Growing Up Wisconsin:: Remembrances from the American Midwest

by Fred G. Baker

Eight year-old Fred gives up everything he has ever known when his family moves from Chicago to a dairy farm in Wisconsin. Culture shock ensues.

When his father retires early, young Fred is forced to leave the ice cream shops, elevated trains, and bustling streets of suburban Chicago and move to a small farm in southwest Wisconsin. It is the beginning of a new life filled with adventure. There is a snake den under the back porch and the kitchen floor is covered with dead insects. There are snapping turtles to catch and farm animals to play with.

There is also work to be done. Dad’s vision of being a gentleman farmer involves having his two sons help with milking the cows, taking care of the chickens, fixing fences, and shoveling snow off the driveway in addition to attending school. And the Wisconsin summers are hot and humid, the winters long and bitterly cold.

This is the story of how one family of four manages the transition from Chicago to rural Wisconsin in the late 1950s to 1960s. The story unfolds in a series of vignettes seen through Fred’s eyes.

The experiences will leave a permanent impression on Fred. Listening to the colorful characters in Richland Center and Yuba, exploring the farm on horseback, rounding up stray cattle, cooling off at the swimming hole on the Pine River, catching fireflies, and stargazing on clear summer nights—these are memories that last a lifetime.

Genres: Nonfiction

202 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 16, 2013

About the author

Fred G. Baker is a hydrologist, historian, and writer living in Colorado. He has B.S. and M.S. degrees from the University of Wisconsin – Madison, and M.S and Ph.D. degrees from University of Colorado – Boulder, the later in Geology. He worked as an environmental consultant for many years and has traveled widely.

He is the author of An Imperfect Crime, Desert Sanctuary, Zona: The Forbidden Land, The Black Freighter, and the Modern Pirate Series of short and long stories. He is also the author of nonfiction works such as Growing Up Wisconsin, The Life and Times of Con James Baker of Des Moines, Chicago, and Wisconsin, The Light from a Thousand Campfires (with Hannah Pavlik), and other nonfiction works.

Reviews

[Shannan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simpler times

I am a transplant to Wisconsin and love to hear stories about the farming culture. The book is a simple read with short chapters. It reminds me so much of stories my own grandparents told of their humble farm beginnings.

[Kim Dague · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wisconsin farm girl gives this two thumbs up!

This was a particularly enjoyable book for me, having grown up on a dairy farm in NW Wisconsin. Tho Mr. Baker’s experiences were of a generation or two ahead of mine, it was like reminiscing about by own upbringing. Great reading for anyone nostalgic for that time period, or for someone interested in reading about the small family farm!

[Auriel Kollmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I grew up up in Washington and Ozaukee counties on the eastern side of Wisconsin during the same time period. This book brought many good memories for me. Was surprised his father was in WWI. My parents were both WWII vets. In any case, great memories.

[Mikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've almost finished this pleasing book which reads like a series of journal entries about life on the farm in the 50s & 60s mostly with a smattering of reminiscences from later to contrast conditions. Life might have been simpler then, but I can see how much harder it must have been to run a farm in those days without the benefits of modern methods and conveniences.

I can contrast the methods for planting and harvesting with those I see every year in the surrounding grass farmlands, in which machines do most of the hard labor these days and human help is not generally required on the scale of that of 60+ years ago. Although, even today the biggest of the harvesting machinery is communally shared by multiple farms.

Anyway, I've enjoyed this literary meandering in the American past.

[Michael R. Zuelke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although I grew up in the city of Milwaukee, my father grew up in a rural farming community. The stories found in this wonderful book brought back memories of my father's stories of his farm life. Short chapters lent themselves to pauses to remember dad's stories. A very enjoyable read and highly recommended.

[Randal White · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Nostalgia!

Really great stories about growing up in central Wisconsin during the 60’s. I, too, grew up not far from the author in the same time, and recognize many similarities between he and I. Really left me with a warm feeling!

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Times have changed

Times have definitely changed. The Old Homestead Era is making a come-back. Hopefully, like in this book and in life, it becomes a little simpler, but using technology to push the creative process. Good story. Enjoy 💞

[Karen Douglass · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some people write for profit, some for pleasure. Fred Baker writes for posterity.

In GROWING UP WISCONSIN Baker details the life of two brothers who learn farming by getting their hands and boots dirty. But the life on this small patch of Wisconsin is idyllic. The boys tend cattle and chickens. They have horses and a swimming hole where they build a raft. They wander the land, free to make mistakes, take chances, test their minds and their muscle. They fail--when one brother leaps off a steep incline and splits his knee open--and they succeed--the raft finally floats and no one drowns.

Having spent my childhood without horses or chickens, I share the sense of having had the safety and freedom that came with access to the out of doors without having to sign up, join a team, or carry a cell phone in case of emergencies. Baker's childhood could still be a model for raising kids who develop self-confidence and a sense of adventure without having to leave home. My only criticism is that the book is too short. I would gladly have read more