Beyond the Trail

The year is 1936, and the month is May. The Kauffman family pack all their belongings--at least all they plan to move with them--into four horse-drawn wagons and begin the 500-mile trek to a new home. The oldest daughter, Doris, has gone ahead by train, and shy seventeen-year-old Ruth wishes with all her heart that she could have gone too. She shrinks in deep embarrassment at the spectacle she is sure they are making with their patched-up dilapidated wagons loaded with old worn-out furnishings and outdated farm equipment. Even the livestock--twelve milk cows that are herded along the road and need to be milked every morning and evening (sometimes beside the road with cars and trucks passing), ten squealing pigs in a crate, and an assortment of hens--are taken along. Laundry, bread baking, cooking, and all the necessary activities of life are done along the road. The younger children, delighted with adventure, have lively times. The parents, upon who shoulders the undertaking rests more heavily, face many situations that call for the sustaining grace and blessing of God. This genuinely Christian family leaves a consistent testimony for the Lord along their difficult route--a testimony that will also touch and encourage the hearts of those who read this book.