Description
Apps (agriculture and life sciences, U. of Wisconsin-Madison) recalls the seasons of repose in his Wisconsin farmhouse as a companion to the Wisconsin Public Television documentary A Farm Winter with Jerry Apps. Apps provides a long list of essays on preparing for the coming winter, enduring it, and enjoying the solitude and camaraderie. He writes confidently of the spring returning, but he is at his best when he describes the moments when it is time for the land and its people to rest, in anticipation of not just the spring, but of the winter, when it is time to listen to the farm. Annotation ©2014 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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The Quiet SeasonRemembering Country WintersJerry Apps “As I think back to the days of my childhood, the frost-covered windows in my bedroom, the frigid walks to the country school, the excitement of a blizzard, and a hundred other memories, I realize that these experiences left an indelible mark on me and made me who I am today.”—From the IntroductionJerry Apps recalls winters growing up on a farm in central Wisconsin during the latter years of the Depression and through World War II. Before electricity came to this part of Waushara County, farmers milked cows by hand with the light of a kerosene lantern, woodstoves heated the drafty farm homes, and “making wood” was a major part of every winter’s work. The children in Jerry’s rural community walked to a country school that was heated with a woodstove and had no indoor plumbing. Wisconsin winters then were a time of reflection, of planning for next year, and of families drawing together. Jerry describes how winter influenced farm families and suggests that those of us who grow up with harsh northern winters are profoundly affected in ways we often are not aware.
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