Jerry and Hollie Thompson Family
Jerry and Hollie’s farm has been in the family since the mid-1940s. Hollie’s grandparents, Ray and Inez Strom, moved their Sears, Roebuck and Co. house onto the property and enjoyed over 60 years together on the farm. Ray and Inez loved to hold an annual threshing bee to show their community how harvest was done many years before.
In 2008, Jerry and Hollie moved from Marshall to a farm near Dawson with Hollie’s father, Roger Strom. At that time, the farm consisted of a steady rotation of corn, soybean and wheat.
Two years later, Jerry and Hollie purchased the 80 acres that had belonged to Hollie’s grandparents. Then, after much discussion with neighbors and mentors, Jon and Sue Roison, the Thompson family added two acres of grapevines to the farm. Two years later, the family added five more acres of grapes.
The Thompsons then went through a long process of trying to decide a name for their new vineyard and Jerry came up with the idea of “3B Vineyard”. “3B” comes from the names of their three sons: Braxton, Braden and Blake.
Seven varieties of grapes are currently growing in the Thompsons’ vineyard. The wine grapes are sold to Grandview Valley Winery of Belview and Chankaska Creek Ranch Winery of Kasota. Somerset table grapes are sold to schools and individuals via Facebook. Local school kids love field trips to the farm where they can pick and eat the grapes. King of the North grapes is featured in the family’s homemade jelly, grape lemonade, and mulled grape cider. The Thompsons love sharing their products with their community at the county fair and local craft fairs.
There is a lot of work managing grapevines. The work continues in winter when significant skill is needed to properly prune the vines. In addition, to help from their sons, Jerry and Hollie receive help from Dean and Liz Olson and Scott Knutson of Minnesota.
Owning and operating a seven-acre vineyard is not an easy undertaking, but the Thompson find it enjoyable working and making memories alongside friends and family.