Wow, Ok. here we are, Sojourner made it down, and we got to see Gene and his wife. Yep, Polly he is just as down to earth as you imagined him and I got your book for ya. He is a very nice man and has a beautiful and interesting wife. I even got into a conversation about Japanese Beetles with her! I took a picture of Sojourner with him, and one with hubby Jim and him. That was cool. My husband was so happy. It was weird to meet Sojourner. Now I know that these people on this forum are real and not just in my imagination! Sojourner got some new info. to put on her Gene Logsdon web site, but I'll let her tell you about that.

It's been a great day. Tren

-- Anonymous, July 07, 2001

Answers

To Cool for you! I'm glad Sojourner got to be there. Her site was one of the first places I ever found on the web because of her "Unofficial Fan Club". Did he have a specific topic he was speaking on? I'd like to hear you brag some more here.

-- Anonymous, July 07, 2001

I'm glad that you had a good time. I've got three of his books on hold at the library, so I won't be ignorant for much longer! :-)

-- Anonymous, July 08, 2001

Sherri, which books do you have on hold?

JOhn in S. O.K. You twisted my arm, I'll brag some more. Well Gene didn't speak, he says that he hates to speak, but just hanging around and listening to him was a pleasure. Of course I told him about Beyond the Sidewalks, and he sounded interested in paying a visit here. I told him how much he meant to us all, and he said that his wife would have to belittle him all the way home to get him back down to earth again. Down to earth just describes him to a T. Nothing stuck up about him, he asks you questions about your homestead, about your chickens.

One thing he told us that I thought was really wild and that is that he makes only 75 cents to a dollor on every book that he sells,. Can you believe that! From a 15 dollor book , the writer only gets that amount! Thats a crime! He has a new book out that he has published himself. Sojourner will give the info. on that , I'm sure on her site. I can't wait untill she gets home and tells you guys her stroy.

-- Anonymous, July 08, 2001

Hello everyone, Every once in a while I stop in to read a little and learn a lot on this forum. This thread really caught my attention. I live in Gene Logsdon country! Yep, even been a groupie and drove by his homestead. Although, it was by accident. We were looking for a friend's house who had just moved and while we were going down the road, there it was, Gene Logsdon in big black letters on his mailbox. Now, of course we had to turn around and cruise past again! Oh, what a homesteader's dream! Anyways I live one county north of him and have always loved his books and perspective. I think it's because his background and that of the people in the town where I grew up are so similar. When he talks about hunting for arrowheads as a kid in the fields and his family growing up, it rings a real nostalgic bell. He has mentioned the small town I grew up in several times in his books. The one I remember was about every backyard in the small towns around having a garden and grape vines (for wine making) and my hometown was his example. Anyway, it is just too cool that you all got to meet him! By the way, how many OH people are on this forum? I always enjoy your postings.

-- Anonymous, July 08, 2001

Tren, thank-you, Thank-You, THANK-YOU!!! (I can't wait, which one did you pick out?! It's gonna be like Christmas!) Did you really think we were imaginary? I'll have to tell you about my imaginary friends some day!

Sure hope he does come visit here; and from the way he has described his Missus in the books, I think she'd be a blast to have here too. I'll probably be gone already when Sojourner gets home to put up the new info - sniff, whimper....

Okay everyone - what is your favorite Logsdon book, and why?

-- Anonymous, July 08, 2001

Yup, at long last I got to meet My Hero, Gene Logsdon. The coolest thing is he knew who I was! When he was signing the books I brought with me he asked how to make it out and I told him "Contrary Peasant" (he is the Contrary Farmer, but I am merely a peasant, LOL!) He laughed and then I said, "You may have heard of me, I'm the one who has the fan page website." His eyes got round with amazement and he said, "OH! You're Holly ... SOMETHING" LOL!

His niece or daughter had found my site and showed it to him last year but he didn't have a computer until just this past month, but he thought it was pretty cool he had a fan club on the Internet. He was impressed that there had been over a thousand hits the first year, if he were more internet sophisticated I'm afraid he would quickly become DE-impressed.

Some friends of his buy copies of his in-print books at retail and sell them at wholesale, (actually for a buck less than cover price) and give the total profits to Gene. Like Trendle said, he only gets a dollar or less per paperback and maybe up to $1.75 for the hardbacks. SO this is a way his friends decided to help him get a bigger piece of his own pie. I'll put that on my website and will try to post it here as well when I get home.

He also has some copies of other books that he bought himself and sells himself, and he gets more money per book that way as well. He has a short novel coming out next year. It is currently available in a handbound edition, handset on hand-made paper, but there are only like 100 of them and they are something like $60 or $80 apiece. I will post more information about that on my website as soon as I can.

He gave me his address and asked me to write, and offered to write something for the site. I think I will ask him to write a short piece about what he is doing now with his farm, I have heard he is trying some new things and experimenting with his orchard.

After I hear back from him I will let you all know what books you can buy directly from him, if anyone is interested (sure hope some of you are!)

I was very excited to finally get to meet him. When we got there we found there was a talk on prairie reclamation going on in the same room so we couldn't talk to Gene while the speech was going on. There was a short break shortly after we got there, so I went out front to ask one of the library employees how much longer the speech was going to last, because I had come to see Gene Logsdon and wanted to spend a little time talking to him. She literally lifted her nose in the air and looked down it at me, sniffed, and said, "Well you can talk to him now during the break."

I said, "Yeah but there's only a couple minutes left and I'd like to talk to him a little bit longer than that. How much longer is the speech going to last?"

She said "I DOUBT he'd have more than a minute or two to talk to you."

"Ok, well, how much longer is this speech going to go?"

"He'll start again very soon."

"OK, so he's going to keep talking the whole time, is that what you're saying? It's not going to be over before Gene Logsdon has to leave?"

"No, but as I said before I doubt Mr. Logsdon will have the time to spend with you. There are OTHERS who have come to see him too, you know."

"Fine, I'll take that chance. How much longer, roughly, until this speech is over?"

"I'd guess 15 minutes or so, but I really think you are wasting your time. Mr. Logsdon has many admirers and surely won't have more than a minute or two for any particular person."

On that note, and with dawning trepidation (maybe I really WAS being importunate) I went back into the meeting room and waited for the speech to be over.

Well, Gene Logsdon not only had the time for me, he was tickled pink to meet me, almost as tickled I think as I was to meet him. He had more books in his car and told me to wait until it was over and go down with him and he would give me one I hadn't been able to get a copy of. It was great! I was as impressed with him in person as I had been reading his books.

AND, this may be kind of petty of me, but hey, I'm only human and sometimes vindication really IS sweet, as we were standing in front of the elevator waiting for it to come, he and his wife were standing there talking to me (all friendly like, LOL!) while the pinch-lipped librarian who tried to brush me off earlier stood and watched in consternation. It was only with immense personal restraint that I managed to keep from sticking my tongue out at her just before the elevator doors closed.

It was great. I'm still thrilled I got to meet him.

-- Anonymous, July 08, 2001

Vicki,

Count me as 1 from Ohio - Williams county. Trendle, where is this site of yours everyone is talking about? Sounds like I've been missing something good.

-- Anonymous, July 08, 2001

Oooops!! It's Sojourner's sight not yours Trendle. Sorry about that.

-- Anonymous, July 08, 2001

Terry, Yep, I'm just the middle man here as I am the one who announced that Gene was gonna be at our local library. Sojourner has a link to her Gene Logsdon web site down on the first thread that I started about it. Tren

-- Anonymous, July 08, 2001

Vicki, Can you describe Gene Logsdons homestead to us? TRen

-- Anonymous, July 09, 2001

Thanks for the reports, Tren and Sojourner!

-- Anonymous, July 09, 2001

Tren, the 3 books I have on hold are The Contrary Farmer, The Contrary Farmer's Invitation to Gardening, and Living at Nature's Pace. They're the only ones that our library system has. I can't pick them up today because the library is closed due to no electricity. We had a big storm come through last night and dump about 4 inches of rain in a couple hours time and a lot of the city lost power. In fact, we're running off of generators at work today.

-- Anonymous, July 09, 2001

Trendle--I just asked my hubby what he remembered most the day we passed G. Logsdon's place. He said all the trees. Yep, that's what I remember too. It's like the barn and other outbuildings are right in his woods and the house is protected by a line of trees out front. I caught a glimpse of the garden and the pole beans were nice and straight, not falling over like mine always do. I didn't see any of the fields, because I think they are on the backside of the property where you can't see them from the road. What caught my eye though were the buildings all nice and snug and protected by the trees. In this part of OH, that is a very rare thing. My place is wide open and the wind is vicious, like out on the prairie. Don't you just love his books though, for me they remind me of my childhood and the farms that were in my family. My hubby just reminded me too that we saw Gene at the Wyandot Co. fair, but he was talking to a lot of people. I waited awile, but more people came up to talk, and well let's face it I'm shy. But I WANTED to jump up and down and scream, It's Gene Logsdon, it's Gene Logsdon. Oh well, maybe at this year's fair.

-- Anonymous, July 09, 2001

Hi Vicki, nice to have you here, I'm from SE Ohio, down in Monroe county in the rolling hills of oak and black cherry trees, it's the boondocks (12,000 folks in the entire county) and we like it that way! Never knew Ohio had such big hills till we came here, just like WV, but cheaper land and less people. Our farmhouse and outbuildings are all surrounded by huge old trees also, some over 100 feet tall, lovely having shade this time of year, but, it is a worry in the heavy wind and lightening!!!

-- Anonymous, July 09, 2001

Vicki, Thanks for the vivid description! Sounds lovely! Yes Lodsdons books have a way of reminding you of a day gone by. There were people talking to him at your county fair, wonder if he gets tired of that, always being noticed?

Annie, You make Monroe County sound soooo beautiful! I can't wait to go see it!Be careful, if too many people read your tempting description you may raise the population.! My Ancesters are from Noble County,just west of you, this is where I lived untill I was 11, But can you beleive that I have never been to your County, as my family up and moved to Mo. I am gonna get over there and see it ,Love those BIG Hills,!

Polly, MY husband Jim says that the best Gene Lodsdon book is the right one for the job! Like if you are gonna grow grain, then it is the small grains book, if you are having trouble with wild life then its the wildlife one.In other words he can't chose a favorite.! Mine is You Can Go Home Again.

Tren

-- Anonymous, July 10, 2001

Sojourner, can you please send me the info about how to buy Gene's books so he gets more of the money? I think I saw over at CS that you have book buying info about Joel Salatin too, if you could send that too I'd really appreciate it. Thanks!

-- Anonymous, July 16, 2001