Ray and Lois Mills raised nine children on this farm. It was purchased from the Thorsons in 1919 by Joe and Clara Bruening. Their children were Phyllis (1923) and Lois (1927). Joe had a threshing machine and threshed all over the Shelby and New Era area. Joe passed of heart issues in 1959. In 1963, Clara sold the farm to Ray and Lois, whose home in North Muskegon was bursting at the seams with seven kids. Two more kids were born on the farm. The original farmhouse burned Christmas 1968. The next August they moved into this house. Clara passed in 1985, Ray Mills in 1991, and Lois on Oct. 27, 2014. Bev currently lives there, and Gary hopes to retire there in the future.