In 2010 an old, stained muslin sheet made of 42 blocks sewn together, many covered in embroidered names, was passed down five generations of the Hermans family (originally from Academy Hill Road in the hamlet of Jackson Corners, Town of Milan, Dutchess County). By the time it found its way to the 21st century, all record of why or by whom the homely quilt was made was believed lost. Besides the 260 names on the quilt, many of which belong to families still in the area, there was one obvious clue, the date 1903 on one of the blocks.The author spent a decade researching these people and the place they called home-a hamlet only a town over from her own home. What resulted was not only a pleasant and enriching pastime, but an examination of this rural area and its inhabitants at the turn of the 20th century when the "simple" life was coming to an end.