You’ve Got A Tight Connection To My Heart

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I started this blog in Tumblr, however for those of you who don’t have a Tumblr account but would like to comment on my blogs all the same, this is for you! I’ll post random thoughts and current events that are direct correlations to the 19th century and what I’ve documented in my book, “Oh! Susannah”. Give me your thoughts and feedback. I’d love to hear what you think of the subjects I put out there for discussion. So, “Has Anybody Seen My (Blog) Love?”

We're better off now, right?

As I'm driving into work this morning, I found myself directly behind this flatbed truck stacked high with rectangular-tied bales of hay. I've been there and done that! Not here in Ohio, but in "the back blocks" at Ruapekapeka Pa, my then father-in-law's piece of paradise in rural Northland New Zealand. There were 80 hectares of mostly hilly, ridged terrain, but, it fed his dry stock and kept him busy throughout the year. The "back blocks" also produced the hay he needed to feed his cattle not only on this piece of land, but his other parcel at Matawaia.

So, it's Christmas, mid summer for those in the southern hemisphere, and yes, we have had our "Christmas Pud", so it's now "all hands on deck" baling hay. It's hot as blazes. I'm relatively fit, not the 60 something body I'm carting around now. And yet, throwing those bales of hay onto that flat bed during the heat of the day, did me in. I was given a reprieve and allowed to jump on top and "stack" as the younger blokes did the heavy lifting.

Aside from my numerous learning experiences with my father-in-law come farmer, I know nothing about farming. This didn't deter me using my hands-on experience down under and massive amounts of research, to establish a narrative of what it was really like to live and farm a rural piece of land during the 19th century. You'll find in my recently released historical fiction, "Oh! Susannah", a chapter I've titled "Farming Rules The Day." This is because, back in the 1800's, nearly everyone was a farmer or a farm hand. In my research, census record after census record shows at the head of the sheet, under the "Occupation" column, "farmer" or "farm hand" and then a series of ditto marks thereafter. Farming back then, as an occupation, is what we know Computer Science to be today. Check out my website: www.beckleysbooks.com to see pictures relating to this chapter in the site's photo gallery.

In 1840, 1,344 Perry Township, Carroll County Ohio farmers produced 1,145 acres of wheat, 781 acres of corn and other crops such as oats, timothy and clover. In the 1990's, Dennis Paul's New Zealand hectares produced hay. Following that flatbed this morning took me back to "the good ole days". On the truck this morning, the bales were stacked six high and what looked to be six long, doubled at the width and stropped down rather well. I've followed a good number of these "Bedfords" down under, but coming across this flatbed today was a rarity for me here. I've spoken to a number of people in Northeast Ohio whilst I've been on this current book tour and many have mentioned how a farm that had been handed down through the generations of family now was either being sold to "developers" for the building of residential homes and commercial builders, or the farm was simply being left to sit vacant because nobody now a days wanted to work it. My take on this is one of sadness, similar to when on my travels I see farm houses and barns in obvious disrepair. Yes, sadly, our country has exchanged the act of producing something for the act of consuming something. Can we continue to "buy" our way to prosperity? Then, there is the current labor shortage, but I'll unpack that topic later in another blog.

We're better off today, right? We have all of these "things", few of which are actually produced here in this country, but that the farming families couldn't have even fathomed back then. However, back then, the work week included 70 hours routinely and ended on Saturday, allowing Sunday for the obligatory day of rest and church service. Today, many of us work "remotely" from home and some may still clock in the standard 40 hours, but in comparison with our forefather's, how strenuous are they?

I'll close with mentioning the flashback that hit me as I saw the strands of hay peel away from the bales and fly towards the windscreen of my car this morning. The year is 1974. the hill is in Canton, Ohio - directly behind the then "Mellet Mall". The final instruction from my father was, if your brakes fail on this test run of our soap box derby car, "take a hit from the bale of hale". Yes, there were volunteer fathers at the bottom of this track and if the derby car was still traveling at 30 mph after the finish line, a bale of hale was thrown at the car's nose to slow it down. My brakes worked so I never took the hit, but the dude with suspect brakes didn't get the memo and he swerved to avoid the bale of hay thrown at him and consequently rumbled over an abandoned lot of uneven terrain and simply disappeared over the ridge and into the line of traffic on the distant road.

We're better off today, right? I suppose if you no longer are part of the production for the feeding of America and the world, at least ensure you have the latest AI app, so you'll get the message in time to "take the hit" from that bale of hay that could be coming your way.

ARE WE BETTER OFF NOW?

Welcome and thanks for checking out my blog. While this is my first official "blog", I actually began "blogging" back in 1989/90. I didn't know that I was "blogging", one might consider it a "Pre-Historic Blog". God bless Cara Ogier, my personal assistant at the time. She religiously faxed my famous "Gary's Ticker Tape" messages to all my real estate colleagues several times a week, for years on end! It was my way to inform all of my co-workers of my real estate listings and the odd "coming and goings" of the trade. Nobody else "blogged" at the time; it was unheard of. I just knew that I had to make the most of this latest cutting edge invention, the fax machine. I even faxed my colleagues whilst on my holiday in Honolulu in 1988. Cost me $10USD to simply say, "Having a great time", but it was worth every cent to be on the cutting edge of technology.

Fast forward to 2023 in warp speed, and here I am "blogging" again. Put this down to my recently released historical fiction, "Oh! Susannah". Yeah, it might seem like warp speed, but in reality, ten years' worth of research went into this 700+ page book, and then there was the two and a half years of diligently putting pen to paper and crafting the storyline. Yep, that's right. The facts came first and foremost, then the fictional storyline was woven. Devon from the prestigious "Loganberry Books" stated in his review of my work, "Beckley effortlessly weaves fact and fiction ... (and) if you like Alex Haley, you'll like Gary Beckley." Ok, I never expected that, but all my efforts were focused on bringing to life my third great grandmother, a woman who gave her short life in devotion to her family. Susannah Reigle Beckley is the person who was responsible for instilling in our family the principles, which have held firm and true down through the generations. And yet, there was no acknowledgement of her contribution. For God's sake, nobody is for sure even where her final resting place is. I have a clue. I believe from my research, that she rests unknown in an unmarked grave in an elevated sunny plot within the Arabia Cemetery in Carroll County, Ohio. You can purchase the book on my website: www.beckleysbooks.com or through Amazon and Barnes & Noble to learn more.

But, I digress. We're better off today, right? Susannah was born in 1830, married on June 17, 1852, and died November 23, 1869, a mere 39 year old lass and mother of 9 children. My website is where you will see gobs of pictures of people, places and things within the photo gallery, which mirrors the chapters in the book. I've been told that my research and writing brings the reader to the front and center of what it was like in the 19th century as a woman. Do you want to know my biggest surprise from my research efforts? Women weren't necessarily forced to live the subservient role back then, many of them embraced it. Brought up to fulfill "The True Womanhood" model from the age of twelve, 19th century women fashioned their life around the upbringing of their children in hopes that the children would reach heaven and that as mother's they would be remembered. This simple desire, and knowing that nobody knew anything of Susannah Reigle's life and contribution, convinced me that I just had to tell her story.

So, what was it really like living life in rural northeast Ohio during the civil war? Was it that much different than the life we lead today? Well, yes and no. When it comes to relational matters within the family, married frontier women had transitioned from an equal partnership with their husband to a subservient role and had accepted the fallacy that they were only capable of achieving a singular result from their efforts, either focus on their family or divert their attention and resources elsewhere at the expense of the family. The follow up to this perceived truth was the accepted notion that women had no standing within the law, not even the rights to their own children! It was an all too familiar and easy slip down the societal slope then, of embracing the feeble, emotionally and physically weak perception of women as a whole. It was an accepted arrangement that worked well, particularly for the men at the time, for if it hadn't been for the "womenfolk at home" embodying the glue that held the family together, there would have been no functioning family unit.

It doesn't surprise me that today women are still the main, and sometimes, sole caregivers to their children. When it comes to instilling life principles and ethics, often that falls upon the mamas of today too. Back in Susannah's day, the sole guardian of reproduction rights fell upon the woman. I address this in my book in the chapter labeled, "The Birth Control Battlefield". Is it much different today? Newspaper editors back in the 19th century printed advertisements from the local pharmacist specifically aimed at young new-to-be brides. Carefully coded, but clearly understood, verbage and instruction of what products she would need to collect from them before her wedding night. Abortion was a recognized and frequently used option by women of this era. In many instances, self administered "folk" treatments were attempted by pregnant women. The results of some of these self harm methods affected these women for the remainder of their life. Sadly, I address this topic in my book too, but, what about today? Are we any better off today than those women 170 years ago? Last year the United States Supreme Court put in motion with their historic overturning of the accepted law of the land, Roe V Wade, a cataclysmic shift in the life of today's women. It brought in focus the question of the rights of a woman over her own body and her reproductive rights. The ripple affect of this decision across the nation washes ashore in Ohio tomorrow, as buckeyes vote on a statewide issue concerning the rules regulating the amending of the State's constitution. So, what does that have to do with anything? Simply put, one political party wants to alter the standing rule of the simple majority, when it comes to constitutional amends, to exact a 60% clear majority to make the change. Rumor has it, that if this "issue" doesn't pass in tomorrow's election, "women's rights activists" may persuade just enough voters in the November election to codify the woman's right to an abortion.

Allow me to unpack this matter from an historical perspective. Difference of opinion and political philosophy has existed from the very birthing of this country. In 1840, parties were officially formed and recognized as convenient conduits to package and push the party line. In my humble opinion as a political scientist, the only reason political parties exist is to fan their base with the particular "truth" the party faithful want to hear and believe. Cue the 19th century. Men and women lived their lives back then believing in what they wanted to be the true and right social norm. I couldn't help responding to a recent post by a woman online of the persuasion that she and everyone she knew should vote "yes" on Issue 1 because "the majority should rule". I asked a simple question of her, "What does one call 50.1%?"

I'm not here to debate the pros and cons of abortion, just to point out from a broader perspective, that both political parties are experts at packaging their message to their base, who in turn are encouraged to recruit others to their cause. Where does these arguments, though, leave the pregnant woman in today's society. What options does she have in this circumstance? Alas, I apologize for digressing once again.

We're better off now, right? I'd love to know your thoughts. Don't be shy. Your opinion counts here on my "ticker tape" blog. I may or may not agree with you, but I'd love to hear what your thoughts are. Imagine on any given Sunday morning across this great land of ours, in the sanctuaries of all the churches that abound, preachers could be interrupted during their sermon and questioned, and congregants could express their opinions on the subject matter at hand, as opposed to being "preached" to. I certainly don't want my blog to resemble or reflect me "preaching my gospel", so, let's have some discourse. Who knows? From discussion of differences, on a whole, we might come to better understanding of one another, and in doing so, perhaps we'll be able to answer the question - "We're better off now, right?"