Growing Up On the Farm in the 1930s'
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Excerpts From Gander book: “He (the gander) had Bernard pinned against the fence. Bernard was very scared, and was screaming for help! Now I was scared, too. I knew we had to decide what to do all by ourselves” “He put the gander in the Model T Ford and drove away with him, over the rough road at the top of the hill, and we never saw that gander again.” Excerpts from Water book: “A cistern is a well in the ground. Instead of pumping the water, my mother attached a rope to a galvanized bucket and pulled the water from the cistern.” “People that grew up with my grandparents learned how to create electricity. People that grew up with my parents learned how to use electricity to create running water in homes all over America. As you grow up you will learn to create more things to make America a better, safer place to be. We are happy about that.” Excerpts from Electric book “In the 1930s, my dad would get up in the middle of each night, during the winter months, to put more wood in the stove. During the day, my parents would keep the wood poked with a poker, and more wood would be added to the fire. The ashes would accumulate and an older brother, or my dad, would need to keep them shoveled out with the shovel that hung by the stove.”
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About the Book
This book beautifully illustrates how the kerosene lamp was used in place of electricity. It took many years to manually dig the holes for electric poles, and to hand-stretch wires-- from one pole to the other-- all over the United States. The author describes how scary it was to use the outhouse during the evening hours: when it was dark outside. A wood burning iron stove was used for cooking. She shows how the family worked hard together to make the farm profitable. The climax of the illustrates how awesome it was to experience electric lighting in the house for the first time (kinda like the younger generation seeing the internet for the first time). The final page illustrates how people later created more, and more things with electricity: including your television set, when none exsisted! It's amazing to the author's generation how many children today believe that electricity always existed; and how surprised they are today that "people" made electricity.
About the Author
The Author grew-up on a 30-acre farm--in the early 1930s' and 40s--north of Chrubusco, Indiana. The town was located about 18 miles north of Fort Wayne, Indiana. She was born just as the Great Depression was ending, and the Industrial Revolution was getting underway. After her marriage--in 1956--to, Charles Nicodemus, she then spent five years in Cleveland, Ohio, where her last two children--of five--were born. She then moved to Willard, Ohio, where she spent an additional five years. She returned to Indiana where she lived in Indianapolis for the past 35 years. It has always been the author's dream to paint a picture of the daily life-style of a child--as she remembers--in the 30s'. She did this not only as a learing tool for the younger generation; but, to help them know her past as she had. The author illustrates her mother pulling water from a cistenrn; because, water needed electricity to pump it into the homes. It took many years for electricity to reach accross America. The author paints a picture of the day electricity lit-up the house for the very first time! The author shares with your child her trips to the outhouse. She hand-drew her childhood rememberances. Stories that range from picking onions in a patch on the farm, too getting electricity in their homes, to the major financial impact that these stories had on their family. Today the author sees man going to the moon, and exploring outher space with rockets! She sees people talking on the telephone without wires. Because, man created electricity in past generations we were now able to create television sets that instantly carry scenes and voices of people, live from countries all over world! Maybe through this inspirational book your child will begin to make contributions never dreamed of: that will make American an even better, safer, and more enjoyable place to live