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As I was packing all my belongings to be moved into our first house, my
husband asked why we have to take all my books. I have lots. Not quite a
library full but they can fill up quite a few shelves on the wall.
I admit I am a book nerd. I never want to get a Kindle or a Nook because
I want to be able to turn the page myself and to be able to smell the pages
of the book. Creepy. That's one word that came to my husband's mind
when I told him that.
My mother-in-law got me a book for Christmas called Population 485:
Meeting Your Neighbors One Siren At a Time written by Michael Perry. It's
about Perry's experience as a volunteer EMT in the small town of New
Auburn, Wisconsin where he literally meets all his neighbors one way or
another along with interacting with curious other characters such as One-
Eyed Beagle, another firefighter. It is comedic and has some headache as
they try to save so many people. He goes through how the town got its
name (which had changed three different times to finally stick with New
Auburn) and what it was like to grow up there.
A link was sent to be by my mom about a book written by Ben Logan
from Gays Mills titled A Land Remembers: A Story of a Farm and Its
People. Logan writes about his boyhood on a hilltop in the 1930s on
Seldom Seen Farm with his family and three brothers. Like Logan, my
mother too grew up in Gays Mills but during the 1960s, 30 years later. He
discusses his feelings towards the land he grew up on and being able to
have a strong attachment towards this piece of ground that will always be
with him. Logan recently died at the age of 94. An article was written about
him in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal about his writings.
I have yet to buy the book but have read some great reviews about the
book. I love books like these; from a small town and from Wisconsin. It
helps me get in touch with my writings (which have yet to be finished or
written) and the land around me in this great state. If anyone has any ideas
for books to read, preferably from Wisconsin, stop on in at the Chronicle
and let me know.