Excerpt from the Preface:
As I walked from the Shookville Methodist Church along the stone wall erected from the surrounding fields, I paused to reflect on how this wall stood as a testament to my ancestors’ tenacity. As I stood beside it, I found a place to contemplate how the land might have appeared before any inhabitants. I imagined how my ancestors, descendants of Palatine immigrants, first stood here on soil that seemingly only grew rocks. Yet, they began by moving one stone. Stone by stone, these mighty souls persevered. Stone by stone, they overcame each burden. Stone by stone, they cleared the land. Stone by stone, they built a farm and a family.
As I continued to walk, I imagined Great Grandfather Burton Barker Coon fifty years later as he plowed this land, under the same sky and still surrounded by Nature’s beauties. As he unearthed the soil, he planned what he would write. Regardless of the form his writing took that day, he returned from the fields and proceeded to replace the plow with a pen. Just as his father erected a stone wall by first moving one stone, Burton began with one word as a young boy, added words each day, and word by word constructed images of his time and place in the world. Word by word, he loved his family. Word by word, he questioned and maintained his faith. Word by word, he cherished his community. Word by word, he shared his voice.
From the chapter “The Old Homestead”
In October 1939, Burton shared the beginnings of Trail’s End, “On the 18th day of April 1847, John Shook and Nellie, his wife, conveyed to my father 10 acres and 38 perches of land for $400. This was a piece of woodland to the west of the present house at Trail’s End, and it may have included the place where it stands.”
Back of Book:
“One of the hardest things in understanding local history in a relevant and engaging way is understanding the context of the time. Bonnie has such an understanding, learned through the family’s casual conversations and intentional oral histories. She artfully selects from her self-taught, rural ancestor’s prolific wisdom, and adds her own choice words. The reader is left thinking a comforting, “perhaps we have been here before”. A testament to a talent that seems to have a long run in the family.”
~ Bill Jeffway, Executive Director,
Dutchess County Historical Society.
Founder, HistorySpeaks.
Copyright © 2018 by Bonnie Wood, Editor. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the editor.
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