By Carol Stender
Clarence Horsager of Verndale doesn’t let a little thing like age slow him down. The 95-year-old and his wife, Mary, 88, host rides via a “tour wagon” through the 30 acres of woods on their farm.
Church groups, Red Hat Clubs, family, friends and area organizations have all taken part in the rides.
The price? It’s free. “It’s not a business,” he said. “It’s a way to give back to the community.”

The treks started as walks through the woods they would share with family and friends. Clarence wanted others to experience nature and developed paths through the woods. The couple renovated one of their 12 hay racks into a comfy 24-passenger tour wagon.
When the wildlife they enjoyed seeing hid when visitors came, Clarence had an idea. He went to the lumberyard, got some wood, cut out animal shapes, painted them and placed them throughout the woods.
Each one of the 40 animal cut outs represents the wildlife the couple has seen on the property. There’s moose, deer, pheasants, bear and even cougar. Cougar aren’t common, but Mary saw one from a distance walk through their property. That cougar went to another farm and attacked some horses, according to Clarence.
“We have seen everything on our farm,” he said.
Clarence is the tour guide during the roughly two-hour excursion. Two neighbors have volunteered to pull the wagon along the trail using their tractors.
Clarence gives insight during the trek of the wildlife, the variety of trees in the woods and the farm place’s historical location. The Wheat Trail, used by farmers in the 1800s to move wheat from farms in northern Minnesota to Twin Cities mills, runs through the Horsagers’ property. And a branch of the Red River Trail, also known as the Ox Cart Trail, runs a few miles south of their land.
Those taking part in the tour ride in comfort on a renovated hay wagon that has been converted to comfy seating for 24.
Clarence purchased the farm in 1951 intending to operate a dairy farm. He left to serve in the military during the Korean War. He was in the airborne division and received $50 a month for hazardous pay. Each $50 was used to purchase a Holstein calf. “That’s what a calf cost at the time,” he said.
When he completed his military service in 1954, Clarence returned to the farm. He started two jobs working at a turkey processing plant in Wadena during the day and, in the evenings he ran his dairy farm. The dairy calves he’d purchased grew and had calves of their own, he said. When the barn needed improvements, he decided to sell the herd and become an agricultural teacher. He had an auction to sell the cattle and much of his belongings and went to the University of Minnesota for his ag education studies.

He had not contacted the U of M before making the trip, he said. An ag extension agent had given him the name of an instructor on campus. That individual told him it was too late for that school year. But Clarence mentioned the extension agent’s name. Calls were made and he was accepted into the program.
Once Clarence had completed his studies, he taught three years at Cyrus and eight years at Wadena. He sought the Wadena post to be closer to his farm.
Clarence and Mary raised potatoes for about 14 years. “We washed, graded and bagged them,” he said. “We delivered our potatoes in a 50-mile radius of our farm.”
They also raised corn and, for 25 years, they grew edible beans. He also raised and sold hay.
Although they don’t physically farm the land themselves anymore, they enjoy living on their farm and sharing the experience with others. And the conversation doesn’t end once the tour is completed. Visitors are invited to congregate in the yard for a time of conversation.
Through their efforts, the two have built a community focusing on nature, history and friendship.
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