Putting Out The Fleece

About the Book

The author describes the early life of his wife Martha in South Dakota, his own early life in rural Nebraska, their courtship and life together in Iowa, Minnesota, Colorado and Missouri. The son of a Lutheran pastor, he details the hardships of Depression-era life in the Midwest during and after the Dust Bowl.

With a strong belief that his life was directed by divine guidance and protected by guardian angels, he recounts his experiences in parish life, through school and on the job before joining the Navy. Drawing upon technical training in mechanics and experience with the power plants of PT boats and other navel vessels, he builds a career in auto mechanics.

As the family grows he tries his hand at entrepreneurship, first as owner of a repair station, then as proprietor of fast food businesses. As retirement approaches, he fulfills a long suppressed talent for carpentry and cabinetry. He describes the ups and downs of nearly 60 years of married life before the final decline and death of his beloved Martha. As patriarch of his six children, he portrays life in assisted living, declining health, reduced travel, and the blessings of great-grandchildren.

About the Author

Elmer H. Pullmann, son of a Lutheran pastor, spent his childhood in rural Northeast Nebraska. Born in Fairfax, South Dakota, on January 22, 1922, he became a school teacher and worked as a landsman before studying diesel mechanics at Packard Marine Engine School in the U.S. Navy. He worked for several years as a Chevrolet mechanic and farm implement technician before opening his own repair shop and gasoline dealership in Northeast Iowa. After a brief stint as traveling tool salesman, he returned to Chevrolet in Northwest Iowa and St. Paul, Minnesota. Interrupting a long association with mechanics, he became proprietor of two fast food businesses before returning to servicing trucks for a large grocer wholesaler in Colorado. In "retirement" he tried his hand at carpentry and cabinetry before settling in Missouri with the intention of becoming gentleman farmer and beekeeper. When his wife Martha became increasingly weakened with Parkinson's disease, they built a home near Rolla, where they lived until disability forced them to relocate closer to family near Syracuse. Here the author remains active in his church, conducting classes, dispensing wisdom to his descendents and working on his memoirs.