Midwest Majesty

This book was inspired by the human touches to Wisconsin's landscape, the picturesque barns and awesome silos that tower over some of the prettiest farmsteads in the country. Along with photos and descriptions of all types of silos—built from fieldstone, wood, brick, block, glazed tile, and concrete—you'll discover a bit about the work of harvesting and filling those silos with hay and corn crops. These pages document silo construction (and destruction) and detail the daily, weekly, monthly, and annual rhythm of work and life on the farm. Their silos may be the “stars” of this book, but several farmers share their stories, too. A little history, a little humor, and a tribute to these stunning “rural skyscrapers.”

Jack Tackman has been a lifelong resident of Wisconsin. He spent the first five years of his life on his grandparents' dairy farm and the next eleven years in the small town of Nichols. The summers of 1952 and 1953 found him working on this same dairy farm. It was a small dairy operation with only nine milking cows. At that time, he learned a lot about dairy farming. During his adult life, he was foreman of a construction crew working for Shiocton Lumber where he built more than one hundred houses, numerous barns, and outbuildings. In his later years, Jack and his brother Clint bought and operated Shiocton Lumber. Their main focus was constructing farm buildings. They really enjoyed working for farmers.