30 March 2009

A Noble Life In Southeast Kansas

The 12th Edition of Smile For The Camera asks us to share a photo that is the embodiment of A Noble Life.
I didn't think I had a photo that would represent a noble life until I came across this one in my collection.



c. 1910, George Wesley Harris, Hillery T. Harris and John Fletcher Harris; Allen County, Kansas

It occurred to me that a noble life did not have to mean royalty, fame or wealth. It could mean a life that was lived honestly and proudly. My great great grandfather George Wesley Harris (pictured on the far left) certainly looks proud in this picture. One hand over his heart and the other pointing to the ground as if saying, "This is my land and I worked hard to come by it, by God." He did not have the money for modern farm equipment, but his son (my great grandfather Hillery T. Harris) looks like he knows how to handle those horses. I do not know what kind of crops they grew, but I know that there was only 40 acres. That 40 acres was George Wesley Harris' kingdom.

2 comments:

  1. You are so right. Farming and love of the land and those that till the soil typify a noble life. A fitting photo for this particular blog. GREAT JOB!

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  2. I wonder what it is that makes us all regard working with the soil such a "noble" occupation? I'm not disputing that it is ... it must have been jolly hard work for our ancestors without the convenience of modern machinery. My own ancestors were farming folk for several hundred years, and I've even done a bit myself. Thanks, Sheri, for a wonderful photograph that reminds us all of what it was all about.

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