Growing Up Country

About the book:

A true story of growing up on a farm in Ohio in the 1930's. The author was one of ten children in this family.

Excerpt: On Saturday night we always went to Hicksville. The streets were packed full of people who came to shop, visit friends, or go to the Huber Theater to see a movie. It was hard to get a parking place if you didn't go early.

Dad gave each kid a quarter. We got in line at the theater to see Roy Rogers or Gene Autry, the singing cowboy in the movies. It cost a dime to get in and a nickel for a box of popcorn.

After the show was over, we would walk around the streets several times to see who was there. Then we would buy a double dip ice cream cone and still have a nickel left to buy candy.

During the war years when we went to Hicksville, almost all of the young men were in uniform. The streets were full of sailors, soldiers, and airmen. It was a very romantic time.

I remember hearing President Franklin Roosevelt give his famous speech when he declared war on Japan after they bombed Pearl Harbor. I was ten years old. We were all in the living room listening to our radio. I can still hear his voice.

After the war started, the government rationed gas, sugar, coffee, shoes, and meat. They issued books with stamps in them for each item that was rationed. Each adult and child got a book. You had to have a stamp or they wouldn't permit you to buy the item.

The book includes many vintage photographs of the author and her family as they were growing up during the Great Depression and World War II era.