George Byers

Momoirs: the Family Stories of Peggy Kerr Byers George Byers

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.