Endangered Species of Country Life takes the reader on a very special journey. For those of
the younger generation, who have grown up with the Internet, the iPad and the smartphone,
this book will lead you on a fascinating voyage of discovery. For those who are a bit longer
in the tooth, the book will usher you on an odyssey of nostalgia and reminiscence. But
regardless of whether your years are fourteen, forty or fourscore and ten, you are sure to
enjoy the sights that await you at every stop along your journey. Your eyes will feast upon
a smorgasbord of species of country life -- all of them endangered and some of them
already extinct. Not only will your emotions be kindled, but your every sense will be
touched by the images that you encounter.
You will read by the flickering flame of a kerosene lamp, you will be guided by the faithful
light of a lonely lighthouse, and you will watch time slowly and silently pass into history
on the expressionless face of the grandfather clock. You will hear the scratchy melodies of
the old gramophone, the babbled chant of the country auctioneer and the deafening clatter
of the threshing machine. You will feel the bumps of the rumble seat ride, the warmth of
the fire in the pot-bellied stove and the cold of the hoarfrost crystals in the hayloft.
You will savour the aroma of freshly baked bread from the outdoor bake oven, you will
remember the smell of hot dogs and fried onions at the county fair, and you will experience
the foreboding fragrance of the venerable outhouse. You will taste maple taffy served on a
wooden paddle, eat turkey roasted on a wood stove and devour fresh strawberries topped
with whipped cream at a church-sponsored Strawberry Social.
This book is not intended to present an exhaustive portrayal of every aspect of country life
of yesteryear. Nor is it intended to be an authoritative compendium of North American
antiques. Rather it offers a selective but significant sampling of more than a hundred
images to illustrate important elements of life in rural North America during the past couple
of centuries.
The endangered species that this book highlights are organized into the following subspecies:
-Classic Conveyances
-Mechanical Marvels
-Rustic Structures
-Tools and Trappings
-Furniture and Fixings
-Common Containers
-Crafts and Trades
-Fun and Games
-Country Gatherings
-Odds and Ends
Endangered Species of Country Life will entertain you, inform you and amuse you. Perhaps
it will also sensitize and motivate its readers to preserve and protect the treasures that have
been passed on by previous generations. Maybe it will encourage some to support their
local historical society, others to learn a classic pioneer craft and still others to take some
action to rescue an endangered species of country life from likely extinction. If this book
has accomplished any of the above, then it has achieved its purpose.
So, sit back, fasten your seat belt and begin your journey back in time. Bon voyage!
Fraser, Winston C.: - Winston Fraser is a self-taught Canadian photographer whose work has been published widely both in North America and abroad. Included among his credits are National Geographic, National Wildlife Federation, New York Times, Country Guide, Farm & Ranch Living, Encyclopedia Britannica, Canadian Geographic, Kodak Encyclopedia of Photography and Walt Disney. A large-format hard-cover book containing some 200 of his photographs, HISTORIC SITES OF CANADA, was published in 1991 by Colour Library Books in the United Kingdom. Fraser has also authored several articles in connection with his photos including feature length articles in Canadian Geographic magazine, Farm Woman and American inflight magazine. Fraser's interest in photography started as a young boy while he was growing up on the family farm in Cookshire (Quebec, Canada) with his eleven brothers and sisters. At the age of ten he received his first camera, an inexpensive castoff, which required adhesive tape to keep it shut! Encouraged by family and friends, he pursued his hobby with ever increasing enthusiasm. But it wasn't until more than 25 years later that he decided to offer his photos for publication. Winston lives in St-Lazare (Quebec). He has four children and nine grandchildren. Because he was, until 1992, employed full-time with IBM as a systems engineer, his photography activities were mainly limited to weekend safaris and the family's annual camping vacation. Nevertheless, he was able to build up an extensive library of images, now numbering some fifty thousand, covering every region of Canada and many areas of the United States and overseas countries. Fraser holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Bishop's University, Lennoxville (Quebec). Among his photography awards was first prize in a Canadian Heritage photo contest. An active Christian layman, Winston recognizes that his success in photography is the result of a God-given ability to see and record the wonders of creation in a special way. Over the years he has held benefit exhibitions of his work to support such charitable organizations as Quebec Lodge Christian Camp, Manoir Hubert Maisonneuve Senior Citizens Home, Africa Inland Mission, Generations Foundation (to feed hungry schoolchildren), Old Brewery Mission for the Homeless and the Canadian Bible Society. Expositions of his photography have been held in New York, Vermont, Ontario and Quebec.
