As I have said in previous posts, Jim and I have family connections to rural places. We are only one generation removed from our farming ancestors.
In Jim’s case, the “family farm” is still owned by one of his cousins and we are still able to visit it. When we do, we feel a deep connection to the “place” and to the people who relied on it for their shelter and livelihood. Over the years, Jim’s Mother, as well as his Aunts and Uncles have told stories that have painted a vivid picture for us of life on this farm. Several of them have also taken the time and energy to document some of these memories. We are so thankful for that loving effort. Suburban sprawl now surrounds this beautiful place. The development of various types of housing now moves along at mind spinning speed. Rolling hills of open pastures have been replaced by acres of rooflines. Dense woods have been cleared for open parking lots in front of strip shopping centers full of the amenities that those who have moved into all the new houses have demanded. Progress.
I have had the opportunity to see the farm where my mother grew up and my grandmother ran a dairy operation. On a couple of occasions, when I was a girl, my Grandmother was with me and could give me first person recollections of her life in that place. Along with a few farmhands, their spouses and her own two girls, she ran the dairy operation that she had been left with when my Grandfather (almost 50 years her senior - who she had only been married to for a few years) died. She milked, bottled, sold and delivered dairy products throughout her community. Her personality and the quality of her products left lasting multi generational memories there. I returned to this community as a teenager for a church sponsored work camp experience. When I would introduce myself to the people we were working for on various projects, I made sure to tell them who my grandmother and grandfather were.
I was shocked that several of these people either remembered “The Widow Hamrick” or had heard of her. She was known for the thick, heavy cream that formed at the tops of her bottled milk! The high fat content of the milk of the cows was a result of careful breeding of the livestock by my grandfather. Our family farm acreage, like so many others around it, along with the family cemetery and open areas once used for farming, grazing and recreation have been swallowed up by vegetation no longer kept in check. Buildings have crumbled; fields once back-breakingly cleared for the plow are now filled with trees and briars and wild creatures again. Progress.
