On Your Street: Family farm on 600 South raises three generations

By Brandi Watters, Herald Bulletin Staff Writer

February 01, 2009 11:29 pm

— ANDERSON — As a child in the 1960s, Tim Kline took long walks along the train tracks from his home on County Road 600 South and followed them all the way to Markleville.
Now, as a grandfather, Kline and his wife, Nina, take similar long walks along those same tracks that cross over Fall Creek near their Anderson countryside home.
In 1962, Tim’s father, Paul Kline, bought 50 acres along 600 South and 47 years later, it is now the family farm.
Not only did Tim stay and raise his family on the farm, which now grows hay, but his son, Clint, has settled next door with his wife and 1-year-old twins.
On Sunday, Clint’s wife, Jennifer, dumped a cup of Cheerios before the twins, watched as they fingered the cereal o’s and reflected on moving to the family farm. “It’s heaven. You’re out in the middle of the country but you’re five minutes from anything you need.”
With Meijer and Wal-Mart and various restaurants just a few minutes from the farm, the Kline family believes they’ve captured the best of both worlds.
Outside, Clint and Jennifer’s two dogs wrestled, raced and bunny-hopped in the foot of snow that fell over the fields last week. The snow stretched out across the acreage with little disturbance from the snow plows that turned sparkling white snow into clumped, rolled blocks of ice within city limits.
For decades, Nina said the Kline farm was isolated from the hustle and bustle of Anderson traffic but the quiet was cut short when Indiana 109 was extended.
Now, it runs past the family homestead and creates a hum of traffic, but does little to deter the family from continuing its legacy of living on the land.
As a child, Clint said the patch of land presented plenty of opportunities to explore with Fall Creek just across the road and a backyard of tree-topped hills. “You play around the woods. You’ve got a lot of room to roam.”
Clint’s parents, Nina and Jim, live just across the field from his young family, allowing his twins easy access to their grandparents. “Growing up, I lived right across from my grandparents. I wanted that for my kids.”
Beyond the Kline family farm, the area around 600 South is dotted with neighbors who also happen to be relatives.
Tom and Elaine Heath’s A-frame home along 600 South is just blocks from their son’s home, another A-frame, Nina said.
On the east portion of the road, Harry and Dee Long live a stone’s throw from their daughter.
Those who aren’t related are friends, she explained. The Klines hosted a barn party for friends and many of them lived just a few houses down the road.
It’s too early to know if twin 1-year-olds Parker and Isabella grow up to build their homes on the family farm, but when the time comes, Tim said, they’ll have a patch of land waiting for them.

Contact reporter Brandi Watters at 640-4847 and brandi.watters@heraldbulletin.com.

Each Monday, The Herald Bulletin is profiling a street in Madison County in our On Your Street series. What’s on the street? Who lives there? What is the history? Those are questions we’ll try to answer. And it’s not just streets. Roads, boulevards and lanes will be included. If you have a street you’d like to nominate for our coverage, let Stephen Dick, assistant managing editor, know. Reach him at The Herald Bulletin, 1133 Jackson St., Anderson 46016 or (765) 640-4863 or steve.dick@heraldbulletin.com.

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