They found 160 acres outside of Vernon, in Yuma County, where they lived in a sod house for two generations, only building the farmhouse when C.F.’s grandson, Alva, was four years old.  This farmhouse is still the primary residence on the property today.  In the 1920s the family built a granary and chicken house, both still in use today.  The family grew wheat, corn, and beets, as well as raised cattle, from which they produced cream and eggs, which were either shipped to Denver or sold at the local Vernon store. 

A 32-volt wind-charged battery supplied electricity to the house, unless lack of wind led the family to use a gas generator, and a windmill on site pumped water, which was stored in a wooden tank.  “Once in a while, a small worm from the wooden water tank would come into your glass,” Alva wrote in a letter.  “I often ask myself how many I swallowed at night in the dark.” A sense of humor was always necessary on the farm.  Grain stored in the granary had to be hand-scooped into horse-drawn wagons, but once, when Edwin Deterding was scooping grain, he plopped his wife Genove with the next load in her face as she stuck her head around the corner.  Through thick and thin times, the family has persisted, and today the farm is owned by Brent and Brad Deterding, who raise wheat, corn, beets and cattle.