Turns out you can read "transforming friendship" yourself.  
http://www.archive.org/details/MN41580ucmf_4

It was written by a Methodist clergyman and printed by University of Chicago.  Christianity as pop sociology.  My father was on his way to becoming a Lutheran preacher and the problem of keeping Christianity relevant was becoming acute 11 years into the Great Depression.  So these sorts of books were quite common.  He had shelves of them by the time I came along.

As for the farms shots--I love them too.  At full size, they are amazingly detailed.  Note in the threshing picture, the assembled neighbors have only one internal combustion engine and it is driving the threshing machine.  

"Remember the I35W bridge--who needs terrorists when there are Republicans"