![]() That love of land-and the labor behind it-provides the backdrop for a generational cycle well-known in farm families: building and losing a farm, skimping on extras in down times, the trial of making a successful harvest. What emerges is a common set of themes: grit, small-scale community, an appreciation of the land, and the type of humbleness that has defined rural Vermonters for decades. Holmes’ family story acts as a framework to examine greater trends in Vermont-and the identity of its residents. The chronicle examines not only the ups and downs of daily farm life, but also how the broader events of the century impacted the local business: the Spanish flu outbreak of 1918, World War I and more. “In many ways, this lovely book is about place and how a family is affected by place, and how a home translates (with a bit of luck) to a self,” said Jay Parini, an acclaimed Vermont-based novelist, biographer and poet.īy fastening his eye on his family and its past, Parini said that Holmes finds a “vivid present” in his book. The farm’s 101-year enterprise crumbled due to foreclosure in 1923, and Holmes traces the resulting diaspora of his family and its transformation in a single generation. It was also a leading breeder of horses whose heritage can be traced to the Morgan horse-the Vermont state animal and one of the earliest American horse breeds. The Holmes farm, run by the author’s ancestors, boasted one of the largest apple orchards in New England and pioneered several techniques in the field. “It is grounded in Holmes’ own family history and the detailed record found in letters and other documents,” Moats said, calling the book “rich in detail and insight.” “Holmes’ new book is an important contribution to our understanding of Vermont’s history as a frontier region settled by tough, hard-working farmers and how that history shaped Vermont’s character up to the present day,” said David Moats, a Pulitzer Prize–winning Vermonter journalist. Published in October, the book draws on firsthand documents, photos and more to piece together a family history. ![]() ![]() The Holmes farm existed on Lake Champlain south of the Holmes Covered Bridge for 101 years until its demise in 1923. The book, On Being a Vermonter and the Rise of Fall of the Holmes Farm 1822-1923, is the first case study of a Vermont farm from the early 1800s to the early 1900s. A new book by Vermont author David Holmes probes what it means to be a Vermonter through chronicling the history of his family’s multigenerational farm. ![]()
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