A woman in the Texas Panhandle looked at my book Vermont People and commented, "Why, they're no different from us." I didn't realize how true that was until I compared the books Vermont People and People of the Great Plains. Both are books about ordinary rural people, both have a sense of place and roots. Yet they are so different. The Plains is a metaphysical land of sky, sun and horizon. It is dry and harsh. Vermont, on the other hand is valley-riven, tree- topped and patched with mowings and pastures. It is a rich, verdant land, blessed with water. The biggest similarity, outside of the people, is that both regions are extremely inhospitable during the month of January.

People are what make up our culture; we are our own history. Rural people are the keel on which America was built, yet within the next century they will become an endangered species. These books are about the ordinary people who live in rural areas. Their faces and their comments are sculpted by where they live.

I photographed these books in black and white because it is an honest medium, direct yet abstract. You look at the subject and not at color. I self published both books as no major publisher considered them worthwhile. I hope they will be treasured by generations to come.

You can view thirteen pairs of comparative photographs from the books by clicking below, or you can read excerpts from the individual books at my website, www.silverprintpress.com.

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