Book Review: Far As I Can Remember: An Immigrant Woman's Story, 1888-1975 by Minnie Rose Lovgreen, Nancy Rekow and Everett Thompson

Far As I Can Remember:

An Immigrant Woman's Story, 1888-1975

by Minnie Rose Lovgreen, Nancy Rekow and Everett Thompson (Editor)

How did Minnie Rose Lovgreen, a 19th-century English farm girl with next to no education, narrowly miss sinking with the Titanic? How did she escape her abusive husband in the dead of winter? How did she learn to read, write, cook, sew, and to nourish children, plants, and animals? How did she wend her way from England to Canada to Bainbridge Island, Washington? How did she and her 2nd husband build and run, for 30 years, a prizewinning dairy that grew to 75 cows on 170 acres? And finally, how did she, dying of cancer at age 86, manage to spill out this life story, having already published MINNIE ROSE LOVGREEN'S RECIPE FOR RAISING CHICKENS? How did she achieve all this long before women s lib?

....Well....said Minnie Rose, a lifelong storyteller....I had to use my head for something....This book tells her story, tape-recorded in her own words. Born in 1888, Minnie Rose was the 8th of 19 children on her family s 200-acre wheat farm in Norfolk County, England. At age 11, she left home to work as a housemaid and never lived at home again. At age 24, she immigrated to Canada just before WWI. There she worked as a cook, maid and mother s helper, manufactured ammunition, married, had a child, raised chickens, sold eggs, worked in a greenhouse, divorced her abusive husband and worked in a fish and chips shop. In 1920 she moved to Seattle and then to Bainbridge Island, Washington, where she lived and farmed for 55 years and became a widely-respected author in the last few months of her life

About the Author

Nancy Rekow and Minnie at a book signing before her death

Nancy Rekow, mother of four, widely published, award-winning poet and Bainbridge resident over 46 years, began writing poetry 39 years ago in Bob McAllister's inspirational night workshop. Since then she has led workshops on Bainbridge and in community colleges for adults and students of all ages and served as a poet-in-the-schools, also organizing readings, contests, displays, radio readings and poetry contests along the way. Many of her students have published and won awards. She holds a BA in English Literature from Oberlin College and an MA in Education from Bank Street College in New York City.

For the Bainbridge Island Arts and Humanities Council, she created and directed the NORTHWEST POETS and ARTISTS CALENDAR project from 1986-1991. As editor and consultant, she has helped many people write, edit, and publish books of poetry, stories, history,  and memoirs, including Island of Geese; Stars, 80 Candles, No Single Story, Ferry Tales from Puget Sound and Minnie Rose Lovgreen's Recipe for Raising Chickens.

Currently she teaches poetry and prose workshops for beginning and experienced writers, edits manuscripts, and tutors students of all ages in writing and English. Recently she has taught poetry in the Bainbridge schools to 1st, 5th, and 7th graders sponsored by the Bainbridge Island Arts Education Consortium, PTO, and Bainbridge Foundation.

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Everett Thompson came to Bainbridge Island from a family of preachers and tobacco growers in North Carolina, where he fell in love with reading at the Olivia Rainey Public Library across from the sleepy state capitol.

A Methodist minister's son, he moved every five or six years, graduated from Roxboro High School, attended Duke University, and got an MA in English from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma.

After two years in the U.S. Army during the Cuban missile crisis era, he taught for a year in rural Greenwood School in North Carolina, practice taught at Stadium High School in Tacoma and then English, American Studies, and sometimes journalism at Bainbridge High School from 1968-1999. He compiled a music collection called the Bainbridge High School Anthology of American Music for the use of students and faculty, helped Nancy Rekow, who taught him how to write poetry, select the poems for Island of Geese & Stars. Some of his poems have been published in The Bellingham Review, Poetry Now, Poetry Corners, and other poetry journals. He has one daughter, Jennifer, and three sons--Matt, John, a freshman at Evergreen State College, and Duncan, a ninth-grader at BHS.

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An inspiriring true life story whispered into your ear by Minnie herself.
  

I must warn you that this real life true story Far As I Can Remember will warm you from the top of your head to your littlest toe. Minnie is a feisty little lady that knew exactly what she wanted in life and it sure didn't include being a mother to her siblings any longer after her father remarried. Her mother passed away when Minnie was four and she remembers practically raising her siblings after her death. At the age of about ten when her father remarried she high tailed it out of there as soon as she found herself a real job. From the start Minnie wanted a job away from home working for a real employer, she wanted to be independent, feel important, useful and earn her own wage. Whether it was cleaning, cooking or killing a chicken Minnie was ready to do it for pay. Later after Minnie married her first husband she found out the hard way he was a not going to support her and their newborn son, she didn't see herself getting anywhere with him. It didn't matter to Minnie that divorce in those years was rare, that feisty little lady said she wasn't taking anymore of the no good husband and moved herself and her child out of town. After her remarriage her second husband seemed a better provider however when he lost his job Minnie decided it was time to start that dairy business she had always wanted. So with her prodding and poking she finally convinced her husband they were doing it and that was that. Minnie was determined to live a happy and full life and she was not going to let anyone stand in her way.
 

This book is a treat to read and it felt as if Minnie was speaking in my ear as I could hear her voice, her accent and all intonations. Minnie had one brother she was very close to and even speaks of him as being like a twin, I found it sad that he passed away before Minnie could say her goodbyes. What I loved about this book the most are the descriptions by Minnie of the daily chores and her lifestyle, basically what they did to survive during the late 1800 without the conveniences we have today. It was a hard life but Minnie made sure she lived it happily and fulfilled as I got the sense that her strong personality and will is what got her to where she wanted to be. She was willing to work as hard as she could to achieve her dreams which included two books before her death. Wherever you are now Minnie thank you for your incredible story of perseverance and achievement, you are in inspiration and I will never forget your story.

Purchase Your a Copy

Far As I Can Remember: An Immigrant Woman's Story, 1888-1975 is available for purchase on amazon, Alibris or through NW Trillium Press. 

I have not been compensated in any way other than receiving a copy of the book above for review. All opinions expressed above are solely my own. This opp has been presented to me via TPR.