The story of Elmer and Bernice Frank began in the late 1940's. It is a story that recounts a marriage between two people who were devoted to their family, committed to their land and dedicated to a growing Loveland community.
The Story Begins
Elmer and Bernice met in confirmation class at The First Congregational Church in Loveland. They lived roughly 2 miles apart and on Sundays Elmer often rode his horse on a dirt road to go and see Bernice. After serving in the Korean War, the couple married in June of 1952 and began their journey together in what is now known as Johnstown, Colo. near Interstate 25 and Highway 34. They had four children: Margey, Jim, Scott and Leigh Ann (nicknamed Lani.)
Wanting to expand, Elmer and Bernice decided to move their family down the road from Johnstown to Loveland to start a family business. In 1957, Elmer and his brother Harry purchased the farm from the Stroh family. Elmer farmed the entire farm and Harry eventually sold his share. Elmer was a natural at farming and had acquired valuable experience from his father, Henry Frank, and good friend Tom McKee. Elmer and his family lived on the homestead, and eventually leased out the farm to a neighbor when they decided to purchase more land in Eastern Colorado.
The Cattle Business
Alfalfa and corn were raised to feed the cattle. Feed was stored in a ground silo near the old water park, "Crystal Rapids," located off of Boyd Lake Avenue. Sugar beets and wheat were also grown. The site of the present-day school at The Lakes at Centerra served as a labor shack that housed the workers who tended to the sugar beets.
The Franks bought cattle from different states to start their feedlot and they built all the cattle corrals themselves. The family raised 3,000 head of cattle at a time, totaling 12,000 to 15,000 head per year, and personally hauled the cattle down to Denver to the slaughter house.
The cattle brand for the Frank Farm was a forward "F" connected with an upside-down backward "F."
Memories of Life on the Farm
The Frank's built a lifetime of memories over half a century on their farm. The family referred to what is known today as Houts Reservoir as "Blue House Lake," and it was the children's haven for year-round activities and fun.
When the Franks weren't tending to farm duties, they spent summers water skiing on "Blue House Lake." The family dog, Benji, loved to accompany them and would swim out to the middle of the lake to rescue anyone who fell from skiing. The children enjoyed riding four-wheelers to the lake to fish, camp and set off fireworks. The rustic lake dock made of timbers was rickety but the perfect spot for the children and their friends to catch crappie and perch. Each summer the fields were intentionally flooded for irrigation purposes. While doing this, the lawn was also flood irrigated. The kids enjoyed splashing through this water on their horses. All the Frank children loved to explore and climb in and around the barn and the boxcar. In the summers, you could find the kids lying on top of the boxcar with a bird's eye view of the Blue Angels.
During the winter months, the family loved to snowmobile. The fields were the perfect setting for local snowmobile races. The tall cattails and nearby lakes provided the best pheasant, duck and goose hunting in the area and it was all right in the family's "backyard." Elmer enjoyed using his loader to build a gigantic hill in the middle of the yard for the kids to sled down.
The Frank Family Legacy
In 1979 Elmer and Bernice moved off the farm and into a home they built down the road. In the 1990s they sold the farm to local real estate developer McWhinney. In 2014, the Frank Farm became the site of what is now The Lakes at Centerra.
Elmer Frank's family, friends and business associates remember him as a fair, honest, hardworking man who kept his word by merely a handshake. He passed away in April of 2000.
The Memorial Bench situated near Houts Reservoir was built by Jerry Cooper after Bernice passed away in 2011. It was constructed from wood from the big, white barn on the farm. The bench was strategically placed next to "Blue House Lake," where the dock used to be, to allow anyone sitting there to truly appreciate the lake and surrounding views the Frank's enjoyed for the last 50 years.
