“Never curse the rain.” Words my father used when my brothers and I
complained that what we had planned we couldn’t do because of the rain.
Our western
Waushara County farm was sandy and droughty.
It always was in need of a good rain to raise any crops at all. Some years the rains came regularly and our hay,
oat, corn, and cash crop of potatoes did reasonably well. But too many years the rains did not come
regularly. During the dust-bowl years of
the Great Depression the rains came not at all.
I have always been one to welcome rain, celebrate it
and let others know how important it is.
This last week stretched my long-held belief to near, but not quite, the
breaking point. From last Tuesday
evening to Thursday morning, it rained seven inches at my farm—which is but two
miles from where I grew up. A small pond
had emerged on the west side of my garden.
My un-paved driveway had puddles and little patches of mud where they
had never been. Water ran under my shed
door and soaked the dirt floor—not really a problem as it soon disappeared.
Somewhat ironical, my recently completed filming of
another public television documentary—you guessed it--is titled “Never Curse
The Rain.” The show is based on my new
book with that same title to be published by the Wisconsin Historical Society
Press. Both the TV show and the book will
be available in March 2017.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS:
Welcome the rain. All living
creatures depend on it.
Workshop:
Writing From Your Life:
Offered at The Clearing, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on October 28. Call 920-854-4088 to learn more and to
register.
Upcoming
Events:
September 29, Whitewater Library, 6:00 p.m. Roshara Journal.
October 1, 9-5,”How to tell your personal story.” Writing Workshop, Edgerton, Masonic Lodge. Call 608-884-3367 for further information.
October 2, Mystery to Me Book Store, Madison. 2:00 p.m. Roshara
Journal.
October 6-7, Heartland Book Forum, Minneapolis.
October 15, 7:00 p.m. Wisconsin Writer’s Association, Riverwalk
Hotel, 123 E. Wisconsin Avenue, Neenah, WI Keynote speech.
October 28, 9-4. Writing
from your life—writing workshop at the Clearing in Door County (see above for
details)
November 3, 6:30. Rock
Springs Public Library, 6:30.
November 5, 11:00 a.m. Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose,
Roshara Journal
November 10, 7:00 p.m. Menomonie Falls Public Library. One-Room
Schools
Purchase Jerry’s DVDS and
his Books from the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose, Wisconsin (a
fundraiser for them):
The library now has available signed
copies of Jerry’s DVDs:
Emmy Winner, A Farm
Winter with Jerry Apps (based on The Quiet Season
book.)
Jerry Apps a Farm
Story (based on Rural Wit and
Wisdom and Old Farm books.)
The Land with Jerry Apps, (based on the book Whispers and Shadows.)
Also available are several of Jerry’s signed books including:
Jerry’s newest novel, The Great Sand Fracas of Ames County.
and Wisconsin
Agriculture: A History.
Jerry’s newest books, Roshara Journal (with
photos by Steve Apps) and Telling Your Story—a guide book for those who
want to write their stories—are also available.
Contact
the library for prices and special package deals.
Patterson
Memorial Library
500 Division Street
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