Crime & Safety
Albertville Fire Department Planning Burn Practice at Dahlheimer Farm Friday and Saturday
The Dahlheimer Farm will be the site of a burn practice of a house, barn and sheds. Check back for photos and a story on the complete history of the farm next week.
The Albertville Fire Department will help a family clean up a historic farm that has been passed down through generations Friday and Saturday through a burn practice.
The Dahlheimer Farm, located between Albertville and Monticello, will be the site of a burn practice in which a house, barn, pig shed and wooden corn crib will be burned to the ground. The barn and two sheds will be burned Friday at 6 p.m., and the house, Saturday at 8 a.m. The house is expected to be set on fire four separate times in a row.
The Monticello Fire Department has also been invited to the fire training, and the St. Michael Fire Department will be on site as a backup water supply.
Find out what's happening in St. Michaelwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
"I'm anxious to see it," said Carol Eicher, who grew up on the farm. "It's time to get it cleaned up."
The farm, owned by Merle and Laverne Dahlheimer for 51 years, was a place the couple raised eight children. Several of the children used the house as a starter home when they got married and had children. Merle Dahlheimer moved to the farm when he was three weeks old and has handed it down to other family members through the years.
Find out what's happening in St. Michaelwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Eicher is one of the children who moved back to the farm when she married Tony Eicher, and lived there for more than nine years before moving to St. Michael. She raised four children there. Two of her sisters and brother also lived on the farm during some time in their married life. And Eicher's son lived there with some St. Michael friends when he returned from the Air Force.
"It's always been in the family name," Carol Eicher said.
The family will attend the burn of a place Eicher says has "so much history." Merle Dahlheimer decided it is time to get the land cleaned up, as the house, barn and sheds have been abandoned for years.
"For us, it's kind of a mixed feeling," Eicher said of the upcoming burn. "Yet we're glad to get it cleaned up."
Check back for photos of the burn and a story on the complete history of the farm next week on St. Michael Patch.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.