Excellent essay - it reads like it was written in the 19th Century - my apologies if that's the way you write!
Re: Pea Ridge
Is that a reference to the Civil War battle?
Both of my great-great grandfathers fought at Pea Ridge.
They were both Lutheran ministers and farmers from Peoria, Illinois.
Pea Ridge was the name of the our large family farm in central South Carolina that was burned by Sherman in 1865.