'Do what you have to do'; care + commitment in rural Kansas

This work, presented as select spreads from the book project, is about the Engstrom family in southeast Kansas and their efforts to keep the patriarch of the family, Larry, at home on the farm. 

Donna and Larry Engstrom were married in 1965 in the front room of the farm house they now live in. She was 17 and he was 23. The couple raised three children together, Jante, April and Slade, in Coyville. The couple has felt their fair share of “rough times,” but are quick to say, “we had fun.” 

A series of surgeries, injuries, and complications over the span of several years required a different approach to care for the Engstroms. Larry had a fall in August 2022 and it was decided more help on the farm was necessary, so the kids stepped in. Jante and her husband, Shelby, renovated a barn on the property into a home and moved from Fredonia, Kansas in February 2023. 

“April and Slade were happy when we decided to make the move. They helped a lot in the months ahead working on the house and helping us get moved,” Jante said. The farm is frequently visited by April and her three kids as well as Slade and his family. 

Larry sometimes struggles to grasp the words that he is searching for. He often looks to Donna to help him pull out the right phrase. One thing that Larry does not struggle with is telling one of the many stories from his youth, growing up on the farm. Everything from his assortment of pets (a skunk, bobcat and raccoon) to the reason the upstairs window screen was rusted out - four boys and no upstairs bathroom. 

This work was completed as part of my Master's project at the University of Missouri - Columbia. It is the inaugural title for Bayou Books.