Linda’s Monday Morning Moaning’s
Today August 9th, 2021 Arcadia Publishing will add ‘Farming in Northern Macomb County to its long list of publications. This book was put together, as with all these books with the help of many people, this time the people I was working with and meeting many for the first time, would be masked up and we would all be smelling of hand sanitizer. Creating this book was my company and interest while we were going through a lockdown with Covid last year.
With the library closed to patrons, we still managed to get the scanning done, as Julie Oparka has done on all of my past books. It took some work, but when the library did opened too ‘pickup books only’ we found a way. I would contact the people wanting to make contributions of their family stories to the book, we would arrange to meet at the library, but they would stay in their cars. I would call into the library to Julie, and with our masks on. I would get the peoples images and information from them, and run it up to the door, where Julie would meet me, and I would go back to my car and wait for her to scan and bring back their items, and thank them for their help.Their kindness in waiting as they did was very appreciated. This would happen. many many times. As my Mum used to say ‘where there’s a will there’s a way. Thanks Mum!
In the two previous books, they are about the community as a whole of both Macomb and Washington, and I included churches, shops, schools, etc. but the stories I would hear about the farming families and the lives they lived was so fascinating and interesting, I really had no idea about the life these hard working and necessary people lived.
In moving on I realized I could hopefully tell the stories of these families and make people more aware, through the nine townships north of Hall Road. Many of the farms are no longer here, because of progress and development. But many are still working the land as hard as ever. I found that for the communities it is much more profitable for developers to come in and build subdivisions than having the revenue from the farm land, really forgetting just how important the farming and what these families are doing for the communities themselves. I would learn about the first Rhubarb Festival, and where Macomb County was known for being the ‘Rhubarb Capital of the World’ next to Washington State. I loved the stories of the Donley’s, originally from Ballyporeen, Ireland, then of Lenox Township and their cabin now safely in the hands of the Richmond Area Historical Society’s, ‘Bailey Park’. Or the little girl whose family teased her about getting a farm for her birthday she didn’t really want at 10 years old.
As I was asked many times, if I had grown up on a farm, my answer was always no, I was raised in the city. So for me, doing this book was a learning experience as have all my books been. I hope if you get a chance, either to purchase or to borrow from your local library, you will take this trip, I hope you will find well worth making.
On that ‘wee note’, till next week.
Thank you to my editor Angel Prohaska and everyone at Arcadia Publishing for the opportunities they have given me in getting these books out to the public.
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Linda Osborne Cynowa 