Leone Rowland
Published: 2003
Total Pages: 110
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Tobacco -- today's villain, yesterday's prize.From the days of Sir Walter Raleigh until the Surgeon General's message that smoking may be harmful to your health, tobacco was a greatly prized commodity, wrung from the land with great labor and care. But how many of today's smokers and ex-smokers (or those who want smoking banned) have any idea how this commodity was grown, cured, and taken to market?For those who would like to know, A Tenant Farmer's Daughter is a must-read. In this chronicle of rural life in the early 20th century, Leone Rowland describes in painstaking detail each step of the process and what it was like to be the people who created this luxury product in a bygone era.Ms. Rowland shares with readers the daily rituals, joys and hardships of growing up in a large poor family in North Carolina, where tobacco and cotton were king and everyone worked, often from before sun up to long after sun down.Though there were many hardships in the lives of tenant farmers and their families, many aspects of that life held more authenticity than life does today. In this memoir we learn how food was grown before the widespread use of machinery and technology; how hogs were butchered; butter churned; and tobacco grown and cured. We share the innocent entertainments of making one's own music, church socials and dances, barn raisings, and just plain fishing.This charming first person account of rural life is a wonderful reminder of the creative, enterprising spirit that made America strong. It is told be a woman who, even as a young child, had a keen mind of her own and some strong opinions on such issues as health and women's rights.Anyone interested in history -- particularly the historyof the south -- cannot fail to be intrigued by the rich details offered here. And anyone looking for background information on the Raleigh area in the early 20th century will want this gem of a book, which paints delicious pictures of life fully lived.BOOK REVIEWFor Immediate ReleaseContact: Jodi GrantPhone: 941-351-2050Fax: 941-351-4735A Tenant Farmer's DaughterLeone RowlandAdvocate House, an imprint ofA Cappela Publishing, Inc.PO Box 3691, Sarasota, FL 34230ISBN: 09724979-5-1Format: paperbackToday the great debate over tobacco focuses on its use, but did you ever wonder about its cultivation? If so, you'll want to read A Tenant Farmer's Daughter, Leone Rowland's memoir about growing up in the early part of the 20th century. Ms. Rowland shares with readers the daily rituals, joys and hardships of growing up in a large poor family in North Carolina, where tobacco and cotton were king and everyone worked, often from before sun up to long after sun down.Though there were many hardships in the lives of tenant farmers and their families, many aspects of that life held more authenticity than life does today. In this memoir we learn how food was grown before the widespread use of machinery and technology; how hogs were butchered; butter churned; and tobacco grown and cured. We share the innocent entertainments of making one's own music, church socials and dances, barn raisings, and just plain fishing.This charming first person account of rural life is a wonderful reminder of the creative, enterprising spirit that made America strong. It is told be a woman who, even as a young child, had a keen mind of her own and some strong opinions on such issues as health and women's rights.Anyoneinterested in history -- particularly the history of the south -- cannot fail to be intrigued by the rich details offered here. And anyone looking for background information on the Raleigh area in the early 20th century will want this gem of a book, which paints delicious pictures of life fully lived.
