The
farm has belonged to Richard Quinney's family for generations, since
first being settled by his great-grandparents fleeing the potato
famine in Ireland, and it is the place of his birth and early years.
When the house at the Old Place was torn down more than half century
ago, the family photograph albums were carried up to the farmhouse.
A few letters, some diary entries, and a scrapbook of obituaries
survived to preserve a portion of the family history. Added to these
materials, the author has drawn from the photographs of his mother's
family, from the photographs made by his mother and father as they
documented their young lives, and from the many photographs of the
early years of the family.
This is the story of the several generations that once lived on
these few acres of rolling hills and wetlands in a corner of southern
Wisconsin. The book concludes with a photographic survey of the
artifacts that remain on the farm.
The author demonstrates that our lives continue-in body, mind, and
spirit-from the lives of those who came before us. We know that
our ancestors are not merely of a former time. They are with us
always, in our daily lives, just as we will be in the lives of those
who come after us.
Richard Quinney is the author of several books that combine autobiographical
writing with photography, including Journey to a Far Place, For
the Time Being, Borderland, Once Again the Wonder, and Where Yet
the Sweet Birds Sing. His other books are in the academic field
of sociology. He and his wife live in Madison, Wisconsin and on
the family farm in Walworth County.
The
farm has belonged to Richard Quinney's family for generations, since
first being settled by his great-grandparents fleeing the potato
famine in Ireland, and it is the place of his birth and early years.
When the house at the Old Place was torn down more than half century
ago, the family photograph albums were carried up to the farmhouse.
A few letters, some diary entries, and a scrapbook of obituaries
survived to preserve a portion of the family history. Added to these
materials, the author has drawn from the photographs of his mother's
family, from the photographs made by his mother and father as they
documented their young lives, and from the many photographs of the
early years of the family.