Title: Ohio Farm
Author: Wheeler McMillen
Genre: Nonfiction
Summary: Originally published in 1974, this memoir
fondly and vividly recalls life on the McMillen family farm in western Ohio, describing
in rich detail the daily and seasonal activities that marked the cyclical
progression of farm life. 1900-1930
Uncomplicated when compared with the task of managing today's
highly mechanized agricultural complexes, life on the early twentieth-century
small farm entailed hard work and afforded simple pleasures that brought
satisfaction and enjoyment to the farm and family. Farming on that scale and in
the same manner has now become almost completely infeasible, yet in those times
a good farmer could prosper and become independent. Wheeler McMillen’s father,
Lewis, did both.
Relying frequently on his father’s account books and concise
diaries, for this is primarily his father’s story, McMillen recounts the
immense labor that farming demanded before the advent of the tractor and the
combine harvester. He evokes the special excitements of having company for
Sunday dinner, attending the annual oyster supper at the Grange Hall, and
gathering on the Fourth of July with the interminable wait for darkness to
fall. McMillen also portrays the quiet peace and ineffable joy of private moments,
such as resting the horses during spring plowing to watch bronzed grackles
search for food in the freshly turned furrows.
Rating: Very good.
Why I Like It: It was easy to read and interesting. I
could relate to the Bucher and Dunipace farming experiences during this time.
Reviewer: Nancy Bucher
