Description
Longer Than a Man’s Lifetime in Missouri
by Gert Goebel (Author), Walter D. Kamphoefner (Editor), Adolf E. Schroeder (Editor), Edith Moore (Illustrator)
Paperback: 466 pages
Publisher: The State Historical Society of Missouri; First edition (June 15, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0981693970
ISBN-13: 978-0981693972
By gathering the stories of old-time settlers as well as recording his own experiences, Goebel traces Missouri’s history from pre-statehood to the 1870s; hence the title. Goebel describes farming techniques and backwoods skills learned from his new American neighbors as he and his parents worked to establish a farm in early Franklin County. He also demonstrates a keen eye and sense of humor in observing the wisdom and faults of German settlers and ‘Old Americans” alike while shrewdly assessing relations between these two communities. In later chapters, Goebel relies on his background as an officeholder to discuss topics such as the character of Missouri’s cities and the German influence in establishing the state’s winemaking industry. Finally, he provides a characteristically German perspective on Missouri’s Civil War experience. Goebel’s text is illuminated and enhanced by extensive annotations and an Editors’ Introduction.
