OP: Founding Farms: Portraits of Five Massachusetts Family Farms
The University of Massachusetts Press, Amherst, 1993. Paperback. Very Good Plus.
As family farms disappear—giving way to corporate monocultures, urban sprawl, or less grueling careers—their existence feels increasingly anachronistic, whether we like it to or not. Journalist Michael E. C. Gery, along with photographer Stan Sherer, both Massachusetts residents, share a nostalgic and historic appreciation for local farms which have been in the same family for centuries.
In Founding Farms (1993) the duo join forces to tell the stories of five such farms—all of which are still operational, by the way—Appleton Farm in Ipswich, Arrowhead Farm in Newburyport, Barker Farm in North Andover, Luther Belden Farm in North Hatfield, and Scott Farm in Hawley.
Heavily illustrated with Sherer’s moody black and white photography, Gery’s interviews evoke a deep connection to the country’s agricultural history while also noting a palpable concern for the future of these farms, specifically, and all others like them by extension.
Our copy could be described almost as new, save for a deep scratch to the spine, which in no way affects the soundness of the binding.
