Down on the Farm with Sue Glasco

You are invited to join us on this website for a visit down on the farm. I'll introduce you to our lives and my writing.

See our granddaughter Erin Glasco's catch that merited being one of the "Top Ten Plays" on ESPN.

Listen to our granddaughter Leslie Eiler's prose reading at the Illinois state speech contest. She won third in this category.

Hear Leslie give her original Special Occasion Speech at state. She won second.

You are invited....

To the next meeting of Southern Illinois Writers Guild on the third Thursday,  August 21, at 7 p.m. at John A. Logan College.    The public is always welcome.

The program will feature Jacinda Townsend, a graduate of Harvard and the Iowa Writers' Workshop, now teaches English at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Published in numerous literary magazines, she recently sold two stories to Chicken Soup for the Soul series. Her work has been anthologized in O.Henry Fiction Stories 2000 and Telling Stories: Fiction by Kentucky Feminists. A former Fulbright fellow, Townsend was a 2002 Huston Wright Award finalist.

You are also welcome to drop into Latta Java Coffee Shop at 412 North Market in Marion at 6:30 p.m. or whenever you want to drop by. SIWG sponsors an open mike for prose and poetry reading. We have a good time every second and third Thursdays of the month with latta prose and poetry! Terance Henry is a fine host.

Do You Have An Ancestor Who Traveled the Trail of Tears?

Anyone with a story to tell about ancestors who dropped off the Trail of Tears is encouraged to share their story with the TOTA. The Illinois Chapter has an ongoing oral history project trying to capture and preserve these fascinating stories. Let us know if you have a story and we will be certain you know the next time we have a program to collect more stories.

The purpose of the Illinois TOTA is to discover and share information about the 1838-39 Trail of Tears through Southern Illinois  and to encourage the development and preservation of the Trail.  The public is always invited to the meetings.

The next TOTA meeting will be at the Jackson County Historical Society building located at 1616 Edith Street, Murphysboro, IL. It will be on Sunday, September 28, 2008, beginning at 1:30 p.m. People are encouraged to come share and hear stories by those whose ancestors dropped off the Trail of Tears.

To read my journal, click here on http://sueglasco.blogspot.com.

To read my blog on Amazon.com, click here.

Sue Glasco

At Woodsong where Sue compiled the book for her children

You can buy Down on the Farm: One American Family's Dream locally from Country Cupboard in Anna, Waldenbooks at the Illinois Centre Mall, Wolf Creek Antiques in Goreville, the Rose Hotel at Elizabethtown, Herrin Drug Store in Herrin, or in Carbondale at Book Worm. Or just drop by the farm, and I will autograph one for you.

To order the book Down on the Farm: One American Family's Dream, go to Amazon.com by clicking here, and then search for Sue Glasco.

Click here to go to Woodsong Notes, my journal.

Upcoming Book Signings and Appearances--I'd love to meet you there!

Saturday, February 2, 2008--Third Annual Winter Book Fair at Illinois Centre Mall.

Notes from readers have been a joy!

"Sure enjoyed your book...didn't want it to end. When is the sequel?"

"We have enjoyed reading your book, Sue."

"Sue, I enjoyed the book. I read it three times. I loaned it to ...."

"Sue, have enjoyed reading your book."

"We both read Sue's book and we can relate to a lot of the stories."

"Enjoying your book."

"Sue, I am really enjoying your book."

"I got your book from ---. When I started reading it, I did not want to put it down."

"Enjoyed your book. I let both girls read it and sent a copy to ----."

"I had to write and let you know how much we both enjoyed your book. ---- got to it first so I had to wait a couple of days for my turn. He kept reading me short clips so I had to stop him before he read me the whole book. Ha. I'm loaning it to my daughter and know she'll relate to the antics of the children as she is raising two boys."

"---- gave each of her quilting group a copy of your book. One of the 93 year old ladies had read the book completely and the other two who are 83 and 95 were only partially done. They all were excited and really liked the book and had talked about it so much that several other people at the nursing home were waiting to read it. I'm sure they're expecting to borrow the book so it won't help your sales but I thought you would appreciate the positive response. It really made a hit. The ladies were asking if you had written any more and are looking forward to your next book."

"I appreciate your book and have enjoyed reading it."

From two fellow writers: "We read your book--cover to cover. Liked it."

"I have so enjoyed your book. It brought back wonderful memories. As I lived through your experiences as a young farm wife, I was reminded of my own growing up years. I was able to go to Illinois in late August to help Mom usher in her 90th birthday and took my copy of your book to her. She too is enjoying it."

From Union to Greene to Williamson County, Illinois

We first farmed in the Mississippi Bottoms in Union County. Down on the Farm is a compilation of columns started in Greene County, where Gerald was a farm manager at Columbiana Seed Company at Eldred on the Illinois River. Soon we bought a farm in Williamson County and have lived here ever since.

The book tells the family's joys and struggles in the first farm house making it livable after it had stood empty except for the mice. Next came the move to Pondside Farm, where the family was to live for the next 36 years.

Our daughter Katherine and her husband David live in nearby Marion. Their son Samuel attends the Marion public schools.

Our middle daughter Jeannie and her husband Rick both teach in the Freeport Schools. Their three children are all Freeport Pretzels.

More about Freeport, IL, which is 12 miles south of Wisconsin border.

Our youngest daughter Mary Ellen Taylor, Realtor. Her husband Brian, who works for Monsanto, farms our farm. Their two children are in school in the Lake Saint Louis area.

Our son Gerry Glasco, Crazy Feathers Outfitter. He and Vickie has three daughters and one grandson. Tara is married, Erin at Texas A&M, and Geri Ann at Johnston City Middle School.

To go to my other web site specifically about Priscilla and the Trail of Tears, click here.

Pondside Kids Down on the Farm