Ward, Logan 1966–

PERSONAL:

Born June, 1966; married; wife's name Heather; children: Luther, Eliot.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Staunton, VA. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Writer.

WRITINGS:

See You in a Hundred Years: Four Seasons in Forgotten America (memoir), BenBella Books (Dallas, TX), 2006.

Contributor to periodicals, including National Geographic Adventure, New York Times, Men's Journal, Popular Science, and House Beautiful. Contributing editor, Popular Mechanics, Cottage Living, Coastal Living, New Old House, and Southern Accents.

SIDELIGHTS:

Logan Ward is a freelance writer who has specialized in travel stories and articles about science and architecture. He is also the author of See You in a Hundred Years: Four Seasons in Forgotten America. In 2000 Ward and his family decided to give up their urban lifestyle to live in a rural locale. However, just living in the country was not enough for the Wards, who decided to try and live like nineteenth-century subsistence farmers. As a result, Ward, his wife, Heather, and their one-year-old son, Luther, ended up in Swoope, Virginia. ‘We were feeling really restless,’ Logan recalled in an interview with Jann Malone on In Rich.com. ‘We'd been in New York for ten years.’ Logan went on: ‘It was a way to do something adventurous with a small child. It was affordable. We weren't going to take our child out and climb some mountain.’ The author added: ‘I guess I had this Robinson Crusoe fantasy. So I thought it was my thing, but when I mentioned it to Heather, she was all for it. It was really scary for me. I didn't expect her to take me seriously."

In another interview, with David Medaris on Isthmus: The Daily Page Web site, the author explained his rationale for choosing the year 1900 as a time to emulate living in: ‘We never wanted to be pioneers or indentured servants or even landed gentry. I wasn't even all that interested in history (which I admit later in the book). What interested me was self-sufficiency and living without the technological distractions of the modern world. The year 1900 was almost within grasp—both my grandfathers were alive then—and yet it occurred before the dawn of the automobile age, before the advent of mass communications, before electricity. At least in rural America, and the majority of Americans in 1900 were still rural."

See You in a Hundred Years was called ‘a meditation on the value of modern living’ by Birmingham News contributor Laura Axelrod. The author recounts his family's struggles to adjust to a new, nontechnological way of life. If something did not exist in the year 1900, the Wards did not use it. The author even kept notes about their year on the farm with a pencil and paper. Axelrod noted: ‘The underlying question of this book isn't whether life was better in the early days, but instead, what kind of effect does technology have on civilization.’ For example, the author questions how much modern technology has made the modern generation immature and ponders if convenience is somehow sacrificing society's sense of security. ‘Ward provides no conclusions, leaving readers to ponder these questions on their own,’ related Axelrod.

The book begins with the Wards looking for a suitable place to conduct their experiment. Once they land in Swoope, Virginia, it does not take long to realize that they both need to learn a lot. They battle bugs that destroy their garden, drought, and recalcitrant livestock, including a draft horse named Bella with a mind of her own. As the story progresses, Ward recounts how he and his wife had to battle their own insecurities. A pivotal event occurs shortly after the Wards arrive at their new home: the 9/11 terrorist bombings in the United States. Without a television or radio and faced with the fact that the attacks included their previous home of New York City, the Wards must make a decision whether or not to stick with their experiment. ‘When the terrorists struck on 9/11, we almost gave up or at least abandoned our rules to watch TV and use the phone,’ Ward told Medaris. ‘Our experiment felt silly in the face of such tragedy. But we stuck by our rules.’ Ultimately, the couple take comfort in learning how to survive on their own, which provides them with a newfound sense of security.

In the memoir, Ward also ruminates on nature, finding that this new lifestyle gives him plenty of time and the desire to observe the world around him. He describes enjoying such simple pleasures as reading nineteenth-century novels by the wood-burning stove. Ultimately, Ward relates how he and his wife discover a new sense of themselves and community, as they are constantly visited by relatives and neighbors in Swoope. M.C. Duhig, writing in the Library Journal, noted that the story is ‘informed throughout by Ward's wry sense of humor, passion, and objectivity.’ A Publishers Weekly a critic commented: ‘This lyrical account of keeping the 21st century at bay is more real, and more rewarding, than any survival TV show."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Logan, Ward, See You in a Hundred Years: Four Seasons in Forgotten America, BenBella Books (Dallas, TX), 2006.

PERIODICALS

Birmingham News, July 22, 2007, Laura Axelrod, ‘Couple Chronicles Experience of Living a 1900 Rural Life."

Library Journal, July 1, 2007, M.C. Duhig, review of See You in a Hundred Years, p. 100.

Publishers Weekly, April 23, 2007, review of See You in a Hundred Years, p. 41.

ONLINE

In Rich.com,http://www.timesdispatch.com/ (June 3, 2007), Jann Malone, ‘Down on the Farm; City Slickers Survive a Year as circa 1900 Virginians, and They Have a Book to Prove It."

Isthmus: The Daily Page,http://www.thedailypage.com/ (September 18, 2007), David Medaris, ‘Wisconsin Book Festival 2007: Logan Ward Speaks,’ interview with the author.

Logan Ward Home Page,http://www.loganward.com (November 10, 2007).

Perpetual Folly,http://perpetualfolly.blogspot.com/ May 21, 2007), Clifford Garstang, review of See You in a Hundred Years.