Section 27: A Century on a Family Farm

by Mil Penner

Smack in the middle of Kansas, Section 27 in McPherson County has been occupied by the Penner family since 1874. Although few of the area's residents have direct ties to the past, Mil Penner still farms the land that his family has worked for over 125 years. His account of daily life on a Mennonite family farm near Inman, Kansas, retells a universal story of the American heartland sharpened by personal accounts of one family's enduring relationship to the land.

In this collection of brief, evocative vignettes, Penner traces the influence of pioneer roots on the present generation as he chronicles the transformation of the land from untouched prairie to productive farm. As a boy, young Mil rubbed shoulders with the very pioneers who tamed the prairies and he now draws on those recollections and memories passed on by his father to make the past come alive.

Through Penner's accounts, readers will discover a miniature universe through descriptions of breaking sod and harvesting, Mennonite customs and religion, education in a one-room school, and the evolution of farm equipment from horse-drawn to engine-powered plows. The story he tells is virtually a history of the settling of the West as seen from a farm, where getting through the hardships of the Dust Bowl and Depression needed faith as much as fortitude.

Told in a straightforward fashion befitting his family traditions, Section 27 tracks Penner's development of ecological awareness and growing commitment to recapturing a simpler way of life. He has an innate gift for storytelling and a sharp memory for detail, and as one of the last generation to have experienced harvesting with a binder and threshing machine, he shows how the experience of family farming rewards with simple pleasures and joys. Through his expressive prose, even new-mown hay takes on remarkable dimensions.

In this journey of introspection, Penner reflects on how, when his great-grandfather first broke the sod on Section 27, it altered the land profoundly. Today, he takes an old tractor out to a small plot he's set aside and drops the plow, feeling a deep satisfaction in seeing the black soil roll and the birds swoop in for the insects he's stirred up. Although he sees the value in new agricultural methods, he can't help but ponder the direction in which progress is taking us. As our country moves away from its rural roots at an ever-accelerating pace, Section 27 is a signpost that makes us pause and reconsider that fading heritage before it is gone forever.

238 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2002

Reviews

[Koren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting story about growing up on a farm that had been in the author's family for a century and how much farming has changed since he was a kid. Also, interesting was the fact that the family was Mennonite. I thought they were more like Amish, where they do not embrace technology, but the author's father actually invented some things that made farming easier.

[Seth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a real good book if you like local history. It tells you about all the struggles and hardships that they had to go through to get where Milfred and his family are today. From The Ukraine to Inman, Kansas, Milfred's ancestors moved here to start a new life away from the dictatorship they faced in the Ukraine. It tells you all of the day to day things that Milfred's great grandparents, grandparents, parents, and himself.

When They got to Kansas, it was just grass that was taller than their heads. They plowed up all the grass on their claim, and started raising wheat. If you want to learn how they made it through the tough times they had, and like to learn about local history, you need to read this book.

[Cws]

K-Pen

[Aaron Stokes · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brilliant story on how the way of life in Western Kansas has changed over the last century.