Like Father, Like Daughter

Dad sacrificed a lot to keep the family in the country, and it’s a life they treasure.

- Leah Leach Waynesboro, Tennessee

I spent my childhood running free, wading in mud puddles and hunting for bird nests. I heard great horned owls at night and ate juicy, sun warmed tomatoes off the vine. I took it all for granted, like the air I breathed and the delicious water that came from our deep well.

Back when my daddy was 12 years old, his family moved from their farm to a house in town. He spent the next 30 years working to return to the rural lifestyle he had loved as a boy. After I was born, he and Mama bought 5 acres on which they kept horses and raised chickens, goats and a milk cow. Mama canned fruits and vegetables from our garden. We raised our own meat.