Sunday Afternoon On The Porch

In 1939, just before graduating from high school in the small town of Ridgeway in northeast Iowa, Everett Kuntz spent his entire savings of $12.50 on a 35mm Argus AF camera. He made a camera case from a worn-out boot, scraps from a tin can, and a clasp from his mother's purse. For the next several years, especially during the summers when he worked on his parents' dairy farm, he clicked the shutter of his trusty Argus all around the quiet town. Everett bought movie reel film in bulk from a mail-order house, rolled his own film, and developed it in a closet at home, but he never had the money to print his photographs. More than two thousand negatives stayed in a box while he married, raised a family, and worked as an electrical engineer in the Twin Cities. When he became ill with cancer in the fall of 2002--sixty years after he had developed the last of his bulk film--Everett opened his time capsule and printed the images from his youth. He died in 2003, having brought his childhood town back to life just as he was leaving it. A sense of peace radiates from these images. Whether skinny-dipping in the Turkey River, wheelbarrow-racing, threshing oats, milking cows, visiting with relatives after church, or hanging out at the drugstore or the movies, Ridgeway's hardworking citizens are modest and trusting and luminous in their graceful harmony and their unguarded affection for each other. Visiting the town in 2006 as he was writing the text to accompany these photographs, Jim Heynen crafted vignettes that perfectly complement these rediscovered images by blending fact and fiction to give context and voice to Ridgeway's citizens.

The 112th Field Artillery Regiment (Horse-Drawn) was a New Jersey Army National Guard unit called into active military service in January of 1941. The Old Gray Mare describes life in this unit, the Army's last horse-drawn field artillery unit, through the eyes of a young lieutenant during the Plattsburg Training Maneuvers in 1939 and during the 112th's post-activation training at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The Old Gray Mare provides an insightful picture of the daily routine in garrison and the field of a horse unit during what proved to be the final year of its existence. It describes the close bonds formed between men and their horses, the care and handling required to maintain a well-trained horse artillery unit, the pride and professionalism developed by "serving the guns", and the archaic, social environment that surrounded this elite formation. It gives witness to the dreaded man and horse-killing stampede of crazed animals as well as the excitement of the polo field that was so much a part of the fabric of the horse artillery. The Old Gray Mare is a light and entertaining book that gives a nostalgic view of a military unit forced out of existence by advances in technology at the beginning of World War II. It is an interesting and unique snapshot of a time and a life-style that no longer exists.

An appreciation of the significance of the porch in everyday life in the US South. It reveals that the porch is a stage for many social dramas, and it uses literature, folklore, oral histories and photographs to show how southerners have used the porch to negotiate public and private boundaries.

Archaeologist Dr. Henry Randalls is invited to Egypt,on a search for an ancient pyramid and possible treasure. Joined by his son and nephew, the trip's success is soon threatened with the kidnapping of his contact- the only man who knows the secret and its location. While the boys venture out to find the kidnappers, Henry follows a mysterious message and other clues that lead to a tomb where strange curses and suspicious accidents challenge his every step. Tension mounts with the surprise appearance of Duncan Phelps and his gang of thieves, who will stop at nothing to steal the fortune. But there is another force to be reckoned with that no knows about. A force that is as old as the pyramids and set to attack anyone trying to disturb its' sacred grounds. Will a treasure be found and taken? Will Dr.Randalls' group survive or will the tomb become their final resting place?

A Legacy of Love is the story of a Southern Indiana farm family and the trials and tribulations of raising children during the Great Depression Era. This family, like most people during this era who lived in agricultural communities, did not have central heat, electricity nor indoor bathrooms. Most farm families raised (or made) most of their own food including chickens, eggs, butter, milk, beef, pork, and vegetables from their own gardens. They relied on each other, their extended families, neighbors, and their church community to survive. Ora and Ann Wolfe raised seven children who became productive adults, on 64 acres of land (of which 30 were not tillable) in a three room clapboard house. Supplemental income came from intermittent work in the coal mines by Ora and the selling of butter and eggs by Ann to stores in the city and to neighbors who did not have their own. They faced personal challenges with the loss of a young child to scarlet fever, years where farming efforts barely produced enough to feed them all and family members who left the nest to go off to war or to work in the factories, or elsewhere, to support the war effort. Every day was a challenge, but their belief that an all wise God ruled the affairs of mankind kept the family grounded in its Christian Faith. Church was the center for community and social life. Sunday services, church potluck dinners and singing in the churchs Glee Club were activities enjoyed by this family. The strict observance of the Sabbath was celebrated with a large dinner served around the noon hour that would be enjoyed by every family member and often, with friends of the family. A Legacy of Love will provide the reader with an understanding of life in America during difficult economic times - a time when many people lost hope and some left their homes and farms, never to return. Others gained strength though family, hard work and their churches. The average farm family had little or no money, but nearly everyone faced similar challenges. Adults and children alike learned ways to enjoy the simple things in life at practically no cost. These difficult times not only instilled a good work ethic in children but a strong commitment to each other. This commitment is the legacy of love that bound this family so tightly together with a rich family heritage. It is the fabric that builds strong communities.

Cane Creek Days is the memoir of a boy growing up on a story-book farm near Petersburg, Tennessee, the kind of farming life that no longer exists. The story takes place among the fields and small towns and bridges and dusty roads through which winds the beautiful, life-sustaining stream called the Little Cane Creek. Times were tough for the author, his family, and his friends in this rural Middle Tennessee area, not far from Alabama. Hunting and fishing were more than sport – they provided an important part of living a rich life. Livestock and crops provided cash, but also put food on the table. Their knowledge of the soil, plants, and animals of the region helped these hard-working and intelligent folks stay alive and even thrive in an age of less extravagance and indulgence. Many of these old ways required to survive were common and necessary are in danger of being forgotten. So author Warren Gill shares about growing up in the 1950s and how rural life sustained his community. Gill hopes to preserve for modern readers the lessons he and his community learned and how they survived without the technological tools that modern farms use today. Many North Americans are showing an interest in returning to our agricultural roots, either as working farmers or as hobby farmers who want to keep alive the knowledge of traditional agriculture. Many of these people remember that their parents and grandparents lived hard, fulfilling lives, and they want to recapture and preserve that tradition. This memoir captures that experience from someone who’s lived it.

Transcribing from his voluminous notes our main character tells of the many adventures that beset him, beginning with his being orphaned as a teenager, his felonious Uncle Bascomb's treachery, Prohibitions Days in Chicago and the local "Mob", his special college Pal, Burt and his and their adventures together. The lovely Amanda Richards he meets at the University of Illinois is sure to intrigue you. Things really start to get interesting when the boys' Durant breaks down just outside of Pineville City, Nebraska and they meet Doc Hasberg, Big Ben Collins and other interesting people in that city. Wait 'til you meet Lord Henry James Augustus Wilton-Smith and his family, Lady Agatha and daughter Pamela. Once you start this book, you might have trouble putting it down, you just know, that in just a few more pages, some other adventure will capture your attention. Enjoy!