Oral history interview with Charles D. Thompson, October 15, 1990

Charles D. Thompson made a career in the agricultural economy before earning a Ph.D. He began as an agricultural educator but soon learned that farmers knew more than enough about their profession. He educated himself enough to start a farm of his own in 1984, doing so after considerable research (determining that a small farm would be most profitable) and effort (navigating a good old boys network to get a loan). He sold his farm after nearly a decade to earn a Ph.D., and at the time of this interview he was looking for rewarding work. The bulk of this interview finds Thompson searching to recreate the farming community of his youth. But while he found financial success, he did not find the spiritual succor he sought.