Photographs
Personal Statement
Being born and raised on a Nebraska farm, I grew up during
America’s transition away from the family farm. Through my photography,
I preserve a bit of yesterday’s rural world.
I’ve enjoyed photography as a hobby all my life. My husband gave
me a Nikon 35mm, in 1985 as a diversion from tenure angst (I am an assistant
professor/reference librarian at the University of Wisconsin-Stout). I
concentrated on wildflower and nature photography. In 1990, I started
photographing forgotten farms (abandoned farmsteads) and wondered why.
Only much later did I realize that time corresponded with the time my
parents moved from our family farm to retire in town. Seemingly, the photos
were my effort to preserve farms of the past.
Over the years, those who viewed my photographs and accompanying
narrative stories have responded very enthusiastically and almost always
with a reciprocal story about some barn or farm from their own life memories.
It seems most all of us have some country roots, farm remembrances or
a barn in our past.
I initially set out to document forgotten farm buildings. But during the
course of the project, I encountered some folks doing their best to retain
their farm buildings. They had a sense of pride and responsibility although
the structure might be in ill repair or unusable. I was inspired by their
effort, which is somewhat akin to my dedication to preserving photographic
memories of the family farm.
Every image is accompanied by narrative text. The narrative
includes historical, geographical, family or architectural anecdotes.
I like to say “The image is the story and the story is the image”
as each enhances the other.
In a time of international uncertainty, national patriotism, a surge of
nostalgia, and an interest in ancestral ties, good memories—of barns,
farms and a simpler way of life-- provide a grounding foundation for us
all.