Mason City, Illinois, a tiny rural community in the heart of the Midwest, is the setting for Dale Fancher's book of reflections and memories of a day gone by. A lifelong resident of Mason City, Fancher has a keen mind, and a heart for the quaint, easily lost memories of youth: From bathing in a galvanized washtub, to trailing behind the ice-delivery truck to beg shards of ice on a hot day; from fishing at Salt Creek at night and listening to the bobcats, to World War II blackouts.

Reading Fancher's book, one becomes familiar with local characters like Kenny Hanover, still barbering after...