Clinton and Mickie Nauman were married in 1955. They both grew up on farms, so they knew what lifestyle they wanted for their future family. But after renting farms and having them sold out from underneath them, they decided to find one to purchase and call home. In 1960 their dream was realized when they found their 340-acre dream farm just outside of Chillicothe. There, they raised five children—Nancy, Marcia, Sally, Mike, and Joe—all of whom were involved with the farm as they grew up. Of course, being farm kids, they each participated in the 4-H, joining a club known as the “Medina Minute Men and Maids.” Even after the kids grew up and moved away, the farming continued until 2015 when Clinton and Mickie decided to rent the crop space to a local farmer—unfortunately, in 2016 the family lost Mickie.
    In most farm families, this is where everything slowly demises. But not in this family. Joe, and his wife, Debbie, had a little girl, Ashley, who grew up spending time on grandpa and grandma’s farm, and loved the old barn—the same barn that used to house cattle, horses, rabbits, chickens, ducks, and various other critters known for making messes. Little Ashley grew to become a lovely woman and of course as the evolution of life happens, lovely women tend to find love. Ashley and Joel Gollnitz found each other and decided to marry. The problem for the family was that Ashley had a special fondness for the old barn and had a dream of being married in it. Together the family took on the challenge of vacuuming and pressure washing every inch of the old barn from the stalls that housed the cows to the loft they stacked hay in. A lot of debris, dirt, spiders, and muck was removed. Once clean, they had to make improvements to get the barn ready for a wedding. A stage was built and everything was ready for the fairytale wedding on September 28, 2019.
    Once people saw the wedding pictures, they also fell in love with that old barn—the family saw a need for letting others enjoy the unique surroundings for their special events, too. After talking with Dad, all the five siblings decided that this could be a worthwhile venue and the idea of “Top of the Hill Farm” was born. The name originated from a sign that Mom had made for them while participating at the Heart of Illinois Fair. That sign still hangs in the barn today as a reminder of Mom.
    Although there’s only one sibling, Joe, who lives locally, all five of them have worked tirelessly to improve the property to make the venue a local success. The old corn crib is now a unique place for the groom and groomsmen to prepare for the wedding, and the old tool shed now has modern air conditioned bathrooms for guests. In back is a beautiful concrete patio gathering area, complete with lights and a place for gathering around a fire. In touring the property, it’s obvious that a lot of work and money has gone into this project making it first class and VERY well done.
    What used to be a family farm has now been repurposed into being a family business. And although the five siblings live far apart, they have regular telephone meetings, and this new venue helps keep the adult siblings communicating and working together.
    A lot of dreams have come true on this piece of property. First, Clinton and Mickie had a dream of raising a family on a farm in 1960, then Ashley had a dream of being married in grandpa’s barn. This property is now playing a part in the start of many new marriages filled with love. But none of this could be possible if not for Nancy, Marcia, Sally, Mike, and Joe working together to keep the love that their parents started, flowing through this farm.