West of the Sand Forty
Don Gilbertson’s third book examines family life during tough time
Matt Ledger, photos by Andrea Paulseth |
unravels the stories of his childhood in
his third non-fiction book, West of the
Sand Forty.
Originally, Don Gilbertson’s new book West of the Sand Forty was just meant to preserve his family’s history.
“I wanted the younger members of the family to know what it was like when I was young because they weren’t born yet,” says Gilbertson, a former University of Minnesota professor who now resides in Eau Claire, “and then when I wrote it I thought ‘Well, other people will be interested in this, too.’ ”
Some of the stories, such as the time his eighth grade classmate drove his father’s ’42 Hudson to school, are funny. Others, such as when he pleased his father by perfectly reciting his confirmation hymn, are moving.
The short stories that make up West of the Sand Forty chronicle the efforts of Gilbertson’s mother and father to raise both crops and a family in World War II-era Osseo. Some of the stories, such as the time Gilbertson’s eighth grade classmate drove his father’s ’42 Hudson to school, are funny. Others, such as when Gilbertson pleased his father by perfectly reciting his confirmation hymn, are moving. But what Gilbertson most hopes to display in his book is a family that worked well together despite tough times.
“One of the stories has to do with getting the binder ready, a horse drawn binder to cut and tie bundles,” says Gilbertson. “The binder is a fairly heavy piece of equipment. The whole family would hang out there and it was a day’s work getting that binder together. But we enjoyed being together.”
Just as enjoyable was the process of transferring his childhood memories to paper, says Gilbertson. “I had a lot of fun putting this together. And it was easy because I didn’t have to go around searching for references or anything like that. There’s been a lot written about farming and how farming used to be and there’s some good books on that, but this isn’t one of them,” says Gilbertson. “This is how it used to be for one family. That’s what’s important, I think.”
West of the Sand Forty is Gilbertson’s third self-published non-fiction book – the other two being Norwegian Folk Art in America and Better Openings: A History of Osseo.
It is available at The Local Store, Crossroad Books, and Borders.
