Listen to the Crickets: Centennial Edition

In all seasons, the work of the family farm and mill was demanding, but it also involved a closeness to the natural world and all its sensual splendor. Traveling by horse instead of automobile, reading by kerosene lamp instead of electric light, and eating sausage from one’s own pig, their lives were very different from ours today. Arguably, technology has facilitated travel, communication, and access to material goods in ways that would have astonished our forebears. But one cannot read this memoir without also realizing that the so-called advancements have come at a price: the connectedness to the earth, its seasons, and our fellow creatures. Take a moment and “Listen to the crickets.”