The name of the book hints at what readers will find as they explore the pages of Around the Kitchen Table, a book published by the Manitoba Farm Women’s Conference.
The 128 page book, released last week, features mainly humorous recollections of adventures and misadventures on the family farm. Most of the anecdotal stories were submitted by farm women in Manitoba, although two men also contributed to the content.
“Everybody always has a ridiculous story and often we share them around the kitchen table,” said Joan McCallister, explaining the title.
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She and Yvette Cuthbert, who both farm with their husbands near Portage la Prairie, Man., shared the challenge of gathering the stories and compiling them into a book.
The content varies from memories of being a child on the farm to what it’s like for someone who grew up in the city to live on a farm. There is also a chapter where women recount some of the hardships of farm life.
Cuthbert describes Around the Kitchen Table as a “laugh, cry and learn a bit about humanity” type of book.
The book made her feel closer to those who shared their stories. It also shows the importance of humor in our lives, said Cuthbert, and how events can appear funnier when viewed through hindsight.
The book is subtitled A Harvest of Farm Women’s Stories.
That harvest began last spring, when McCallister and Cuthbert mailed 800 letters inviting farm women to share some of their memories. The recipients of the letters obliged, providing more than three dozen stories.
Cuthbert said they did little editing on the stories, since the style of the writers added to the personality of what they submitted.
“A lot of them were fairly personal stories.”
Only 500 copies of the book were printed, and most sold last week during the Manitoba Farm Women’s Conference in Brandon. A second printing is being considered.
