The story of a horseless farm, and "A Son of the Soil"

If you scroll down one post, you'll see the story of Henry Gau, Fordson dealer in Pierz.  In those years (1914 to 1918) Henry was becoming a leading citizen and evidently, someone known to the Ford company as a go-getter.

Larry's been pursuing this part of Henry's story for ages--ever since he found this listing on the National Archives website:

SON OF THE SOIL, A. TAKEN ON HENRY GAU'S HORSELESS FARM NEAR PIERZ, MINNESOTA, ca. 1920 

Evidently, making films of actual farmers using Ford tractors was a useful tactic, as there are whole lists of similar films there.  Henry Gau's farm was one, but it was HERE, just NE of Pierz, in Granite, Minnesota...

 A Son of the Soil was filmed in the summer of 1920, and Larry finally found it in November, 2015.
I wonder if that's Henry on the tractor. Maybe by 1920 the filming was no longer a "field day" atmosphere? In the clips we've seen of other Ford movies made around the country, they would stage tug-o-wars between a tractor and 50 local men, or plow next to a huge team of horses, etc. It was pretty entertaining ☺ and quite convincing.

Larry found these newspaper clippings in issues of the Pierz Journal from Spring, 1921.  How could people resist, especially when Fausts were showing two other popular films, from Hollywood?

Seeds of Vengeance and a Charlie Chaplin film?
We'll need popcorn....

Cool, another chance to see it two years later.

(Full page ad in the Pierz Journal).

THANKS for your persistence, Larry!! ☺