Over in the Country: A Blue Ridge Mountain Family’s Stories

Description

Over in the Country is a rich collection of stories about life on a farm in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia during the first half of the twentieth century.

In 1904 Paul Simms bought a hundred acres of raw land, mostly rolling hills, but with enough level ground for a house and garden. To make their farm prosper, he and his bride Eula Rakes brought their experiences growing up in the country, their eagerness to try new ideas and inventions, their willingness to work hard, and their determination to succeed. Almost as essential were the pleasure they took in good fun, good food, a healthy sense of humor, and every now and then, a bit of moonshine to temper the relentless routine of farm work.

The memoir tells stories about Paul and Eula before they married, their efforts to make the farm pay, their four children, kinfolk and neighbors, church and school in an isolated mountain community.

The small, self-sufficient farms of earlier America are gone. Stories such as these help us remember our grandparents and connect us to our past.