Memories Of A Midwestern Farm

'Memories Of A Midwestern Farm' is a sentimental celebration of the life most Americans lived on their farms in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Nancy Hutchens grew up on a 700 acre farm in the picturesque hill country of southern Indiana. Her family was traditional American - on her father's side descending from Davey Crockett and on her mother's side, grandma Tribby's side, from the Mayflower. Their farm in the 1950s had the feel of another era; without indoor plumbing or electricity, they grew most of their own food and felt themselves rich with the success that mattered when their table was laden with a family meal.

Nancy recreates the atmosphere and emotions of this time in her life, and in our country's history, by piecing together her memories in a variety of forms including short literary excerpts from American figures from Sitting Bull to Samuel Johnson, excerpts from the extensive diary kept by her grandma Tribby from the 1920s to the 1950s, newspaper clippings, farmer's newsletters, pioneer songs, nursery rhymes and the like, photos of her family down through the ages, as well as of the artifacts of their life - and recipes.

First and foremost in 'Memories Of A Midwestern Farm' is the collection of over 100 recipes for the foods and meals that were the heart of the farm family's life. Nancy magically recreates the warm emotions and pride in self-sufficiency that surrounded these meals by presenting instructions for the meals themselves.