Friday JohnKu _ AKA -TGIF – Good News/Fri-Yay -The Weight of Snow and Regret Blog Tour with Elizabeth Gauffreauwith Elizabeth Gauffreau

~ John W. Howell

I am very happy to welcome Elizabeth Gauffreau here on Good News Friday. She has a new book and it is good news for sure.  So without any delay. Here is Liz to talk about her book.

Introduction

Thank you for hosting me on my blog tour for The Weight of Snow and Regret, John! For today’s tour stop, I’m giving a brief overview of the historical context of the poor farm system in Vermont. But first, here’s what The Weight of Snow and Regret is all about.

Description

For over 100 years, no one wanted to be sent to the Sheldon Poor Farm. By 1968, no one wanted to leave. Amid the social turmoil of 1968, the last poor farm in Vermont is slated for closure. By the end of the year, the twelve destitute residents remaining will be dispatched to whatever institutions will take them, their personal stories lost forever.

Hazel Morgan and her husband Paul have been matron and manager at the Sheldon Poor Farm for the past 20 years. Unlike her husband, Hazel refuses to believe the impending closure will happen. She believes that if she just cares deeply enough and works hard enough, the Sheldon Poor Farm will continue to be a safe haven for those in need, herself and Paul included.

On a frigid January afternoon, the overseer of the poor and the town constable from a nearby town deliver a stranger to the poor farm for an emergency stay. She refuses to tell them her name, where she came from, or what her story is. It soon becomes apparent to Hazel that whatever the woman’s story is, she is deeply ashamed of it.

Hazel fights to keep the stranger with them until she is strong enough to face, then resume, her life—while Hazel must face the tragedies of her own past that still haunt her.

Told with compassion and humor, The Weight of Snow & Regret tells the poignant story of what it means to care for others in a rapidly changing world.

Historical Context for the Weight of Snow and Regret

The approach I took to writing the novel (and the reason I’m eager for people to read it) is to honor the history of the Sheldon Poor Farm and the people who lived, worked, and died there by creating characters that readers would come to understand and care about. The job of fiction, in other words! 

The Poor Farm System: 19th Century

I researched the history of the poor farm system in Vermont, which was inherited from 17th-century Elizabethan poor laws.

The Poor Farm System: 20th Century

In the 20th-century, the historical context was a transition from specific localities’ being responsible for the poor to the federal government’s assuming responsibility for the social safety net, with the states responsible for administering the federal benefits programs. (Two of the characters in the book are adamantly opposed to the state’s taking over.) The road sign in the image is for the road to Sheldon Poor Farm. It’s easy to find similar poor farm road signs in Vermont and New Hampshire, particularly on the back roads

The Poor Farm Residents

The next image outlines the two categories of poor farm residents, temporary and permanent, and the primary reasons people would have been sent there.

Conditions at the Sheldon Poor House

I was surprised at how much information about the living conditions I was able to find simply by reading local newspapers. I was also surprised at the range of conditions. As the timeline below indicates, living conditions for the residents were either exemplary or appalling. (The 1931 abuse allegations included a straightjacket for unruly residents and one room used as a jail. I couldn’t find anything further about whether the allegations were actually addressed.)

 

Books2Read Purchase Link: https://books2read.com/WeightofSnow

 

Author Biography

Elizabeth Gauffreau writes fiction and poetry with a strong connection to family and place. Her work has been widely published in literary magazines, as well as several themed anthologies. Her short story “Henrietta’s Saving Grace” was awarded the 2022 Ben Nyberg  prize for fiction by Choeofpleirn Press.

She has previously published a novel, Telling Sonny: The Story of a Girl Who Once Loved the Vaudeville Show, and two collections of photopoetry, Grief Songs: Poems of Love & Remembrance and Simple Pleasures: Haiku from the Place Just Right.

Liz’s professional background is in nontraditional higher education, including academic advising, classroom and online teaching, curriculum development, and program administration. She received the Granite State College Distinguished Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2018. Liz lives in Nottingham, New Hampshire with her husband. Find her online at https://lizgauffreau.

Click/tap to follow blog tour: https://lizgauffreau.com/the-weight-of-snow-and-regret-blog-tour-2/

Also more good news Eternal Road – The last stop is free on Amazon US today through Sunday. Here is the link https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GL135KQ

The good news here is that Liz has a new book.  Today’s JohnKu talks about books. I hope you have a super weekend.

Books by John W. Howell © 2025

New ones are published,

We greet them like new neighbors . . .

Go and check them out.

 

 

145 thoughts on “Friday JohnKu _ AKA -TGIF – Good News/Fri-Yay -The Weight of Snow and Regret Blog Tour with Elizabeth Gauffreauwith Elizabeth Gauffreau”

  4. Fascinating information. I am very interested in this as a great-great grandfather of mine died at a Poor Farm in Portland, Oregon in 1928. I have often wondered why he ended up there. Well done, Liz and best of luck with this book.

    Liked by 3 people

    2. Thank you, Darlene. After the dust has settled from the book launch, I’m going to begin a project to share the stories of actual poor farm residents. Your great-great grandfather is on my list!

      Liked by 2 people

  6. Wishing Liz the best with her new book! I love the title and the cover very much, I already added it to my reading list. Thank you for hosting her, John, her research for the book is quite impressive, so thorough!

    Liked by 3 people

  7. Fantastic, Liz! Your story brings out the good, the bad, and the ugly, but in human terms so we can grasp the facts and emotions. Your research nailed it, and from my view, that’s a sharp stick in the eye of artificial intelligence! Kudos for your many works!

    Liked by 2 people

  9. Pingback: Friday JohnKu _ AKA -TGIF – Good News/Fri-Yay -The Weight of Snow and Regret Blog Tour with Elizabeth Gauffreauwith Elizabeth Gauffreau | Legends of Windemere

  14. Great to see this brief history as background to Liz’s new book. I think PA and New England had similar systems for poorhouses. And yes, they were called inmates in PA, too, at least in the 18th and early 19th century records I’ve seen. The last one in Chester County, PA also closed in the 1960s. Liz’s book is on its way here!

    Liked by 2 people

  17. I’m not a researcher, Liz, but you make it sound so interesting! It’s not surprising that the condition of the poor farm housing varied from place to place. You show that fact well in the story and how it depended on the quality of the managers. A wonderful read. Congrats again. And thanks, John, for hosting!

    Liked by 2 people

  18. Thank you, Diana. It was sobering to realize that it doesn’t matter how good a social safety net system is set up, if the people administering it are not ethical or compassionate, it’s not going to provide the quality of life intended by the system.

    Liked by 1 person

  19. John, your Johnku really sums up the feeling of these book launches: like welcoming new residents to the neighborhood. Liz, it is fascinating how conditions at the poor farm varied over time. I appreciate the historical background you’re providing us.

    Liked by 1 person

  20. I’m impressed with your research, Liz! The history the the Poor Farm system and the conditions of the residents are fascinating. Best wishes for your new book. Thank you for hosting, John!

    Liked by 2 people

  22. This sounds like an interesting read, Liz. I remember people used to talk about “the poor house,” when I was young. Thanks for this wonderful introduction to your book. Many thanks to John for hosting. 💟

    Liked by 2 people

  23. Thank you, John, for featuring Liz today. I’ve just begun to turn the pages of The Weight of Snow and Regret, and I’m captivated. A big congratulations to Liz…I’m looking forward to this read! 😊

    Liked by 2 people

  24. This is history I knew nothing about. I had heard of Poorhouses, but always thought they ended before the 20th Century. The impulse to care for those who need help is not a bad one, but it is too often abused. I wonder if we will ever figure it out. (K)

    Liked by 2 people

    2. Thank you, Kerfe. I was so surprised to learn that Vermont had active poor farms right up through 1968. Not to be cynical, but I don’t think we will ever figure out the best social safety net for those who need it.

      Liked by 2 people

        1. Absolutely not! In fact a good friend of mine in Franklin County is a case worker for people who would have ended up on the poor farm years ago. He’s doing everything he can to give them the services they need to stay in their homes.

          Liked by 2 people

  26. Interesting information about the Poor Farm System. It wasn’t perfect but at least there was something for the elderly, widows and infirm. There used to be a similar system in Sweden (where I grew up).

    Liked by 2 people

      1. It came in steps with a national public pension system in 1913, social security and medical support for the disabled was introduced in the 1930’s the first steps toward universal healthcare in 1946, complete universal healthcare in 1955, poor houses (or poor farms) were eventually not needed.

        Liked by 2 people

  29. My great-uncle, Carl, fought in WWI and was gassed with toxic chemicals. He developed respiratory problems and eventually ended up on a poor farm. I’ve always been fascinated by this story and just ordered Liz’s book to learn more about poor farms.

    Liked by 1 person

  36. This is great, John. I’m hosting on the 9th!

    OMG, I have the book and have been reading it. Boy, Liz sure is a fabulous writer!

    Congratulations to Liz!

    ❄️X 📔X 📔X ❄️X

    Liked by 2 people

      1. It is terrific, Liz!

        I will for sure be saying something about it on the blog tour stop at my place!
        I’m about 1/4 the way in, but I’m a slow reader, so I might not have it finished by the tour post.

        Sill, I need to say something.

        Liked by 2 people

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