Death of the Dream - Farmhouses in the Heartland (William G. Gabler, 1999)

(128 pages)

Gift from my parents a couple decades back - I had seen it at their home and requested a copy. The book is based on a PBS series documenting (mostly through photos, though I've not seen the documentary) the types of homes built on prairie farms in late 19th century and on into the 20th century. This book is focused on south-southwest Minnesota and the homes look just like those common on the farms I grew up around in the 1960s.

Beautiful photography; evocative; sad - as happened with the home I grew up in and my grandparents' "house on the hill" - after no one lived there any more, the homes fell apart in a pretty consistent pattern. The photos in this book were taken when the homes were in this falling-apart condition.  We have similar photos of the two homes I mention ("house on the hill" being more similar in design to the SW Minnesota homes in this book). There are a few photos included of select homes in their "prime", with family members included.

Much enjoyed, including the 38-page text beginning chapter that provides good background on the arrival of the settlers and the construction of these homes.

I'm glad to own this.

An Iowa Album - A Photographic History, 1860-1920 (Mary Bennett, 1990)

(319 pages)

I have several books about Iowa that were given to me by my parents - back in the days when I told my mom that was the preferred gift when she inquired about Christmas presents.  This is one of them,

And it was a joy to parse through.  The years 1860-1920, at least the latter half, were years through which my great-grandparents and grandparents passed - and many of the photographs and descriptive text resonate closely to what little I picked up from them about those early years.  Also resonates with the photos and text in the marvelous 1976 St. Joseph Parish history book that my parents did so much to put together.

I was born in 1956, and was struck by how close in time that birth-year was to the events and lifestyle in the latter part of this book. Nearly 70 years later, those events and lifestyle seem very far away indeed.

Early settlers; rapid growth; evolution of agricultural techniques; nicer homes; arrival of railroads; nascent automobile presence; the towns grow up.

The book is focused on photography, and has interesting information about available methods and equipment throughout the period.

Much enjoyed reading, and I will continue to page through this one.