Brandon Twp.-James C. Vantine, Sr. tilled the soil, worked the cattle and raised a family on a section of township property first deeded during President Martin Van Buren’s term about 1840.
Born in 1913’James, Sr. was part of more than 140 years, and now five generations, of the Vantine family farming east of Ortonville near Hadley and Oakhill roads.
On Feb. 5, James C. Vantine, Sr. died at his Hadley Road home on the family farm.
He was 96.
‘He just loved farming’just being out there watching the crops grow,? said his son James, Jr., 65, who, along with his family, still work the farm.
‘I remember Dad farming some of that ground with horses up until the mid-1940s,? he said. ‘It was not until the late 1940s when he bought his first John Deere tractor to do the work.?
A 1932 Ortonville High School graduate, James, Sr. married Madeline Howes in 1940. The couple had three children, Gwen (John) Robinson of Metamora, James C. (Nadine) Vantine, Jr. and Jerry Vantine, both of Ortonville; also seven grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren and one great-great-granddaughter. Madeline died in 2008.
‘He loved to dance,? said Jim, Jr. ‘In the 1930s he played the trumpet in a band in Ortonville. He and mom were always going out dancing.?
James, Sr. was a member of the Ortonville Lions Club, Michigan Milk Producers Association, Oakland County Farm Bureau, Ortonville Masonic Lodge #339 F & AM and Eastern Star, where he was past Worthy Patron. He was also a former member of the Land Bank Board, Ortonville School Board during the 1950s and Ortonville Cemetery Board.
‘Dad was milking cows by hand in the 1930s. I can remember in the 1950s there were more than 40 farms located between M-15 and M-24 selling milk. Today, with the exception of Cook’s Farm Dairy, we are the only one left in Oakland County.?
‘He never wanted to see houses built on that farm land,? said Jim, Jr. ‘He told us, ‘I’d rather have children playing on that property than building houses.??
In 2006, James, Sr. sold about 40 acres of the original farm at the corner of Hadley and Oakhill roads to Brandon Township for the recreational park which opened in 2007.
‘I remember dad watching houses popping up in the middle of farms. He’d drive by and say, ‘There’s another farm growing houses.? He just always wanted the land to stay a farm.?
Bob Service, longtime friend and pastor of the Oakwood Community Church where James C. and Madeline were members for more than 40 years, recalled the generosity of the couple.
‘Jim sold the church 14 acres of his land for a new building plus some room to grow in about 1998,? said Service. ‘I remember how excited he was to now worship on the same land he once farmed.?
The funeral for James, Sr. was Feb. 9 at the Oakwood Community Church. Interment at Ortonville Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to Brandon Fire EMS. Condolences: www.coatsfuneralhome.com.