Announcing the Third Book in the Rural Route 2 Series: Cream of
the Crop
Announcing the Third Book in the Rural Route 2 Series: Cream of
the Crop
COLFAX, WIS. -- "When I was a kid growing up on our dairy farm
in west central Wisconsin forty years ago, we didn't give it a
second thought if we went out to the milkhouse at least a couple
of times a month to get some cream to make whipped cream," said
LeAnn R. Ralph, author of the third book in her Rural Route 2
series: "Cream of the Crop (More True Stories from a Wisconsin
Farm)" (September 2005; trade paperback; 190 pages; ISBN
1591138205).
"If Mom baked a pineapple upside-down cake or a pie or a pound
cake, or if my big sister brought home ice cream and maraschino
cherries and bananas to make banana splits, we made whipped
cream to go along with it," Ralph said.
"We always had pie for dessert at Thanksgiving, Christmas and
Easter, too, and none of those holidays would have been the same
without whipped cream from our very own cows," she noted.
"I really miss those 'good old days,'" Ralph said. "We were
blissfully unaware that whipped cream wasn't very good for a
person, although I still say that even if whipped cream isn't
especially good for your arteries, an occasional indulge0nce is
good for the soul!"
Wisconsin has lost almost three-quarters of its dairy farms
since 1969. According to statistics from the United States
Census of Agriculture and the American Farm Bureau Federation,
forty years ago, Wisconsin had 60,000 dairy farms. In May 2004,
the number of dairy farms in Wisconsin was 15,591, according to
the Wisconsin Agricultural Statistics Service. Statistics from
the United States Census of Agriculture show the same trend for
the country as a whole. In 1969, more than a half a million
dairy farms operated in the United States. Today, only about
80,000 dairy farms are left.
"It used to be that you could drive up and down the roads in the
area where I grew up and see dairy farm after dairy farm after
dairy farm," Ralph said. "Today, most of those farms are gone,
and in fact, in 2004, the last dairy farmer in my immediate
neighborhood sold her herd of Jerseys. That's why I am writing
these books -- to help preserve a bit of our agricultural
history for future generations."
"Cream of the Crop" contains 20 true stories appropriate for
readers of all ages. Story titles include "What's in a Name,"
"She'll Be Comin' Round the Cornfield," "When It Rains, It
Pours," "The Experiment," "Chance of a Lifetime," "The Day After
Valentine's," "Gertrude and Heathcliff," and "Cream of the Crop."
Ralph also is the author of "Give Me a Home Where the Dairy Cows
Roam" (trade paperback; 195 pages; Sept. 2004; ISBN 1591135923 )
and "Christmas in Dairyland (True Stories from a Wisconsin
Farm)" (trade paperback; 156 pages; August 2003; ISBN 1591133661
).
According to The Midwest Book Review, Ralph's books are "highly
recommended reading."
To read sample chapters, book reviews, and other readers'
comments visit -- www. ruralroute2.com
Contact Information: LeAnn R. Ralph E6689 970th Ave. Colfax, WI
54730 (715) 962-3368 -- e-mail: bigpines@ruralroute2.com