The historic Buerge home, a generous-sized spread consisting of a ranch house and farm on Haverford that became a gathering place for the Buerge family for over 60 years, is on the market for $3, 850,000. Approximately 20,000 sq.ft,, the three-lot property, aptly called The Farm, comes complete with a red barn and even a windmill. The land in the 600 block of Haverford (where Radcliffe and De Pauw intersect) was purchased in 1938 by Maurice and Helen Buerge at a time when much of the Palisades was planted in bean fields. Maurice and his father and brothers built all the structures on the three Haverford lots with logs hewed with adzes. Bill Buerge, the youngest son, purchased the authentic windmill for his mother in 1968 after reading an article about Nebraska in the National Geographic. Maurice and his oldtime farm buddies hooked up a pump and got the windmill to operate. Maurice also planted an orchard which was filled with over 60 trees, including a number of varieties of avocado and tropicals such as sapote, guava and stone fruit (peaches and plums). Son Bill recalls how he and his siblings collected bushels of macadamia nuts, which they learned to crack open with hammers. He also remembers harvesting horseradish. ‘Dad had an old grinder that he used to get out once a year to grind up the horseradish, and he would have the whole neighborhood crying.’ Maurice, who started his career as an auto mechanic and eventually became co-owner of Walker-Buerge Ford in West Los Angeles, and Helen raised their four children, Betty, John, Susan and Bill, in the ranch house. Helen loved gardening and managed to continue the farming life she had known growing up on a farm in La Junta, Colorado. She planted a big vegetable garden every year, always testing varieties of tomatoes, squash, peppers, beans and pumpkins. The pumpkin patch was a local favorite, producing award-winning specimens weighing as much as 200 pounds. The Farm grew to become a popular place for the neighbors to gather, and every Halloween, Helen opened the garden to local children and their families to enjoy an afternoon of stories, refreshments and a potluck dinner. She gave each child a small pumpkin to take home. A member of the Palisades Garden Club, Helen hosted the refreshment and plant sale for the club’s annual garden tour. One year she rented a horse, goat and some chickens for the day to give the place a little more farm flavor. In anticipation of the annual spring event, she would spruce up the garden with new annuals. Even after losing her strength in her later years, she continued to water and care for the plants from her wheelchair. The Buerges were always hospitable. The house at The Farm grew from two to five bedrooms, and although there was no ‘Bed and Breakfast’ sign hanging up, Helen ran one anyway, according to her son, Bill. ‘The door was always open, and so was the kitchen,’ he said. Helen was always gracious and made everyone feel welcome regardless of what she may have planned for the day or given the time of guest arrival. Maurice died in 1995 and Helen continued to live in the house until her death in 2000. The Buerge property is represented by Dolly Niemann of Prudential John Aaroe. Contact: 230-3706.
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