From the Hidewood

In twenty-one interwoven stories, author Robert Amerson re-creates life on his family's 160-acre farm in the remote Hidewood Hills of eastern South Dakota from 1934 to 1942. Each story, told from the perspective of a family member or farmer neighbor, captures the moods, sounds, sights, and relationships of these rural Americans at a time of tremendous change.

Nine-year-old Robert Amerson is a dreamer fascinated by books, airplanes, and cars. As he grows older, he becomes impatient with old-fashioned horse farming, and he struggles to balance his responsibilities to the farm with the attractions of high school and life in town. His father Clarence, a master at making do, labors unceasingly but never seems to get ahead. His mother Bernice, who fights off dark emotions along with frustration at not "having it nice," concentrates her energy on getting her children an education.

In this time of Depression-related hardships, edging toward the eve of World War II, co-operation and hard work are key to the survival of small farms. Neighbors join together to butcher hogs, run the one-room school, build roads, thresh grain, and celebrate the landmarks of their lives. They turn out, without fail, to help a family suffering a disaster-filled summer. And they work hard for the means to better their lives with new tractors, gas-powered washing machines, indoor bathrooms, wells that produce good drinking water - and, eventually, rural electrification and milking machines. In From the Hidewood, Amerson has written far more than an "I remember when" account. In exquisite detail, he portrays a particular moment in time with a power that could help many readers better understand their own pasts.