Return to the Land

life then was far from the farm. My parents were aging and developing poor health so the dairy was retired and the farm was converted back to Angus beef cattle, which was easier on Dad. He farmed as long as he could and after a stroke he sold the cattle and he deeded the farm to me on September 30, 1971. Now the farm had survived another generation and it would remain secure for the foreseeable future.

Grave Marker of David Stafford and Clara Watson Miller Shiloh Cemetery, Bland County

During this period of time the practice of internal medicine and cardiology and rearing my children commanded my full attention. My family and I were living in Roanoke, Virginia. Therefore the farm had become dormant once again. After my parents died my family and I became “weekend warriors” and would come to the farm for relaxation and to make small improvements. In 1970, shortly after Mother’s death, Dad came to live with us in Roanoke. I now owned the farm and attempted to maintain it in some fashion. An unused farm is a dead farm so I asked our neighbor and close friend, Rex Morehead, to farm the land for a nominal fee of $500.00 annually. A provision of the agreement was that he would care for the land as if it were his own, which he did for the next 23 years. He constructed new drainage ditches, cleared fields, and re-fenced the entire farm. Corn was harvested each fall and dairy heifers grazed the pastures. The farm was significantly improved under Rex’s care and he watched over it until 1993 when the doctor-farmer took over its operation and once again my childhood memories came rushing back. During my years of practicing medicine I never lost focus on the farm and planned for the day that I would return home. I wanted to once again walk the fields and graze my own cattle on the land. As part of those plans I patiently waited for adjoining land to become available to add to my property so that farming there would be a viable endeavor. In 1983, 12 acres were purchased from Ned Randal Wright , Dad’s second cousin. The land joined the farm on the south side. Ned’s father, Eugene Wright , had owned it before the transaction. Much of this field was heavily wooded and water laden with poor drainage. The timber was cleared and drainage

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