The Old Farm House

The Old Farm House, October 2019

This house has served its purpose. This house gave shelter to our ancestors and gave their little family room to grow. This house was a home for multiple generations of our family friends over many years. This house was a home to cousins in my generation for a time too. This house no longer stands on the hill, but it has served its purpose and for that we are grateful.

Where the Old Farm House Once Stood, October 2019

This Land, This House

The Pickens Family Homestead, October 2019

This land, this house

by Josie Gruber, October 2019

 This land was a magical place
With kittens needing catching
And ditches needing jumping
And hay bales needing climbing.

This land was a timeless place
With porch seats needing sitting
And breezes needing breathing
And passing cars needing watching.

This house was a giving house
With beds for warm sleeping
And chairs for prayerful eating
And space for family gathering.

This house was a loving house
With four generations often visiting
And photos from those far living
And mementos from some after passing.

This land and this house
With their status largely changing
And shadows of the past lingering
Are now in need of remembering.

The Pickens Family Homestead, November 2019

Pickens Family Farm

In 2015, my father had researched a lot about our family history and that prompted me to both make a website and a couple of videos.

If you'd like to see the website, visit this link. There are links to articles about our farm and the videos that I made. (The videos are also below.)

Footage of the farm in 2015

Footage from the 2015 Pickens family reunion