DICK WARPINSKI FAMILY

The date for the annual Wheatland Plowing Match - Pig Roast has been set, August 1994. The location decided upon - Kemmerer farm on 127th Street east of Naperville-Plainfield Rd. The location will probably be very familiar to you as the Kemmerers have been area residents for many, many years. Many of the participants have been in this area for generations. Central Sod Farms (the Warpinski family) had been asked to co-host the Farmer’s Pig Roast this year. The Warpinskis are relatively new to the Wheatland Township area, so our local history is rather limited. We hope you enjoy getting to know us.

Dick Warpinski, Sr. was born in 1926 in Milwaukee, WI to Anthony and Cecilia Warpinski. Shortly after his birth, his family moved to a farm near Green Bay, WI. Dick and his five brothers did most of the chores on the small dairy operation while his father worked in town. In 1941, their house burned down, so they moved in with relatives until his parents were able to arrange for another old house to be moved to the site of the house that burned. In 1945, Dick was drafted into the army and spent time in Germany during the aftermath of World War II. After returning from Europe, he found work in the paper mills of Green Bay, and began dating Rose Mary Bildings, who grew up on a dairy farm in nearby DePere, WI. They were married in October 1948. Soon after getting married, they bought the dairy farm from Dick’s parents. In 1949, the first of the children, Dick Jr., was born. In 1953, Greg was born, followed the next year by Keith, then Kim in 1955.

About this time, Dick Sr. decided that he could not continue working full-time at the paper mill and full-time on the dairy farm. The dairy farm alone was too small to support a growing family, so he got rid of the cows and started raising hogs. This grew into a rather large operation with several thousand hogs being sold yearly. During the years 1957 to 1963, there were many good and bad times. The good times brought sons Chuck (1957), Tom (1959), and Bill (1963) and daughter, Sharon (1960). The bad times brought the infant death of daughter Ann (1961), as well as hog cholera, poor crops and a barn that collapsed, killing several hundred hogs. The debt situation was bad enough that Dick and Rosemary felt that it was best to sell out, pay off the debts and start again from scratch.

Starting all over with nothing in 1964, Dick Sr. answered an ad in the Prairie Farmer Magazine for a sod farm manager in Illinois. At the time he did not even know was sod was, but he was anxious for a new start. At the interview, he impressed the owner of the sod farm enough that he was hired on the spot. In March of 1964, Dick, Rosemary, and their eight children moved into a farmhouse located on Route 53 between Hobson Rd. and 75th street in Naperville. The house was located on part of the Greene farm that was being rented to Foxcroft Sod Farms. The area is now part of the DuPage County Forest Preserve District. Dick started working that spring for a salary of $250 a month and free rent of the farmhouse. Dick Jr., Greg, and Keith were also hired for after school and Saturday jobs on the farm. As the others got older; they too joined in working on the farm. In July 1964, the youngest child, Ken, was born.
Foxcroft Sod Farms became very successful through the hard work of everyone involved. They sold d all over the Chicago area, but newly growing Naperville was an especially good area for sod sale. As the years went by, money was still tight for the Warpinski family, but through their hard work, all nine children were able to attend and graduate from Benet Academy in Lisle, IL.

In 1972, the owner of Foxcroft Sod Farms was thinking of retiring, as the Forest Preserve wanted to reclaim the land. With the farm about to be dissolved, Dick Sr., wondering if he would soon be out of a job, was approached by one of Foxcroft’s largest landscape customers. The owner of the landscaping company wanted to know if Dick Sr. would be interested in starting a Sod farm nearby. They reached an agreement and started looking for land - securing leases for eight hundred acres in Wheatland Township. Dick Sr. moved his family to a farmette west of Route 59 on 95th Street. Emerald Green Sod Farms became very successful, but Dick Sr. dreamed of being his own boss. In 1976, Dick Sr. approached Mrs. Jessie Matters about renting the land on 248th Ave. between 91st and 95th streets. Central Sod Farms became established with those twenty acres. Within several years, the company had over three hundred acres in production.

As the years passed, Central Sod Farms slowly grew. The company became incorporated in 1981, and continues to expand as conditions permitted and rent able land became available. The year 1984 saw the purchase of eighty-five acres of land out in Churchtown, Maryland; located near Annapolis. Four years later, Central Sod Farms bought out Emerald Green Sod Farms. With that purchase, Central Sod Farms became one of the largest sod producers in the Midwest. In the fall of 1989, and additional three hundred acres were purchased in Centreville, Maryland; located on the eastern shore.

Central Sod farms have remained a family-owned operation with over forty-one hundred acres in sod and small grains production, employing over seventy-five people in two states. With so many acres in production, it takes a special dedication to maintain the strong family ties that first started Central Sod Farms. Through the hard work of all their employees, Central Sod Farms continues to prosper with the same work ethic that started the company in 1976.

Dick Jr. and his wife, Mary, have been married for almost 19 years. They met while both were working at Oakleaf Landscaping, an affiliate of Emerald Green Sod Farms. Shortly afterwards, he started his own landscaping business. In 1981, Dick Jr. came to Central Sod and took on the responsibilities of President of the company. They now live in Yorkville with their three children.

Greg lives in Plainfield with his wife Pat and their four children. Greg heads the small grains operation of approximately five hundred acres for Central Sod. He is Vice-President of the sod farm and also in charge of the irrigation department. He gained valuable experience while working at other companies during the early years of Central Sod Farms.
Keith, while with Central Sod in its developmental years has since moved on to run his own successful landscape business. He and his wife, Kathie, live in Lisle with their three children. In his spare time, he sells real estate for a local real estate company. Keith also runs another of his own companies that builds custom homes.


WARPINSKI, DICK (CONTINUED)

Kim married his high school sweetheart, Margaret. Their six children keep them very busy. Luckily, when the tornado hit Lemont a few years ago, only part of their house was damaged. Dispatching of the delivery trucks is Kim's responsibility. There are now nine trucks in the delivery fleet, as well as up to six hired trucks that handle the thousands of yards of sod delivered daily. Kim also gained valuable experience while working for another sod company as a driver.

Chuck lives on a farmstead in Newark with his wife, Sandy, and four children. Chuck had been with Central Sod from the very start, doing all types of work from palleter to fine grading for sod installations. He is now in charge of production and heads the daily field operations, responsible for harvesting the tens of thousands of yards cut each day. In his spare time, he raises several head of cattle on his farm.

The Churchtown, Maryland operation is run by Tom. He and his wife, Geri, live in West River, MD with their three children. The Churchtown operation has grown to over two hundred acres in production. Tom gained job experience through working for another sod grower in Maryland before managing the farm in Churchtown, as the tall fescue grass is not common in Illinois. There is much to do in nearby Washington D.C. during spare moments.

After teaching in the elementary schools for some years, Sharon now heads the office at Central Sod Farms. What started out as a one-girl office has grown into an office employing four full-time and two part-time employees. Sharon is dating Bruce Hintzche, whose grandfather was a judge for the Plowing Match for several years. She lives in downtown Naperville.

Bill has been in Centreville, MD since 1991, and helps in running the Maryland operation. Since the Chesapeake Bay separates the two farms, it keeps everyone busy commuting. Bill lives in Easton, MD with his wife, Anne, and infant son. Bill worked for many years at the Illinois operation before moving to Maryland.

Ken and his wife, Lisa, raise sheep in their spare time on their farmstead in Newark. Ken is in charge of field maintenance that includes mowing, fertilizing, and spraying. He attends seminars regularly to stay current on environmental issues in regards to his herbicide/pesticide applications. Ken's father-in-law, Paul Miller, has been a long time participant in The Plowing Match.

The Warpinski family hopes that you enjoyed getting to know us a little better. We appreciate this opportunity to share our family history with all of you. Our family looks forward to a long association with this community. All of us at Central Sod Farms, especially the Warpinski family, hope for a successful growing season and bountiful harvest for the area farmers. God Bless.

11/01