Born In the Illinois Cornfields: Read an Excerpt

I grew up on an Illinois farm during the time of the Great Depression. As I think back to my earliest years, I see them through a child's eyes, and I remember especially the fun and excitement of holidays. These were days that stand out during a time when life on the farm offered little to celebrate. Christmas was by far the best holiday because its magic lasted far longer than a day.
Excitement built during those dark December evenings when the children in my family decorated the house for Christmas. We pasted strips of paper together to make chains which we hung on the windows and doors. We always had a crib scene, including a manger, animals, and shepherds. The folks usually managed to have a tree of some kind, which we decorated with popcorn strings we had strung with needle and thread. We added paper chains, red berries, and some candle wax. Since there were several of us kids, we could do a lot of decorating to be ready for Christmas.
When we weren't decorating, we made all kinds of candy—fudge, caramels, divinity, taffy, and a mixture of my favorite fruit candy. We also made popcorn balls and many kinds of cookies. This is the way we spent many winter evenings leading up to Christmas. Every Christmas, even when I was sent to bed, I intended to stay awake to hear the arrival of Old Saint Nick, but I always fell asleep.
At four o'clock on Christmas morning, we rushed downstairs to find our names on the gifts. We would each get an orange, some much-needed clothing, and a toy.

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