seasonal wetland

feature are under consideration.

The family continued to own and work the dairy until 1980, at

which time the Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District

(Regional San) purchased the property as part of its 2600 acres

of Bufferlands designed to buffer the surrounding community

from the wastewater treatment facility. For the past few

decades, much like the Joseph Sims Ranch that also sits within

the Bufferlands boundaries, the buildings have sat vacant and

deteriorating.

Farmhouse with enclosed porch

Bachelor's Quarters Addition

24

Following the recent awarding of eligibility for both state and national historic registries, the

Regional San Board of Directors realized the community and educational value of the property.

The Board approved a vision and funding to renovate the property to feature its post-WWII

appearance as well as modern-day agriculture. A partnership with the Elk Grove Unified School

District provided the educational expertise to collaborate with the Regional San renovation

team to develop a site conducive to preserving local history while educating youth about

agriculture, the environment, and sustainability.

Today, the collaboration, known as Project AWE, welcomes additional

community partners to expand and sustain its endeavors. A historical

community venue, complete with interpretive and hands-on exhibits,

animals, museums, and interactive field trip experiences will be the result.

The Nicolaus family continues to be an active presence in the process. Through their generous

contributions of time, memories, and family heirlooms, we have been able to recreate the

property as it once was.