Collard Greens: Growing Up on a Sandhill Subsistence Farm in Louisiana during the
Great Depression

Thomas Ard Sylvest
AuthorHouse (2008)
ISBN 9781434394361
Reviewed by Olivera Baumgartner-Jackson for Reader Views (2/09) 

If you are looking for a thrilling read, full of violence, lies, infidelity and cunning, do yourself a great favor and pass on “Collard Greens.” Folks in Nachitoches Parish in Louisiana back then were way too busy to survive to have time for plotting those kinds of mischief. If, on the other hand, you are curious about lives of real people, struggling with real issues and facing them with bravery and integrity, this book is a gem you will treasure and feel compelled to share with as many people as possible.

It is easy to get overly sentimental and mawkish when talking about one’s past, especially when one went through many hardships, yet this is definitely not the case with Thomas Ard Sylvest, a gentleman who was born on a farm down South in 1925. Times were tough, and about to get tougher. Money was scarce and work was backbreaking. And nobody was ever too young to work, there were chores for every age. Yet reading Mr. Sylvest’s memoir one does not detect bitterness, but rather pride in everything his family managed to accomplish.

And oh, the stories! - those about the hogs ad cows and chickens and goats - and peddlers - general stores in town - putting yourself through college by milking cows - skiing in Louisiana - garbage disposal, and not the kind you are thinking of, but rather smashing pieces of broken dishes into smaller fragments, so that the chickens would eat them for calcium, much needed for eggshell production. Oh, and stories about improvising, something we do so seldom nowadays and which was so much fun when we actually did it.

“Collard Greens” by Thomas Ard Sylvest is a precious book, both because it preserves the past in such a unique way and because it puts things in perspective. If you are feeling down, not being able to afford the latest gizmo or a gadget, read it and try to imagine living with so little. Actually, read it and try to imagine living with so little stuff, but so much pride and so much joy. This is a very important message, and in current economic situation one that should be read and taken to heart.



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