Donna Janice Emerick

A DAM KIDS' MEMORIES OF THE AUSABLE RIVER (c) Donna Janice Emerick

This book is about the life of a girl who grew up on the AuSable River in Michigan during the 1940's and 1950's. What I lived like in those two decades will never be the same again. My story involves company housing, hydro operations, dams, and my daily life growing up on the AuSable River. I was one of the "Dam Kids," one of the children living on the River whose dad worked for Consumer's Power, operating one of the hydroelectric dams. There were very few "dam kids" when I was growing up, and none my age who lived at the Loud Dam site, my home when I first moved to the AuSable River. The only child of Donald W. and Helen M. Weinberg, I moved with my parents from Flint, Michigan in 1942. We moved to a man's dream place, a paradise with hunting, trees, and fishing. This paradise created big problems for women. Aside from work at home, there was nothing for women to do; money was tight, and driving distances were long and difficult. During WWII, sugar and gas were rationed; we had to use stamps to get them, and the long distances between people and towns meant conserving on gas. We didn't go anywhere very often. My story is full of events that may shock or amaze you. It's about the survival of a lonesome, only child who grew up in a very isolated area, her experiences through grade and high school. I left for a short period to work at Michigan Bell in Saginaw Michigan, returned after marrying my high school sweetheart, have lived and farmed in the area since. I hope my love for the AuSable River comes through these stories also in my writing of this memoir of my early life.