corn for miles

photograph by kristin karch

family barn

i recently took a trip to central illinois for a family reunion. one of the best parts of the trip was driving around these farm roads, paved with gooey tar, to see where my grandparents and great-grandparents lived. most of their homes are not standing anymore, but this barn remained next to the site of my great-grandmothers old home. my mother and grandmother with me, and it was so interesting to hear their stories and memories from this old barn. whoever owns it now will probably let it sit here to rot and disappear into the corn fields like so many other old structures in rural illinois.

photographs and words by kristin karch

family treasures

while i was home for thanksgiving, i came across this old catholic book. me and my dad both knew it was old, but we had a big surprise waiting for us..

turns out, the book has always belonged to our family and dates back to 1904. hidden inside were two large locks of hair, one brown and curly and one blonde, some dried flowers, and a folded napkin with three baby teeth inside. in the back of the book, we found written birth and death dates all with our last name, with some born in the 1870s. In different handwriting, you can see that someone went back in the 1940s to write the death dates. 

Lion H. Karch, written in the bottom right corner, was born in 1900 and died in 1905, so I would like to think that the lock of blonde hair and teeth could be his. 

photographs and words by kristin karch