The Back Story

Over a hundred years ago, my great-grandparents built a farm in Upstate New York. They had three children: John, Charles, and Mary. My great-grandparents, along with their children and many hired hands, ran the farm for many years.

Charles went on to marry Margaret, and they had four children: Larry, Maureen, Joyce, and David. Charles still worked the farm with his brother and father. Both of his siblings, John and Mary, got married as well. When my great-grandparents died, my Great-Uncle John stayed on the farm with his wife, Marion, and continued to work it with the help of his brother and brother-in-law.

Neither John nor Mary had any children, and none of Charles' children went into farming. However, both Maureen and Joyce built houses on former farm land and live there with their families to this day. My Uncle John and Aunt Marion continued to live in the farmhouse. They eventually had to rent out most of the farm land when they got older, but even when he was using a walker, my Uncle John would toss it in the back of his pickup truck in order to drive around and check out the progress of the crops.

My Uncle John outlived both of his younger siblings, before dying a few years ago. His wife, my Aunt Marion, continued to live in the house until her death in September 2000.

So now, no one is really sure what is going to happen to the farm. John and Marion's estate was split between her remaining family and his, since they didn't have any children, and no one in any of the families is really in a position to buy the house right now. The fate of the farm is still very much up in the air as I write this. But it makes me sad to think that a piece of land, and a house that have been in my family for over a hundred years could end up belonging to someone else. It feels like it's the one link left to the Reed side of my family.

In light of all this uncertainty, I decided to go out to the farmhouse and take some pictures while I still could. You wouldn't believe what beautiful shape the house is in, given it's age, and the fact that for the past ten years or so, my aunt and uncle were not really in a position to make any improvements.

So, I hope you enjoy these pictures. It's a little piece of my history.