Before tractors or steam engines arrived on the farm, horses did all the heavy work. From spring plowing to the fall harvest, the mighty draft horse powered farms across the Midwest. Relied upon to complete a multitude of tasks, including towing threshing machines and plows, hauling milk to the local cheese factory, and pulling the family buggy to church each Sunday, these animals were at the center of farm life, cementing the bond between human and horse.Horse-Drawn Days: A Ce...

Limping through LifeA Farm Boy’s Polio MemoirJerry Apps“Families throughout the United States lived in fear of polio throughout the late 1940s and early 1950s, and now the disease had come to our farm. I can still remember that short winter day and the chilly night when I first showed symptoms. My life would never be the same.”—from the IntroductionPolio was epidemic in the United States starting in 1916. By the 1930s, quarantines and s...

Stories of fishing with family and friends by beloved author Jerry AppsFrom his first experiences going fishing with his pa as a boy, Jerry Apps was hooked. Eighty-some years later, Apps reflects on a lifetime of fishing and the memories and lessons hauled in along the way. As he recounts the simple pleasures of casting a line from shore on a warm summer evening or reeling in a lunker on opening day of trout season, he reminds us of the values fishing can teach peo...

From the winner of the 2014 Regional Emmy Award for A Farm Winter with Jerry AppsJerry Apps, renowned author and veteran storyteller, believes that storytelling is the key to maintaining our humanity, fostering connection, and preserving our common history. In Telling Your Story, he offers tips for people who are interested in telling their own stories. Readers will learn how to choose stories from their memories, how to journal, and find tips for writing and oral storytelling as well as J...

In this combination memoir and craft book, award-winning author Jerry Apps shares the next phase in his life story begun in Limping through Life and Once a Professor. Beginning with a boyhood surrounded by storytellers, Jerry takes readers along on his path to becoming one of the Midwest’s best-known and most revered writers. In characteristic no-nonsense style, he shares the joys, disappointments, and frustrations of the writing life and describes the genesis and creatio...

“From the ring of the ax in the woods, to the scream of the saw blade in the mill, to the founding of many of Wisconsin’s communities, Jerry Apps does an outstanding job bringing Wisconsin’s logging and lumbering heritage to life.”—Kerry P. Bloedorn, director, Rhinelander Pioneer Park Historical ComplexFor more than half a century, logging, lumber production, and affiliated enterprises in Wisconsin’s Northwoods provided jobs for tens of thousands of Wisconsinites and wealth for man...

In an updated and expanded edition of a timeless classic, bestselling author Jerry Apps has written and collected oft-spoken phrases, observations, comments, and conundrums celebrating country life and rural living. Black and white photographs by Steve Apps, an award-winning photojournalist, complement the text that offers humorous, touching, and unique glimpses into the lighter side of life in the Midwest.

Farm boy professor shares a life of lessons.“I never wanted to be a professor,” writes Jerry Apps in the introduction to Once a Professor. Yet a series of unexpected events and unplanned experiences put him on an unlikely path—and led to a thirty-eight-year career at the University of Wisconsin.In this continuation of the Apps life story begun in his childhood memoir Limping through Life, Wisconsin’s celebrated rural storyteller shares stories from his years at the Universi...

Timeless Wisdom for a Modern WorldLetters from Hillside Farm is a deeply personal and evocative collection of essays that captures the essence of Midwestern farm life. Through a series of "letters," acclaimed author Jerry Apps reflects on the rhythms of the seasons, the hard work of the land, and the quiet beauty of the natural world. Drawing on his own experiences growing up on a Wisconsin farm during the Depression and World War II, Apps...

A popular collection of memories and recollections from people who learned at and taught in one-room schools in Wisconsin, including former pupil Jerry Apps, the book’s author.

Scott Olson is the County Extension Agent for Ames County. He wants to solve the problems between the folks in his county after a rock with a disturbing message crashes through the window during a community meeting. Along with his coworkers, he tries to bring calm to a contentious community, while figuring out how to balance the dangers of his efforts with convincing his long-time love and coworker that he can make the time for her that she deserves.

Step into the garden with writer and rural historian Jerry Apps. In this treasure trove of tips, recollections, and recipes, Jerry combines his hard-earned advice for garden success with a discussion of how tending a garden leads to a deeper understanding of nature and the land. From planning and planting to fending off critters and weeds, he walks us through the gardening year, imbuing his story with humor and passion and once again reminding us that working even a small piece of land pro...