A barn for prosperity

Jane Ragan wanted a tribute to honor her grandparents and the legacy of family farms. She hired Josh Gray to paint a barn mural depicting life on what her family has always called “The Farm.” The mural covers three sides of the barn and paints the story of the farming operation her grandfather, John Drusch, operated until he was 85 years old. The barn itself was built as an addition to the original 1850s cabin that served as the homestead for the property when Drusch purchased in the farm in 1935. That cabin later served as a corn crib and remains inside the barn to this day. It is pictured on the south side of the barn next to the mule team Drusch used to farm the 480 acres located on Mount Sterling road just a few miles south of Mount Sterling, Mo.

As technology progressed and farming returned more profit. Drusch converted from mules to a John Deere Model A tractor and used the barn to store it along with his corn picker and hay wagon. The west side shows Drusch on his tractor, located in the bottom field of the property with the house and cows in the background. A closer look shows Drusch wearing an MFA cap. He was a loyal customer for over 60 years and purchased all of his feed and seed from the Owensville MFA Agri Services. Ragan and her husband continue to do all their farming business there to this day. “The Farm” now consists of 200 acres. Ragan and her husband Terry remain involved in farming, running a 50-head cowherd along with four horses on the property. Ragan also works in the Asgrow/DeKalb division for Monsanto Co. in St. Louis where she and her husband reside.