Product Description

My father, Per, came to the United States during the potato famine and depression in Shilafors, Sweden at the age of 18. Alfred Rosenquist, his future father-in-law, sponsored him to come to the United States to help on the Rosenquist family farm west of Burnside, Iowa, a small rural community near Fort Dodge, Iowa. My father started courting my mother, Myrtle Rosenquist, by borrowing my grandpa and grandma's horse and buggy and escorting her to the Sunday church services at Burnside. In 1917, love bloomed, they were married and soon thereafter started a family. I grew up during the 1920's and 1930's in a rural community. Our family moved around (at least 5 times) to adjust to the depression and survive the hard times. We helped our parents supplement their income with part time jobs, mostly from a milk, cream, egg and farm produce route to Fort Dodge on the weekends. The depression was unquestionably a unique experience in survival. My childhood encounters during the Depression coupled with the adventures of my teen years helped shape the rest of my life. On weekends, when dad and mom had a spare nickel or dime and we had earned it with extra chores, we wound up at Park Theater in Fort Dodge. The theater had cowboy shows that were continued each following weekend, like a serial. On the way home we would stop at the Gold Bar for a malt, which cost a nickel. It was crushed up ice, flavoring and very little milk. We would get wimpy hamburgers for a nickel and classic Iowa Maidrites (ground beef, onions and seasoning) that would melt in your mouth. During the Depression, I worked once a week folding and mailing newspapers at the Dayton Review for 50 cents a week. Our family would combine the money from the egg and milk route to Fort Dodge plus the extra money the family made, and we would buy salt, sugar, flour and other incidentals. Our clothes were hand-me-downs. Although we endured the Depression and just generally lived in a state of what is now referred to as "ec

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1296105 in Books
• Published on: 2008-12-10
• Released on: 2008-12-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 140 pages

About the Author
Gene Person grew up during the 1920's - 1930's on a farm in the small community of Burnside, Iowa. Other than the scarcities caused by the depression, life in rural Iowa was typically isolated from the world's troubles. However, this idyllic existence was shaken by the traumatic years that followed the events of December 7, 1941. Gene, like many other young men of his time, joined in the defense of his country without a clear picture of the horrors of war he was about to endure. The experiences of war and other events, where the good Lord had his Angels watching over him, changed him forever. This is his story. It is a story of his missions over Europe in a B-24 Liberator and his subsequent life as a normal American with a job, a family, and a mortgage. However, it is also a story of someone who, throughout his life, gave something back to his friends, relatives, and the community. In later years, as part of his focus on community, it is a story about Gene's peacetime mission to preserve the memories and history of the WW II 8th Air Force and the thousands of soldiers who were part of it. Some of them are acknowledged in this book for their contributions in preserving this history before it is lost forever.