My mother was the author of a popular local newspaper column in the early 1980s. She had worked her way up from proofreader to social editor to reporter, when her editor, who enjoyed listening to her stories about life in the country, asked if she would write a column.

The Daily Argus Observer was smack dab in the middle of Idaho and Oregon farming country, so catered to the population with a special weekly insert called the AcreAge. It is here that my mother’s column became a local favorite.

I wanted to find a way to share these articles with my mother’s seven siblings who often appear in her writings as she remembers growing up on the farm with them on land that my grandparents homesteaded in the 1940s. I hope they will add comments to each blog post as I’m sure there is more than one version of every story she told!

Looking back, I don’t know how my mom did it all. She worked full-time, raised four kids, and still managed to somehow run a fairly productive 2-acre plot of land complete with cows, chickens, a pony, dogs and cats galore, a huge garden, and the occasional pig. And all of it during a time that her health was poor.

I don’t think I ever told my mom how proud of her I was for her writing and storytelling skill, and in fact, as a narcissistic teenager, I no doubt grumbled with embarrassment when my name appeared in her column. I hope this blog makes up for that just a little bit.

Love you Mom!

Deanna Evans Ziegler, circa 1981