A tiny O'Brien County cemetery means the world to Hartley's LeRoy Steffens.

In 1884 Michael Steuck, Steffens' great-grandfather, buried his mother, Anna Steuck, on the family farm in Center Township in O'Brien County. She was the first in the family to be buried in the privately-owned pioneer cemetery. Born in 1819, Anna became a war widow in Germany and later brought her children to the United States to build a life in northwest Iowa.

Since then, 36 more family members have opted for burial in the family cemetery. Familiar names like Guse, Brandt and Brinkert rest there. Steffens says that any family member able to prove their relationship can be buried at the Steuck Prairieland Cemetery. To be designated a pioneer cemetery, according to Iowa law, there must be fewer than 12 burials within the most recent 50 years.

Steuck Prairieland Cemetery was one of the first pioneer cemeteries in O'Brien County to benefit from volunteer efforts to restore, preserve and maintain the existing burial grounds in O'Brien County. Its stones were straightened and repaired in 2019.

In keeping with its mission, O'Brien County Cemetery Preservation Association (OCCPA) recently finished erecting the directory and sign for the cemetery. It is located south of Hartley at 3646 Tanager Ave., a half mile south of B24 on Tanager Avenue. The cemetery is easily spotted – its two lone pine trees can be seen from nearby.

Now, the rustic directory also stands out proudly, drawing attention to the resting place of Steffens' family members.

Steffens reminisced on how he chose a name for the .45-acre pioneer cemetery, recalling how he learned about the plant life thriving on the land from former O'Brien County naturalist Charlene Elyea.

"One time when I was out there I asked her about all the flowers," Steffens said. "She took the time to come out and look. She identified 27 varieties of native prairie wildflower varieties."

He went on to share how Elyea brought her dad, the late Rev. Theodore (Jackie) Letzring to the site. He spoke German and translated the German inscriptions on many of the gravestones. Steffens still has those translations, whose display may become a project of OCCPA in the future.

Steffens, the current owner and long-time caretaker of the cemetery, plans to make the grounds his eternal resting place. The cemetery came back into his ownership after a cousin sold the family farm and the buyer was informed that the graveyard could not be plowed up.

Steffens plans to pass the cemetery on to his son.