My Shenandoah, 1966
was originally planned to merely record an objective local history, but its enthusiastic fans will assure you the book developed well beyond that into a highly readable, engrossing work for everyone. Its ample supply of endearing personal anecdotes and historical peculiarities make this local history quite an entertaining read.
The book also makes the jump from mere local appeal by embracing the universal nostalgia of the era we know as The Sixties. The original motive of providing a thorough demography of the Coal Region town of Shenandoah, fifty years before its Sesquicentennial, is achieved. However, the book's scope is much more universal. It is an accurate picture of a small town America in that Golden Age of our nation's history; it takes all its readers back on a nostalgic tour of that extraordinary decade known as the Sixties.
The first person narrative has two authors in one. You'll see the Sixties through the innocent eyes of the 9 year old who lived them. Gain his impressions of his education, his views on the town's diversity and its prejudices. Thrill in the childish enjoyment of life in small town America of this generation. But, realize that child has grown into a 59 year old historian. Explore with him the town and county's national prominence and historical figures. Look back at the Corner Stores, the Penny Candy, the Supermarkets, the Cars, the Drinking, and the Holidays. Philosophize with him over the changing times. Look back at a firsthand account of America's most memorable decade and more.