The Beginner's Cow

At the age of seven, Loren Schmidtberger was assigned to a beginner's cow-the gentlest cow in the herd and the easiest for a child just beginning to milk. As he learned to milk with the help of the cow, he also learned the art of living from the unforgiving reality of the Dust Bowl years tempered by the steadfast resilience of his Volga German community.After he left the family's isolated Kansas farm and throughout his teaching career, Schmidtberger's life was filled with ever-present memories o