PRINTRead this: Flagland
Image courtesy of Jeanie Stewart
Jeanie Stewart's family has owned Heath-Hubbard Farms, Inc. for more than 100 years.
July 1, 2010 | 12:00 a.m. CST
Flagland: The History of a Swamp Farm
By Martha Jean Hubbard Stewart
Cost: $15
Where to buy it: Major booksellers such as Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com
Summary: Letters from the 1930s and ’40s, untouched swamplands and pioneer farmers making their living on new ground sound like the perfect setup for a movie. Instead, they are part of local author Martha Jean Hubbard Stewart’s first book, a historical memoir called Flagland: the History of a Swamp Farm, which was published in 2009.
This true story is told through a round robin of letters between Stewart’s mother, Alma Hubbard, and other farming women around the country. The letters span 36 years of history. In between the letters, Stewart interjects commentary and background information with her lighthearted, sentimental voice.
Related ArticlesAt the beginning of the 20th century, farmers with entrepreneurial visions set out to channel the swamps of southeastern Missouri into new farmlands through a project called The Little River Drainage District. Stewart’s father, Ralph Hubbard, set out to be a part of this project and created the Hubbard’s family farm, on which Flagland’s story is based.
The book is laid out in an easy-to-read manner and is full of photographs from Stewart’s childhood. The pictures go well with the book’s nostalgic theme, and readers will easily be able to picture themselves alongside the real people in this book as they plow fields, churn butter and explore the swamplands.
