Friday, March 30, 2012

Checking in from 1907

I have been neglecting this blog more than normal, and thought I should check in to let some friends and correspondents know I am alive and OK. We are in the midst of lambing right now and expecting Kerry Calves soon. In between my farm and agrarian urbanist work I have been working on a family history project. I have been walking around with a lot of oral history in my head from questions I asked my grandparents decades ago. I decided to source it all (if possible) , then write it down. I also have my great grandfathers daily farm diaries from 1907 to 1917. Each day he noted what he did, who visited, and what his wife and children (my grandfather and great aunt) did. He listed every sale and expenditure, and when he bred each animal from dogs to cows.   I decided to transcribe these so that they will survive past their physical deterioration. While nothing is more boring than someone else's family history, his life has a lot of agrarian lessons, as he farmed the same land  I do. I may end up posting some of the entries after I finish, but for now I am heading back to 1907! In some ways I like it better there anyway.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm glad you're back! What a treasure you have in those diaries. I would love to read some of the entries, so I'm hoping that you will post a few. It reminds me of the diary of Herrick Kimball's great, great grandmother, that he put in blog form: Diary of an 1892 Farmer's Wife. It's interesting to have a picture of what life was like for them, so long ago.

Jackie @Auburn Meadow Farm said...

Lucky you. My grandmother was about as unsentimental as could be and threw away absolutely everything. Nor did she ever talk about what they did, or ate or anything, really. And, since she hated to cook, no family recipes either... : (

Glad to see you haven't fallen off the edge!

Scott M Terry said...

Glad to hear all is well. I love old farm records and diaries, even those of strangers. :) I'm hoping to get that corn you gave me planted this year. Last year we were under water most of the year and I didn't chance it. I have my first honey bees coming this month and looking forward to beekeeping. Always good to hear from you folks!