Introduction to John
John Jackson was a tall, yet slim, boy for 19. He had a distinctly oval shaped face with ears that he had yet to grow into and a short blonde buzz cut coming close on the sides of his head, leaving a slightly larger blonde puff down the middle. Whether standing to cool off on the farm during a hard day’s work or looking out the window in a daydream amid one of his many study sessions, John always seemed to sport a calm and focused gaze, a gaze that spoke volumes about his actual character. Even at such a young age, Jackson had already used this visible poise to take on many different roles in his life. All of these roles he proved with details from his pocket diary kept during the year of 1887. This diary is a small and now faded flip book of no more than 3 inches wide and five inches tall covered in worn reddish-brown leather. Each page has lines for writing as well as the date, and in the back is a memoranda where he kept track of his finances. Attached to the outside back of the flip diary is a small dark brown centimeter thick piece of elastic. This once used to hold the diary shut, but would no longer be able to function for such a purpose as it remains barely hanging on, tattered, and long since stretched out. It was this diary that Jackson would periodically flip open to check his records, recall facts, and jot his daily routine. It was not the sort of diary to sit down at a desk and write in; rather it was undoubtedly carried in his pocket and written in at his leisure, perhaps in bed before he fell asleep, in lulls between classes, or when cooling in the shade during a break on the farm. It was in this small and unassuming diary that, in a single year, Jackson would prove to be a loyal son, a spontaneous youth, a skilled farmhand, a diligent student, a faithful Christian, and a gifted teacher. By delving into Jackson’s life through the entries in his diary and the lens of these categories, rather than in chronological order of events, it becomes easier to understand the reasons for Jackson’s actions as well as the time period in which he lived.