Every Farm Tells a Story: A tale of Family Farm Values

by Jerry Apps

Before World War II, farmers had few of the conveniences that were common in cities. Many farmers continued to milk cows by hand, pump water with windmills or gasoline engines, light their way with kerosene lamps and lanterns, heat with woodstoves, and plant and harvest with horses. And many had no indoor plumbing. After war’s end in 1945, change on the farm came rapidly. Electricity replaced lamps, lanterns, and gasoline engines. New tractors replaced horses. Hay balers made loose hay a memory. Grain combines replaced threshing machines. Not only was farm work transformed from 1945 to 1955, but so was life on farms and in rural communities. Threshing, silo filling, and corn shredding bees, where farmers gathered to help each other, became memories. Card games and neighborly visits were replaced by television. Young people left the land because mechanization required less labor. Large farms crowded out family farms. "Every Farm Tells a Story" is a first-person account of a small Wisconsin farm during and after World War II. This ""living history"" is a collection of true tales inspired by entries in Jerry Apps’s mother’s farm account books. The values recorded in the account books prompt recollections of his childhood and the traditional family farm values and ethics instilled in him by Ma and Pa. About the Author: A professor emeritus of agriculture at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, author Jerry Apps has written more than 35 books, many of them on rural history and country life. Recent titles include "When Chores Were Done" and "Humor from the Country." His writing has earned awards from the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Library Association, and Barnes and Noble Booksellers, among others.

Genres: Memoir

224 pages, Hardcover

First published March 31, 2005

About the author

Jerold W. Apps, born and raised on a Wisconsin farm, is Professor Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the author of more than 30 books, many of them on rural history and country life. His nonfiction books include: Living a Country Year, Every Farm Tells a Story, When Chores Were Done, Humor from the Country, Country Ways and Country Days, One-Room Schools, Cheese, Breweries of Wisconsin, Ringlingville USA (History of Ringling Brothers circus), Old Farm: A History, Barns of Wisconsin, Horse Drawn Days: A Century of Farming With Horses, and Campfires and Loon Calls. His children's books include: Stormy, Eat Rutabagas, Tents, Tigers and the Ringling Brothers, and Casper Jaggi: Master Swiss Cheese Maker. He has an audio book, The Back Porch and Other Stories. Jerry has published four novels, The Travels of Increase Joseph, In a Pickle: A Family Farm Story, Blue Shadows Farm and Cranberry Red. Jerry is a former publications editor for UW-Extension, an acquisitions editor for the McGraw-Hill Book Company, and editor of a national professional journal.

Jerry has won awards for his writing from the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Library Association (the 2007 Notable Authors Award), American Library Association, Foreword Magazine, Midwest Independent Publishers Association, Robert E. Gard Foundation, The Wisconsin Council for Writers (the 2007 Major Achievement Award), Upper Midwest Booksellers, and Barnes and Noble Bookstores, among others. In 2010 he received the Distinguished Service Award from the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences. Check www.jerryapps.com for more information.

Reviews

[Marc Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Parallels my family's early life in farming. Written with the clear eye of a historian but with genuine affection. I read this book together with my elderly father, a farmer to his core. We worked together for nearly 20 years and we each earned graduate degrees in agricultural economics. Professor Apps's perceptive storytelling opened the.door to some wonderful conversations about farm life, conversations I had thought we might never have again.

[Dawn Payne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, such a beautiful story. Brought me back to memories of my grandparents (farmers). The hard work, the values, building community through unconditional help at a moment’s notice, cows, picking beans in the sticky heat, family, the simple things, the things we take for granted. This 86 year old Madisonian author still gardens, writes, and blogs. Would love to meet him. WI Historical Society published this 2nd edition. 💙

[William Drehmel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I grew up in the late 50s into the 60s. My father was a small town veterinarian near Eau Claire, WI. This is a book written about the author’s years growing up on a farm near Wisconsin Rapids, WI during WWII and after. It clarified the things I saw when I would make farm calls with my dad. It talks about the difficulties of farming but the benefits also. It is written in chapters about the good and bad of farm life. Chores were hard and unrelenting, but then followed by a sense of accomplishment that brought family and community closer together. Easy to read, hard to forget. It still has me pondering about topics he touched upon like effects of TV on the farmers. So glad I picked this one up.

[Jane Rutherford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read Harder Challenge 2020 - Task 10 - Read a book that takes place in a rural setting.

This book gets 4*, not because it's great literature (though it's easy to read), but because of all the wonderful memories it brought back of visiting my paternal grandparents' farm. Wish more of their children were alive so I could talk to them about some of these things.

[Victoria Whited · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book won't be for everyone but for those of us who grew up on a family farm, no matter what generation, this book is everything. In this memoir, Jerry Apps tells the story of his family farm located near Wild Rose, Wisconsin--about forty miles away from my family's farm--shortly before and after World War II. While every farm might tell its own story, I found the stories of our own farm reflected back at me. In particular, I saw my own grandparents, Henry and Phyllis Klesmith, both of who would have witnessed the same developments first hand as they were both children of the Great Depression. I also saw my generation, those of us who've had to grapple with modernity's attacks on a dying way of life. For those of us who know the profound joys and deep sadness of family farming, this book is a gift. Thank you, Jerry.

[Paul-Baptiste · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. This touched me on many personal levels. More in-depth review after the book club discussion.

[KYLE]

good book

[Jerry Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being raised on a farm, I enjoyed the book. It isn't sophisticated or compelling reading but a good perspective into a time past.

[Sarah Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jerry Apps tells the story of growing up on a family farm during the post WWII era. A tale of hard work, loving family, and community closeness. Good read.

[Joanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

As has happened often when I need to read a book because of one of the clubs that I belong to, I end up reading books I never would have picked up in the first place. Jerry Apps memoir, Every Farm Tells a Story, is one of those books. He tells the story of farming in central Wisconsin near Wild Rose from before World War II. The best parts of this book were showing how the family farm and neighborhood changed through the years before World War II until much later when things like electricity came to the farm. I found that very interesting. I was also very interested in one of the reasons so many farms stopped being family farms. However, I, a person who never had even been near a farm until I took my children to see one, found the discussions of the farm machinery and such not of great interest. He included pictures and ads of the time which helped. It was an easy read and one I would recommend to anyone who is interested in the dynamics of the family farm and how that changed over the years.

[Debby · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fast read. Apps shares memories of his childhood on a Wisconsin farm near Wild Rose. Farming techniques have changed rapidly since the Depression and the author shares the impact of technology on the farm community. Though no one wants to go backward to those days, stronger communities existed because of the interdependence of community members. For anyone with an interest in farming or with a farm background, this was a good read.

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I guess because I have always been a suburban girl, I am sort of fascinated by farm life. So I wanted to see what it was like. And this was perfect for that.

[Annetteb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great review of life on a farm in the mid-1900's.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. Was a relaxing book to read and talked about how farmers where back during the WW II era.

[MaryJayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved this book!Jerry Apps is a wonderful storyteller.I always walk away feeling happier after reading one of his books.

[Cecelia]

Wonderful, I had a hard time putting it down.