The Edgefielders: Poor Farm Tales of a Great-Grandmother - Softcover

Unforgettable secrets, unexpected alliances and unlikely friendships grow in the wet soil of Oregon’s Edgefield during the Great Depression. Suspense, cruelty, mismatched romance, faith and reconciliation take root among the paupers. Tender humor and spirited dialogue knit a diverse bunch of Edgefielders into a beloved community, making this tale a welcome addition to a market inundated with sad accounts of aging and poverty.

Judith Wright Favor, a native of Portland, Oregon, was in mid-life before she came upon a document that shed light upon a dark secret. Her great-grandmother, Margaret Mary Wright had been erased from the family lore after she died among paupers at Edgefield, Oregon's publicly supported Poor Farm. Judith, a retired pastor and teacher, listened for the lost experiences and wrote these tales to give voice to people who lost their livelihoods and homes during the Great Depression. This is her first work of family memoir, fiction and creative non-fiction. Care and conversation continue between the author and her great-grandmother despite the fact that Margaret Mary died shortly before Judith was born. The Edgefielders' stories bridge this gap, conveying the love of ancestors as it crosses the threshold of time.