NEW BOOK LAUNCH “This is a whole new experience for me” Terry Sprague, local naturalist (right)

“Up Before Five – The Family Farm” is a look at small family farms – ours, in particular – and how these small farms have gone by the wayside. It was an effort to preserve the memory of the small family farm, when families worked in the fields together, and actually enjoyed a meal together. When neighbor helped neighbor and we knew every person who lived in our community. The book is filled with misadventures and humour and there was no mincing of words when describing the details! The cover design was done by Sacha Warunkiw of Milford, a gifted cartoonist who managed to capture the atmosphere of the book from reading only two or three unedited chapters. As the cover suggests, the book is about cows and cats, and tractors and daily life, when “everyone on Big Island got up before five to work the family farm”.

Even if you don’t care for farming stories, the book is well worth the cost, if only for the picture of my brother and me on the last page! You will never see another photo quite like that!

Terry Sprague
Book Launch - Saturday, September 17th, 2-4 pm, at Books and Company on Main Street, Picton. In addition to the author being present to sign books, cover designer Sacha Warunkiw will also be present. The book will retail in book stores for $19.95 + tax, or from the author at a flat $20.00 Copies are also available by mail from the author at a cost of $25.00 (includes postage and handling). Cheque should be made payable to “Terry Sprague” and sent to 23 Sprague Rd., R.R. # 1, Demorestville, ON K0K 1W0

A bit about Terry Sprague – Terry Sprague became interested in nature at an early age. Growing up on the family farm at Big Island, 12 miles north of Picton, on the shore of the beautiful Bay of Quinte, he was always interested in the natural world around him. During his elementary school days at the small one-room school he attended on Big Island, he received considerable encouragement from the late Marie Foster, his teacher in Grades 6 through 8. Her home was a short distance from where Terry lived and through the years she was responsible for developing his interest in birds. The late Phil Dodds, a former editor with the Picton Gazette, also a great nature enthusiast, suggested Terry undertake a nature column – a column he has submitted weekly since 1965. The column has since expanded to the Napanee Beaver, Tweed News and the Belleville Intelligencer. Through the years Terry has enjoyed working with such nature related agencies as Glenora Fisheries Research as a resource technician, Sandbanks Provincial Park as a park interpreter and Quinte Conservation as a naturalist and outdoor events coordinator.

NatureStuff Tours & Things
www.naturestuff.net
23 Sprague Rd., R.R. # 1
Demorestville, ON K0K 1W0
kayak tours, private tours, bus tours
public speaking, guided hikes
Main Duck Island boat tours
613-476-5072

Tags: book launch, books, farming, history, Reading