In a style reminiscent of the master storytellers of yore, Charless Caraway recounts the story of his life, as a man and a boy, on small farms in Saline and Jackson counties, particularly around Eldorado, Makanda, and Etherton Switch. He makes no bones about the hardships of those "old days," first helping his father eke out a living from the land, then scrambling for a living as a sharecropper and fruit picker, as he scrimped and saved for the day when he and his young wife, Bessie Mae Rowan Caraway, could buy a piece of land of their own.
The one-room school, the general store,...
In a style reminiscent of the master storytellers of yore, Charless Caraway recounts the story of his life, as a man and a boy, on small farms in S...
Hastings experienced the rural and small town side of an event that touched all who weathered itthe economic crash of 1929 and its 10-year aftermath.
The author grew up in Marion, Illinois, entering the first grade in 1930, the start of the Great Depression. This book, which recalls memorable episodes in the life of that boy, is a sequel to the popular "A" "Nickel s Worth of Skim Milk."
What Hastings experienced as a child was typical of depression-era life. Those who were young then can relive lost youth in Hastings books. And there were moments worth reliving: Hastings tells of...
Hastings experienced the rural and small town side of an event that touched all who weathered itthe economic crash of 1929 and its 10-year aftermat...
Told from the point of view of a young boy, this account shows how a family faced the 1930s head on and lived to tell the story. It is the story of growing up in southern Illinois, specifically the Marion, area during the Great Depression. But when it was first published in 1972 the book proved to be more than one writer s memories of depression-era southern Illinois.
People started writing me from all over the country, Hastings notes. And all said much the same: You were writing about my family, as much as your own. That s how I remember the 1930s, too.
As he proves time and again...
Told from the point of view of a young boy, this account shows how a family faced the 1930s head on and lived to tell the story. It is the story of...
Scientists who specialize in the study of Mississippi Valley earthquakes say that the region is overdue for a powerful tremor that will cause major damage and undoubtedly some casualties. The inevitability of a future quake and the lack of preparation by both individuals and communities provided the impetus for this book. Atkinson brings together applicable information from many disciplines: history, geology and seismology, engineering, zoology, politics and community planning, economics, environmental science, sociology, and psychology and mental health to provide the most comprehensive...
Scientists who specialize in the study of Mississippi Valley earthquakes say that the region is overdue for a powerful tremor that will cause major da...
Life on the roadwas anything but glamorous for Farm Security Administration photographers traveling through southern Illinois in the mid-1930s. Often their most promising subjects lived at the end of the worst roads, many of which lacked bridges, drainage ditches, or gravel. Outfitted with three government-issue cameras, flashbulbs, tripods, and film-processing chemicals, their job was to help "explain America to Americans" by seeking out and photographing the one-third of the nation FDR described as "ill-housed, ill-clad, and ill-nourished."Featured in this book are more...
Life on the roadwas anything but glamorous for Farm Security Administration photographers traveling through southern Illinois in the mid...
From "All Anybody Ever Wanted of Me Was to Work... "
"Starting around 1950, people stopped raising chickens, milking cows, and raising hogs. They just buy it at the store, ready to eat. A lot buy a steer and have it processed in Dongola and put it in their freezer. What a difference Girls have got it so easy now. They don't even know what it was like to start out. And I guess my mother's life, when she started out, was as hard again as mine, because they had to make everything by hand. I don't know if it could get any easier for these girls. But they don't know what it was like, and...
From "All Anybody Ever Wanted of Me Was to Work... "
"Starting around 1950, people stopped raising chickens, milking cows, and raising hogs. They...
Although the northern Illinois chapters of the story of Susan Sukey Richardson s escape from slavery on the Underground Railroad are documented, the part played by southern Illinois in that historic episode has remained obscure. Carol Pirtle changes that with her investigation into the 1843 suit Andrew Borders lodged against William Hayes, charging his neighbor with helping slaves from the Borders estate escape to Galesburg. In conjunction with her probe into the past, Pirtle also discovered the Hayes correspondence.Pirtle documents Hayes s involvement in the Illinois Underground Railroad...
Although the northern Illinois chapters of the story of Susan Sukey Richardson s escape from slavery on the Underground Railroad are documented, the p...
In Growing Up in a Land Called Egypt: A Southern Illinois Family Biography, author Cleo Caraway fondly recalls how she and her siblings came of age on the family farm in the 1930s and 1940s. Like many others, the Caraways were affected by the economic hardships of the Great Depression, but Cleo s parents strived to shelter her and her six siblings from the dire circumstances affecting the nation and their home and allowed them to bask in their idealistic existence. Her love for her family clearly shines from every page as she writes of a simpler time, before World War II...
In Growing Up in a Land Called Egypt: A Southern Illinois Family Biography, author Cleo Caraway fondly recalls how she and her siblings...
Many recognize Giant City State Park as one of the premier recreation spots in southern Illinois, with its unspoiled forests, glorious rock formations, and famous sandstone lodge. But few know the park s history or are aware of the remarkable men who struggled to build it. "Giant City State Park and the Civilian Conservation Corps: A History in Words and Pictures" provides the first in-depth portrait of the park s creation, drawing on rarely seen photos, local and national archival research, and interviews to present an intriguing chapter in Illinois history.Kay Rippelmeyer traces the...
Many recognize Giant City State Park as one of the premier recreation spots in southern Illinois, with its unspoiled forests, glorious rock formations...
