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An evocative memoir of life on a dairy farm in Minnesota’s St. Croix Valley, Memory of Trees is a multigenerational story of Gayla Marty’s family farm near Rush City, Minnesota. Cleared from woodlands by her great-grandfather Jacob in the 1880s, the farm passed to her father, Gordon, and his brother, Gaylon. Hewing to a conservative Swedish Baptist faith, the two brothers worked the farm, raising their families in side-by-side houses.

As the years go by, the families grow — and slowly grow apart. Uncle Gaylon, more doctrinaire in his faith, rails against the permissiveness of Gayla’s parents. Financial tensions arise as well when the farm economy weakens and none of the children is willing or able to take over. Gayla is encouraged to leave for college, international travel and city life, but the farm remains essential to her sense of self, even after the family decides to sell the land.

When Gaylon has an accident on a tractor, Gayla becomes driven to reconnect with him and to find out why she and her uncle — once so close but now estranged — were the only two members of the family who resisted selling the land. Guided by vivid images of the farm’s many beautiful trees, she pores over sacred and classical works as well as layers of her own memory to understand the forces that have transformed the American landscape and culture in the last half of the 20th century. Beneath the belief in land as a giver of life and blessings, she discovers a powerful anxiety born of human uprootedness and loss.

Movingly written, Memory of Trees will resonate for many with attachments to small towns or farms, whether they continue to work the land or, like so many, have left for a different life.

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This comprehensive guide provides detailed information on farm tractors produced from 1939 through 2012. Included is information covering approximate retail prices when new, plus a range of estimated used retail values. Estimated trade-in values are also included to help you determine the approximate cash value or loan value for a tractor. In addition, this guide contains specification information on engine size, transmission speeds and PTO horsepower.

Also included is a special section listing serial numbers, allowing you to determine the year a tractor was built. The Official Tractor Blue Book is a valuable resource for anyone buying, selling or trading used tractors. It is updated and published annually.

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Stalwart and powerful, oxen can plow fields, haul stones, assist in logging, improve roads and demonstrate traditional farming techniques. And they are stronger, steadier, less expensive and easier to keep than draft horses. Here is the definitive guide to selecting, training, feeding and caring for working oxen. With proper care and training, oxen can be a dependable, economical alternative to heavy machinery on small working farms.

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Although the American cowboy has long been a favorite subject for novelists, filmmakers and illustrators, too often the picture painted of them bears little relation to reality. Philip Ashton Rollins, who lived in the West on and off between 1892 and 1924, set out to create a more accurate portrait of this enduring icon. Based on what he himself witnessed, this fascinating study discusses what exactly makes a cowboy, as well as cowboy weaponry, clothing, saddles and equipment; the "cowboy character"; and a cowboy's work. In addition, Rollins describes the history of ranching in the United States, the raising of horses and cattle, livestock rustling, and more.

This remarkable book is perhaps the most accurate and detailed description of the real-life American cowboy ever written. Here Rollins describes the beginnings of ranching in America, and how horses and cattle were raised. He details, with flair and expertise, everything about the cowboy and his work — his tools and weapon, his clothes and tack, the specialized skills he perfected, and the life he led while on the range. He explains that there was really no typical American cowboy and definitively separates fact from legend. A wonderful resource for anybody who lives or loves the cowboy life, this book is an incredible record of these men, their lives and their work.

About the author
Philip Ashton Rollins, a graduate of Princeton, traveled extensively in the West and wrote about its people and their work.

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This conversation with one of the pre-eminent figures in farm tractor history features insights that could only be learned from being there. Harold Brock worked intimately with Henry Ford, Edsel Ford and Henry Ford Jr. He personally met Thomas Edison, Harry Ferguson and many other legends of modern invention and industry.

In this DVD, Harold talks about his days as a youth at the Ford Apprentice School and how that led to meeting and working with Henry Ford and being brought into the small engineering department shepherded by Mr. Ford. The conversation covers how Ford met Harry Ferguson and, perhaps more importantly, how the Ford design team ultimately dealt with Ferguson. Time is also spent talking about the history of Ford Motor Company and some of the key players like “Cast Iron” Charlie Sorensen, Eugene Farkas, George Sherman and other key engineers at Ford.

At 113 minutes, this DVD is almost two hours long, with supporting images from the N-News archives. The DVD includes a slideshow of additional Ford-related photos collected over the years. This is an excellent opportunity to hear about the historic development of the Ford N series tractors from a man who was at the center of it all.

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In the farm home of America’s past, the hearth of the home – the kitchen – represented the warmth and well-being of the family that met daily to enjoy hearty, homemade food and converse with pleasure. Award-winning artist Bob Artley evokes this ideal in this beautiful homage to the traditional Midwestern farm kitchen. Filled with heirloom family recipes and cozy memories and accompanied by Artley’s signature pen-and-ink drawings and full-color illustrations, this memoir provides a nostalgic and affectionate look at rural life, family and food from a simpler time.

Peppered with 28 traditional family recipes Dorothy Harchanko gathered from farm wives of the era – including entries for Apple Pie, Carrot Jam and Ice Box Cookies – the chapters provide a description of the farm kitchen; discuss the family larder, cellar and attic; and examine the many ways in which the kitchen served as the center of the farm family’s universe. Used as a medical dispensary, nursery, laundry room, scriptorium, and, of course, gathering place to eat, the kitchen of Artley’s past now gives him the space to tell his unique story in words, with food and through his excellent and unforgettable artwork.

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John Wayne is the most iconic cowboy actor of all time. His style brought to life a whole troupe of western characters, from rancher to cowboy to sheriff to scout. During his long career — in which he starred in more than 175 films — Wayne's work became fundamental to our understanding of the Old West. But how much of what we saw in his movies was "real"? In John Wayne's Wild West, you will learn about the equipment, weapons, clothes, tack, boots and other paraphernalia featured in Wayne's Westerns, including his personal favorite gun, the Winchester carbine. John Wayne's Wild West is the book for fans of John Wayne movies and for history buffs alike.

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John Steinbeck famously christened Route 66 America’s “Mother Road” in The Grapes of Wrath, and that chapter about Tom Joad’s exodus is just one of the classic pieces collected in this ultimate anthology. Here’s history, roadside attractions, pop culture, ghost stories—even recipes from famous greasy spoons. And it’s all illustrated with the largest collection of vintage art, postcards, travel decals, collectibles and other memorabilia ever amassed. This is a truly a worthy tribute to the Main Street of America.

Hide The Farmer’s Wife Harvest Cookbook includes more than 300 recipes for feeding folks — and in some cases, a lot of folks — during the harvest months. Some of the recipes will help you put together a simple, informal hot meal for friends and family; others will help you figure out what to do with your own garden and farmer’s market bounty; and still others will help you solve the riddle of what to bring along to, or even cook over an open flame. All recipes first appeared on the pages of The Farmer’s Wife magazine and have been updated for use in modern kitchens.

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Alternative Energy Secrets focuses on overlooked fuels. In its pages, you'll find extensive information regarding waste oils and their inexpensive conversion to useful fuels. Also included are plans for a super fast oil collector trailer that picks up 200 gallons in a few minutes and does not form water emulsion like a gear pump will. Author Stephen Chastain describes oil cracking, blending, filtering, testing, and the construction of centrifuges to clean waste oils and make them suitable for use in home heating or as diesel fuel. Also covered is the construction of waste oil burners and heaters, tips on off-grid power generation and converting your car to diesel. This book is a practical how to text containing very unusual material. A must have for alternative energy users!