Flow of the Big Spring

  In early May five years ago, I met with a committee who asked me to write the history of a farm that had been in the Martin family more than 200 years. After looking at the enormous amount of material and family heirlooms they had preserved and collected, I knew there was more than enough material to write a book. It looked overwhelming but I agreed to try.

  I began with the Native Americans who were the first to drink from the big spring and camp on that land. William Penn was the first European owner of the land, but it is highly unlikely he ever saw the spring. I worked through each owner from the first Welsh immigrant in 1734 until it passed out of the Martin family in 2007 and became a living history museum.

   The project stretched out year after year with many revisions and additions. After I was finished writing the text, someone else did the layout which stretched out due to unavoidable circumstances. At last, in March, it was at the printer. Then plans were made for a formal release date of May 2.

   The meeting was held at the Martindale Reception Center. We got there at 6:15 thinking we were in plenty of time for the 7 p.m. start of the meeting. People were already there buying books and shoving them at me to sign before I had a chance to sit down. I signed books before, during, and after the meeting. I was thankful I was not on the program and could just sit there and sign my name.

   The committee was surprised at the big turnout and so was I. 

   They had brought 800 books thinking it's better to have too many than not enough. We were nearing the end when someone reported we had sold 642 books and more were sold after that. People bought multiple copies and even cases to give to their families. Most of the 800 books were sold.

  The committee spent a lot of money to produce this book. I was paid by the hour for my time, someone else was paid to do the layout, and then there was the cost of printing. I'm glad there was such a good turnout and market for the books. They need to sell a lot of them to break even on the cost of production.

   I can't deny my name is known as an author, but I am not the main reason people came to the meeting. It is a nice hardcover book with a lot of high-quality color pictures that makes it attractive. I had nothing to do with that part of it except to submit a photo or two. The reason for the high sales is the fact that the farm was in the Martin family for six generations. The last owner was a bachelor, but the others left many descendants. The Martins are so prolific that Martin is almost a generic name, especially if it is coupled with John. 

   Some people can trace their lineage to this Martin family in more than one way. I knew when I agreed to write the book that I had a connection to it myself. My great-great-great-grandmother was born and raised there. Her name was Lydia Martin and she married Jacob W. Stauffer who was a leader in founding the Stauffer Mennonite (Pike) church.

   As the years dragged on, I sometimes wondered if I'd live long enough to see the book finished. I did, and it is always a satisfying feeling to see the finished product. May the story and preservation of the farm inspire and encourage people to treasure their heritage and pass it on to the next generation.

After all our hopes and dreams

Have come and gone,

And our children sift thru all

We've left behind,

May the clues that they discover,

And the mem'ries they uncover,

Become the light that leads them,

To the road we each must find.

O may all who come behind us

Find us faithful,

May the fire of our devotion

Light their way.

May the footprints that we leave,

Lead them to believe,

And the lives we live

Inspire them to obey.

O may all who come behind us
Find us faithful.