Momoirs

About the Book

From the singing sisters in the kitchen to the "sex fiend" in the woods, a sharp-eyed, observant woman recalls the struggles and joys of growing up during the Depression and starting a family during World War II. Peggy Kerr grew up in a large family in a small town, Oblong, Illinois. This was an age when Dad made shoes and Mom baked bread. Peggy remembers pantywaists and button hooks, the outhouse, the carriage, and the "hickory stick" at school. She also remembers child-death and violence: a bootlegger shooting the sheriff at a best friend's home. Her lively tales go on to recount training as a nurse in Vincennes, Indiana, where she met and married George Byers, with all the stories of dating, dealing with in-laws, and raising her own large family of kids. This book is filled with the scores of characters she knew and all the pathos and humor of life.

About the Author

The oldest of ?the Byers Bunch?, George Byers, Jr. (Mike) made his career as a professional student and college professor. He left the family farm for the U.S. Army at nineteen and returned to the area four years later to finish a doctorate at Indiana University. In 1971, he headed east to the mountains of West Virginia, where he taught English at Fairmont State University, specializing in Shakespeare and Children?s Literature. An unnoted author of unpublished works, he has shelved three novels based on his fantasy empire, as well as numerous stories and the popular bug poems. Two operas have been produced on this empire with music by Alice A. Moerk. George is married to an Italian beauty and has a daughter, Julia, pictured on the front cover with Peggy.