This week we welcome Linda Ford to Author Memories.
Linda Ford is a multi-published author who lives on a ranch in Alberta, Canada. She thinks growing up on the prairie and learning to notice the small details it hides gave her an appreciation for watching God at work in His creation. Her upbringing also included being taught to trust God in everything and through everything—a theme that resonates in her stories. Threads of another part of her life are found in her stories—her concern for children and their future. She and her husband raised 14 children — 4 homemade, 10 adopted. She currently shares her home and life with her husband, a grown son, a live-in paraplegic client and a continual (and welcome) stream of kids, kids-in-law, grandkids and assorted friends and relatives.
A Larger Than Life Hero
by Linda Ford
My Father-in-law was a legend.
He was the seventh son of the seventh son which was proof enough that he was destined for great things.
He was the seventh son of the seventh son which was proof enough that he was destined for great things.
Pop is the younger boy on the lower right
All of the children were handsome and smart. He is the younger boy on the lower right. He was born and raised in Ontario, Canada and married a woman from down there.
Pop and 2 women, early 1900's
But during WW l he wanted to sign up and defend his country. His mother absolutely forbid it so to contribute to the war effort, he and a brother moved west to the prairies. They would farm and raise food for the troops. Trouble was, my f-i-l was more of an inventor than a farmer. Which wasn’t always a bad thing. Known to his family as Pop, he came up with a number of innovative ways to make the work easier and bragged he could fix anything with a piece of No. 9 wire and some gum.
These pictures illustrated some of his attempts to make haying easier.
His wife died of pneumonia leaving him with 7 youngsters, the youngest not yet out of diapers. Somehow he managed. I’ve lost the picture of him scrubbing diapers in a copper boiler using a scrub board but he did.
His wife died of pneumonia leaving him with 7 youngsters, the youngest not yet out of diapers. Somehow he managed. I’ve lost the picture of him scrubbing diapers in a copper boiler using a scrub board but he did.
Pop and one of many babies, probably circa 1921
He remarried and had 5 more children.
He lived through the Depression. They barely survived on the farm but for the price of driving the school bus to pay off back taxes, he became the owner of a bit of land with a big house on it. They grew a big garden, picked wild berries, bagged game in and out of season, and received bundles of clothing from family members back East. But life wasn’t easy. There was seldom enough food and the children wore whatever they had.
The family lexicon abounds with stories of his exploits.
He told a favorite one to illustrate that when he said jump, his boys jumped. He was moving an old granary one day and using a long pole to lever it about. He needed something to wedge it in place and called for one of the boys to run and get something. Unfortunately he didn’t name a boy, simply said, “one of you”. There were 4 or 5 prying on the lever with him and all of them let go and ran to get the object. Pop didn’t weigh enough to keep it pried down and went flying in the air. He broke an arm when he landed.
He learned to overcome insurmountable obstacles in raising a family in hard times. He conquered mechanical challenges. He taught his children to be honorable.
One of my favorite memories of him is when he was much older. My husband and I had taken over the farm and the in-laws had moved to a house in town. They visited often and Pop would always go up to the junk pile that was a graveyard for old trucks, tractors and various other pieces of worn out farm equipment. He’d poke through it by the hour. Sometimes he lamented that someone had thrown the machinery out when he could have fixed it. Other times I think he simply liked to remember the past.
A man who was bigger than life and a legend in his time.
He lived through the Depression. They barely survived on the farm but for the price of driving the school bus to pay off back taxes, he became the owner of a bit of land with a big house on it. They grew a big garden, picked wild berries, bagged game in and out of season, and received bundles of clothing from family members back East. But life wasn’t easy. There was seldom enough food and the children wore whatever they had.
The family lexicon abounds with stories of his exploits.
He told a favorite one to illustrate that when he said jump, his boys jumped. He was moving an old granary one day and using a long pole to lever it about. He needed something to wedge it in place and called for one of the boys to run and get something. Unfortunately he didn’t name a boy, simply said, “one of you”. There were 4 or 5 prying on the lever with him and all of them let go and ran to get the object. Pop didn’t weigh enough to keep it pried down and went flying in the air. He broke an arm when he landed.
He learned to overcome insurmountable obstacles in raising a family in hard times. He conquered mechanical challenges. He taught his children to be honorable.
One of my favorite memories of him is when he was much older. My husband and I had taken over the farm and the in-laws had moved to a house in town. They visited often and Pop would always go up to the junk pile that was a graveyard for old trucks, tractors and various other pieces of worn out farm equipment. He’d poke through it by the hour. Sometimes he lamented that someone had thrown the machinery out when he could have fixed it. Other times I think he simply liked to remember the past.
A man who was bigger than life and a legend in his time.
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GIVEAWAY!
Leave a comment with a valid email address by midnight, Feb 12th
to be entered in a draw for a copy of Linda's newest Love Inspired Historical,
The Cowboy Father
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GIVEAWAY!
Leave a comment with a valid email address by midnight, Feb 12th
to be entered in a draw for a copy of Linda's newest Love Inspired Historical,
The Cowboy Father
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Cowboy Father, Love Inspired Historical, Feb 2012
Book 2 - Three Brides for Three Cowboys series
Book 2 - Three Brides for Three Cowboys series
With Alberta in the grip of the Depression, Louisa Morgan is desperate to bolster her family's finances. But how can she tutor bedridden Ellie Hamilton? The little tomboy is more interested in making mischief than studying sums. And the girl's bond with her handsome papa is another reminder to Louisa of the children she'll never have.
For Emmet Hamilton, strength means shouldering burdens alone. He never thought he'd let himself share his child, or his heart, ever again. But before long, Louisa's kindness and optimism start to change the cowboy's mind. Maybe he can gain the courage to trust again—in Louisa, in God's grace, and in this new family...
Read Excerpt
For Emmet Hamilton, strength means shouldering burdens alone. He never thought he'd let himself share his child, or his heart, ever again. But before long, Louisa's kindness and optimism start to change the cowboy's mind. Maybe he can gain the courage to trust again—in Louisa, in God's grace, and in this new family...
Read Excerpt
Three Brides for Three Cowboys
Three sisters cope during the Great Depression:
Book 1 - The Cowboy Tutor, Jan 2012
Book 2 - The Cowboy Father, Feb 2012
Book 3 - The Cowboy Comes Home, Mar 2012
Check out Linda's website and blog at www.lindaford.org
Note: Linda's Feb 5, 2012 blogpost shows her Jan and Feb book covers side-by-side
for a humorous look at what can happen in the publishing industry.
Linda invites you to friend her on Facebook
