Chronicling the Dudleys & Dudley Farm Museum
by Pam Johnson | Featured in The Day | March 6, 2013
The first time Jim Powers eyed the historic Dudley Farm was in 1983, on his way to interview for a teaching job at Guilford High School (GHS).
“I drove by the farm, and David Dudley was there,” says Jim. “For the next eight years, I saw him on my way to work. I played a game where I’d wave at him, and if he ever waved back one day, I’d stop and talk. And one day in 1991, he finally waved back-but I couldn’t stop! I swore I would go back another time and then he passed away.”
Jim’s now authored a book on the creation of North Guilford’s Dudley Farm Museum, Saving the Farm: A Journey through Time, Place and Redemption, (Homebound Publications, 2013). Although they never met in person, in writing the book, Jim learned a great deal about David Dudley’s family. In Saving the Farm, Jim also chronicles an imaginative view into hurdles faced by generations of Dudley family members.
“This is a story of the Dudley family and the creation of the Dudley Farm as a museum, from my point of view. I’ve written fictionalized accounts of the Dudley family, loosely based on how I interpreted historical examples, to make it more interesting for the reader.”
Jim describes himself as “just one of many people” involved in the evolution of the Dudley Farm Museum, now a North Guilford community cornerstone.