As Les wrote in the preface, “this is a story book.” It’s a story about houses on prairie farms and the role that catalogues and mail order played in getting those houses built during the turn of the century. Although Les’s career was in academia, this book was written as if you were having a conversation with him. While reading it, you get to know the author. For example, he is not a fan of the metric system – “In the teens and twenties the metric system was not even a bad dream for Western Canadian farms so it has no place in this book – all house measurements are in feet. Too bad the Ottawa bureaucrats got the upper hand and shoved the metric system down our throats.” Les became interested in Eaton homes because oral history claims the farm house he was raised in was an Eaton’s home. He became curious and that curiosity lead him down many roads over many years, and one lead him to us. It was a privilege to work with Les on his 140 page book, his labour of love. I hold Les in high esteem – he is a wonderful man and client.