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Russell and Doris Wenzel have a treasure collection of sorts at their farm in Springwater Township near the Touch the Sky Prairie.
The first treasure was unearthed two years ago when their son, Kurt, was installing drainage tile in a nearby farm field. The large gray-colored stone wasn’t like the common red Sioux quartzite outcroppings that dot the area.
“Right away, when they said they found an unusual rock, we knew we should move it somewhere,” Russell said.
That somewhere turned out to be the Wenzels’ backyard.
Since its placement, weather has roughened the gray boulder to reveal specks of red, and Mother Nature has deepened the bands of gray stone around the rock.
The couple is unsure what kind of rock has become a familiar lawn ornament at the Wenzel home.
“They dug it out and it turned out to be an odd ball,” Russell said.
The second treasure was found recently buried in the Wenzel grove.
When brush was cleared from under the trees, a piece of small metal caught Russell’s eye.
The object turned out to be something familiar to Wenzel, a military veteran and longtime member of the Hardwick American Legion — a metal dog tag.
Russell speculates that the grove used to be a former trash pile by the former farm occupants.
The Wenzels moved to the 171st Street location in the late 1990s. The couple doesn’t recognize the name on the tag: Orville T Iveland.
Wenzel speculates Iveland was related to the former property owner.