Barnesville native relates to others in new book
Barnesville native Sam Shuman released his new book, The Rural Raconteur: Sam’s Stories about Heritage, Farm Life and a Small Town Upbringing, where he relates to other Barnesvillians and what it’s like to live in a small village.
Nostalgia comes to mind when describing his book, Shuman said.
“The world that you grow up in is kind of etched in your mind as the ideal world,” he said.
This book focuses on stories of music, farm life, life in a small village and changes in a small village as a child to now, especially in Barnesville and his experiences here.
He said he believes other Barnesvillians will relate to the book because it includes memories from childhood and what Barnesville was like many years ago, and how it has changed throughout the years.
Shuman has always been creative, first starting out with music in high school, playing in a band called Kiddog, which turned out to be a popular band in the late 1970s. The band even had a song on the radio called “Fly like the Wind.” Shuman and his bandmates opened a lot of shows for country music stars, including Johnny Cash. Other members of the band were David Bishop and Dale Frazier.
Shuman began as a social studies teacher at Barnesville High School from 1984 until 2000, and then the middle school principal from 2000 to 2005 before he and his family moved to Knox County.
During his time teaching, he was still playing music. He was then in a band with his brother, Shultz Shuman, called The Ammunition, where they recorded a few albums. Shuman described his family as having a big musical tradition with his dad as a musician as well. All of his five sons play music, too and have been a part of the Shuman Band. Now, three of them still perform with him.
While Shuman was a teacher in 1985, he established the Blood Bash, which still takes place today, with the help of Ruth Bunting and the class of 1985. He received the Clara Barton Media award for establishing the Blood Bash.
Shuman shifted to writing. About 10 years ago, he put out a daily calendar with a group of short stories, anecdotal sayings that had to do with teaching that he posted on Facebook. The name of the calendar was “You might be a bad parent.” An example saying was, “If you allowed your son to go to a 10-day bowling tournament with your uncle Ned as an excused absence, you might be a bad parent.” These short stories were about experiences that happened in Shuman’s life as a parent, teacher and administrator.
He also published stories on Facebook called “Bits and Pieces” every day for three years.
He said he got a lot of support for the daily calendar, and a lot of people read the anecdotes. He described his new book as being a compilation of the stories he posted online for almost three years.
Shuman worked on the book for a year, putting pieces together, organizing it and editing it.
People can find the book on Amazon. It is available in paperback and on Kindle. People may also get a copy at the Barnesville Area Chamber of Commerce office.
“The concept of storytelling has always been an important part of our family. According to everything that I’ve learned, my great grandfather and dad were both storytellers,” Shuman said. “And I’ve kept that tradition alive.”
He added he’s had many different experiences in his life, and that he’s always been able to find humor in the race.
Shuman isn’t finished with writing yet. He’s hoping to have four books out within the next year and a half. He’s almost finished with his second book, which includes stories about his wife and five children. He then plans for the next two books to be about music, teaching, and coaching.
Shuman said he wants to connect people with his book.
“Shared stories are what builds community. They tie families together. I believe that there’s an importance in stories. I think that the element of who we are, our faults, our shortcomings, the characters that are in small towns, all of that stuff can get lost in the world of AI …,” he said. “I’m just trying to make a record of the things that were important in my life.”
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