Down in the Country: On Grandpa's Farm (Max Ellis Fireside Series)

Life in 1928 rural America before the Great Depression was otherworldly. Contrary to popular belief, things were actually rather pleasant and simple before the twentieth century’s great crash, which forced most of America to resort to survival of the fittest. Many families were wondering where the next dollar was coming from, and they were scraping to get their next meal. People were doing drastic things because they felt hopeless as they watched their life savings dribble away in the stock market. Many people were in the stock market—even the guy who sold meat in the local grocery. But contrary to popular belief, the first half of the century was not all about the Great Depression.

During that time period, life was hard, but farmers were hardly depressed. As opposed to the grim stories being played out in the cities, there were great success stories and grand adventures happening down on the family farm. These hardy rural people, who had survived for generations making things happen regardless of the obstacles, were doing life quite well.

Some of my richest and most rewarding experiences were during my time spent on my grandparents’ farmstead in southern Indiana. When I visited, it was like traveling to another world. It was a world hidden away by itself, where it was as though time stood still. I learned and experienced many awesome things down on the farm—things that burned into my mind life lessons I’ll never forget. It forever changed and shaped me, and I’m so grateful to God that He blessed me with this season of my life.

I wrote this book to surface a few of those down-home experiences to give the world a flavor of this humble and peaceful, yet very determined, way of life. This microcosm called “the farm” was an independent and self-contained little oasis. It was able to provide all my family’s needs and sustain them during the good times and the bad times. These country folks were creative, strong, and hard-working. They’re the definition of work ethic. That positive attitude to keep plowing ahead regardless of circumstances won the day. Regardless of the weather or whether or not they were sick, the cows got milked, machines got fixed, and hay got baled.

Most of what I’ve documented is a true story. Some things have been stretched and embellished to make them more interesting to the reader. The structure of the story I’m telling has two levels. The main story is told from my eyes and ears as I spent time visiting my grandparents on their farm in the decades after 1928. Things are slow to change in the country, and many things were just as they were in the twenties. The other story is told by the diary that Grandpa updated every day. He recorded daily happenings and, at the end of the year, marked the year on the front of the journal and started a new one the next year. These daily sound bites paint a narrative of the farmer’s life, including the highs and lows, the struggles and triumphs. I have selected many of these diary entries and peppered them throughout the book to give a bird’s-eye view of how my grandpa saw things happening in 1928.

The unique thing about the 1928 diary and why my siblings and I inherited it was that there was an entry in it on October 15 about a little girl being born in the farmhouse. That was my mom. It has been a blessing that we inherited this window to Grandpa’s world the year before the wheels came off the country’s financial system, resulting in the Stock Market Crash of 1929.

Please enjoy—and for some of you older folks, reminisce—as you read this book. I hope you’ll learn and maybe have a few laughs along the way. I’ll always be proud to call these people from the farm my family and friends.