Irene Kramer Parsons, author and daughter of late American folk artist Arnold Kramer, conducted a reading from her self-published book, The Seaforth Connection for the fifth grade class at Bert Raney Elementary School in Granite Falls, MN on February 22nd. 

Irene is in the center of the above photo

The memior recorded the author's personal experiences growing up in the Kramer family during the early 1900's.

The fifth graders, under the guidance of Mrs. Cynthia Lavin, prepared extensively for a writing project utilizing the above Kramer painting and by studying the work of Grandma Moses, a New England artist who Kramer's work is often compared to, the history of pioneers, and by studying a book about school houses in Minnesota.

Parsons brought with her a picture her father painted of the school she attended near Seaforth in southwestern Minnesota.  Her reading included a chapter about an experiment conducted by curious farm kids wanting to know how chickens react when given beer to quench their thirst. 

According to Parsons, they ended up with a yard full of chickens who slept on their backs with their feet in the air.  Parsons said anyone who knows chickens, knows this isn't typical chicken behavior.  No formal scientific paper was published recording their findings.