collard greens: Growing Up on a Sandhill Subsistence Farm in Louisiana During the Great Depression

As a lunatic gardener and hobby homesteader, I like to try to learn how people did things before all modern amenities came about, particularly if they are from my region. This book has some pretty good nuts and bolts details of how they did things: growing, butchering, preserving, what they used for power etc. I’m actually planning to re-read it and make my own index, I like it so much. It’s self published, but the stories and information are great. And at the same time, it has a very charming folksy tone that that may be even better than had a professional editor streamlined everything.Also impressed with how young adults would put off plans if they were needed at home and the extent to which people helped each other. Examples: 1) it wasn’t unusual for someone to lose their house and land to the bank. When that happened, other families would pitch in to feed and clothe them, find a place to rent and get back on their feet 2) If the man of a family got seriously ill or died, other men and teenage boys would take turns going to their farms and doing all the work the man would usually do. And let me tell you, it was a load of work. We have it easy today.My only regret is I wish I would have had this book 25 or 30 years ago. I know my grandparents would have loved it. This is the kind of book my grandmother would have read aloud at night for my grandfather and anybody else who wanted to listen.His books Cornbread (same subtitle) and Buttermilk (same subtitle) elaborate on similar topics. I recommend all three. If you liked or found Collard Greens useful, you will like the other two as well.

Mr. Sylvest is a wonderful story teller. He writes about an era and a life style that the present generation would find hard to imagine. Yet he tells of the hardships and hard times with warmth and humor. I will tell my children and grand children his stories and will encourage them to read these wonderful books. I have read both sequels - Buttermilk and cornbread. Every American history lover should read these books. Thank you, Mr. Sylvest, for telling the stories of an era that brought forth the wonderful lifestyle we enjoy today.

This memoir is a joy to read, a rare glimpse into the life of a child growing up on a Louisiana farm during the Depression. Mr. Sylvest writes of a way of life that, though once common, has all but disappeared from this country. I grew up in a very different kind of Louisiana -- a more recent one, with cars, running water, electricity, packaged food, and bank accounts -- but I was fascinated by the descriptions of day-to-day life on the Sylvest farm in the 1920's and '30's. If my grandparents were still alive today, these are the kinds of stories that I would pester them for! I highly recommend this book not just for those interested in the place and time period, but for anyone who enjoys good storytelling.

My father grew up in this community about the same time so it was a really interesting read for me. Some of the places the author talks about I have heard about from my father. Will share this with lots of cousins.

My mother, who grew up in the Harmony community near Provencal, gave me this book as a gift and I couldn't put it down. Knowing some of the family names in the book and having traveled through Provencal hundreds of times, I was fascinated by the descriptions of life in that era. I would highly recommend this book!

Being one of the seven children of the author, I can easily tell you this book is not to be passed over. I have given many as gifts. Those who received this book are very moved by this artful storyteller, my dad. If too, you look to strengthen your faith, give Collard Greens a read. Your spirit will be renewed with every page turned.

A delightful read, describing the life and times of a most resourceful and inspiring family. My own father and mother grew up much the same, living close to the land, with little money, deep faith and the support of neighbors. This is a lost art, and I doubt that many today could survive as the Sylvests did through the 1930s and 40s. Even through the hard work and struggles, however, a deep joy and love seemed to bond this family together.