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About this Book:

The following are all true stories of country life in the back-woods of Arkansas. You might say we were hill-billys! But I didn’t know it until sixty years later. Neither did I know anything about racial prejudices until arriving in Washington State, where I was intelligently informed at age twelve. We were very close to one black family of eight who lived about a half mile from us. Our family consisted of six boys; I was the fourth. We played with our neighbor’s children and called the parents Uncle Sandy and Aunt Martha—Aunt Martha lived to be 109 years old and was laid to rest in Fordyce, Arkansas. In Arkansas, fun was where you found it. There was no TV, no refrigerators, no electricity, and only one bicycle for six boys. Believe it or not, I have a BA degree from college, but I learned to read by reading comic books! These came from my State Representative cousin Jimmie Raney, who seemed to have more cash than I did.

About the Author:

The author is a 78 year old “Arkie” who has been a resident of Washington State for 66 years. He has a Washington born spouse of 58 years; two children born in New York and one in Oregon. He has 13 grand children (one deceased), and 11 great grand children. He is a believer, an ordained pastor, and a certified K-12 teacher of the deaf. He has also been an agent-telegrapher on the Great Northern and the Southern Pacific Railroads; a licensed general agent for insurance and a real estate agent. He and his wife, Ruth, have owned two Adult Family Homes, have been president and very active in Omak Senior Center for nine years and have tried to retire for 16 years but the train won’t stop! And that’s enough toot’n the horn!

Book Review:

The following are all true stories of country life in the back-woods of Arkansas, as lived by a 6 to 12 year old boy. The closest town was Bunn, AR, which is now a ghost town except for one family. The old store, school, two church buildings and store owner's home are still there but uninhabited, with trees growing up all around. The town is on a country road from Carthage to Fordyce, AR. There are remnants of our forty acres, but you could not fine them... except for the "Fenison Road" sign on the south side.

Order/Contact Info:

Call or email: Joe Fenison, PO Box 1691, Omak, WA 98841. 509 422 0156, or jfenison@q.com.