Schneider Family Farm, Clackamas County
Submitted by Lisa Charpilloz Hanson

2008 Sesquicentennial Award Family

“In a published biographical record about John [Schneider] it stated: “He believes in conditions where everyone has equal chances providing they know enough to avail themselves of them.”

The Schneider family farm is located in Clackamas County between Needy and Monitor and is bordered by the Willamette Meridian to the West, Schneider Road to the North and Barlow Road to the East.  The farm was purchased by John E. Schneider on August 30, 1887 and contained approximately 200 acres.  The farm was part of a land donation claim established in 1851 by William Kiser of a total of 617 acres.  The following is an article by Mateusz Perkowski, which appeared in The Capitol Press, August 31, 2007, a story in honor of the Schneider Family Farm receiving the Century Farm award.

“The descendents of John Schneider, a German immigrant who settled near Woodburn in 1887, have … built upon their agricultural heritage.  Schneider was educated s a physician and lawyer in Europe, but decided to follow a different path in life.  Intent upon finding new opportunities away from his home country, Schneider tried his hand at farming in Russia and the Midwestern U.S. before coming to Oregon to grow grains, fruits and vegetable.  The land he bought saw various used under his children and their progeny, and it was gradually divided among them.

The original property settled by Schneider – now a 45-acre parcel – is inhabited by great-great-granddaughter Lisa Charpilloz Hanson, deputy director of the Oregon Department of Agriculture, her husband, Alan, and their two daughters.

Lisa’s brother, Michael Charpilloz, farms grass see on the land; she raises award-winning purebred Hampshire sheep.  Living on the same farm as her ancestors has given Lisa insight into her history and keeps her grounded in the issues currently facing agriculture, she said.

Not to mention, chasing around sheep keeps her in shape. “For me, it’s a great outlet,” Lisa said.  “It’s my fitness program.”

Ironically, the family has lived on property for so many years that they nearly lost track of how long they have owned it.  When Lisa gave birth to Ellis, in 2001, and Katie, in 2002, her grandfather’s sisters began coming around to visit and to relate their own childhood memories of the farm.

The women’s long histories made Lisa realize just how deep the family’s roots went.

“If Auntie Wilma was born in the house, we’ve got to be pretty close to being a Century Farm,” she realized.

It wasn’t until last year, when a couple of Lisa’s friends from the ODA put together a scrapbook of historical documents abut the property, that she was able to file for Century Farm certification – about 30 years after the land was eligible.

If her colleagues hadn’t helped Lisa with the research, “it could have been another 20 years,” she joked.

“It was the biggest, best surprise I could have had for my birthday: to learn so much about my heritage all at once,” Lisa said.

Now that she looks back on the farm’s history, Lisa realizes how tenuous the family’s hold on the land was at times. For example, when her grandfather, Elmer, died in 1974, her grandmother, Ruth, was widowed.

Instead of selling the property, which would have been easier, she preferred to work as a secretary and deputy clerk of a local school district to keep the place afloat for her children.

“We were very fortunate she had so much perseverance and determination,” Lisa said.

“She didn’t want to live any other place but the farm,” noted Lisa’s mother, Kathy.

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