The Shepherd Farm Series
Mandevilla Outlook
1st in The Shepherd Farm Series
The Mandevilla is a common adornment for the dinner bell pole. The pole frames the tractor/equipment barn, also wherein small amounts of hay and tobacco were housed. Many hours have been spent playing in this barn, climbing the tobacco rails and jumping in the hay, hiding to escape chores (from time to time).
Haven for Mothers
2nd in The Shepherd Farm Series
With the entire loft full of hay, the cattle stalls beneath provided safety and shelter for the many milk cows and their babies over the years. When my brother milked a cow, the barn cats could be assured of a face dripping with fresh warm milk. If they weren’t present at the time and I was… well, I unwillingly took their place!
Feeding Time, Tobacco, or Fish
#3 The Shepherd Farm Series
Driving past the cattle feeding pasture was the tractor and wagon weighed to capacity with Dad’s custom-made tobacco sticks encased with freshly cut tobacco. These were then hung between seven tiers of rails and left hanging for weeks to dry, strip, and get ready for market.
The fishing pond to the right gave us many hours of pleasure to rest our minds and meditate on catching a Blue Gill or Bass for dinner.
Where I grew up and where a big piece of my heart remains...
In 1939, Oka and Viola Shepherd married and established The Shepherd Farm, which spanned 195 acres of fertile soil. The farm is evidence of decades of hard work. Over the years, while Dad was working additional full-time jobs, he also raised cash crops that kept the farm afloat and active.
Small cash crops and farm produce such as strawberries, blackberries, fresh milk and butter, eggs, home-ground cornmeal, and molasses (just to name a few) helped the family financially -- but the larger crops: tobacco, corn, hay, and livestock were the crops that built the farm.
Although these crops were extremely important, the main crop (the crop that brought pleasure and pride to my parents the most) was their crop of nine children: six daughters and three sons.
"The Shepherd Farm" is a series of charcoal drawings from my memories and from photos taken over the years. After I got older, I began to realize the value of being part of this farm family. A bustling family of children taught to work together, laugh together, create together, play together, but most of all... to love each other and be kind to those who were not lucky enough to be a part of this big, noisy, wonderful family.
Each drawing represents a single scene, but creates a flood of memories and emotions.
I cherish these memories of life on the farm. They are swathed by loving thoughts of the couple (Mom and Dad) who gave me brothers and sisters and provided a beautiful, albeit simple, life. They taught us to work hard and play clean.
My parents were married 63 years when Dad passed away. Mom remained on the farm fifteen more years, faithful to my father and the memories they shared on the family farm. After nearly eight decades of history, this farm will always be honored and adored by their best (and favorite) "crop" -- generations of family!