LUXEMBURG, Iowa — To patrons of Dubuque Farmers Market, the backstory of Waystone Gardens might be much more than meets the eye. Allyson Winter and Lincoln Morris-Winter live with their two children, Misha, 2, and Otter, 11 months, on the Oberbroeckling family farm in Luxemburg. There, they’ve revived the homestead since stepping up to steward the property in February 2022, after owner Elmer Oberbroeckling relocated to a nursing home.
The family has since made it their home. Morris-Winter, an Iowa native, learned of the opportunity because of his family friendship with the Oberbroecklings, and he jumped at the chance, putting in much work on the front end to make the property a home for his wife, who was expecting their first child. The two-story stone farmhouse was emptied and transformed into something found in the Irish countryside.
Upon entering the kitchen and moving past the pastel-washed walls of the dining and then living room, the space is an homage to a time of stark beauty and simplicity. Winter and Morris-Winter’s lives intersected at St. Isidore Catholic Worker Farm in Cuba City, Wis.
, where both were staying for a brief time. It was during the COVID-19 shutdown, and Morris-Winter was only passing through for a day or two. When they met, something clicked and they began writing letters back and forth, getting to know each other perhaps on a deeper level than they could have through in-person conversation.
They married and lived in Dubuque for a time, with W.